Scott Perry didn’t wait for Kings media day to start laying out the picture in Sacramento.
On Friday morning, the Kings’ general manager joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Sactown Sports and touched on the biggest themes hanging over the team heading into the 2026-27 season: Ben Simmons, rookie Darius Acuff Jr., head coach Doug Christie, and a roster that enters the year with modest outside buzz.
Simmons was the first name on the table, and Perry’s tone suggested the Kings feel pretty good about the swing they took. He said the organization had gotten positive feedback while Simmons was with the Australian national team over the summer, which eventually pushed Perry to fly to Miami, watch him work out and spend time talking with him.
“He said, ‘Hey, Scott, this is the first time I’ve been healthy in two years,’” Perry said. More than that, Simmons told him he missed playing basketball, competing, and being part of a team.
“That made a great impression on me,” Perry said.
Perry also said he saw encouraging physical signs, including some of the “lift and pop” that helped define Simmons’ best stretches in Philadelphia. Sacramento is still going to handle the 30-year-old carefully after his long layoff, but Perry believes the fit goes beyond one role. He confirmed the Kings were looking for a player who could handle backup point guard minutes, and he sees Simmons as someone who can do that if the health holds.
“He is definitely going to be capable of doing that as long as he stays healthy,” Perry said.
The Kings are also planning for a heavy rookie workload with Acuff, though Perry was quick to temper any urge to put too much on the 19-year-old too soon. He kept coming back to Acuff’s age and made it clear the learning curve will include rough patches.
“There’ll be a lot of responsibility coming his way, but we’re not going to put everything on his shoulders as a rookie player,” Perry said.
Even so, Sacramento clearly views Acuff as more than a short-term project. Perry said the guard’s passing is being overlooked compared with the attention his scoring drew before the draft, and he expects him to grow into a dependable defender as well.
Perry also addressed Christie, who is entering his second season as the team’s head coach. Last year, the Kings were forced to deal with a long list of injuries, making it a difficult season to judge fairly. Perry said he wants to see Christie carry more of what he learned from that experience into year two.
“I’m expecting more experience from him this year in terms of what he’s learned from last year, to have more presence in the position,” Perry said.
When the conversation turned to the team as a whole, Perry brushed past preseason rankings and leaned into what he believes Sacramento has in front of it: depth, flexibility and health. He described the roster as one with plenty of interchangeable pieces and said that combination gives the Kings a chance to improve as the season unfolds.
“I like the depth of this team,” Perry said. “I think we have a deep roster and a lot of interchangeable parts.”
He also said one of the goals is to “prove the doubters wrong” after a difficult 2025-26 season.
The next checkpoint comes Monday, when the Kings hold media day before opening training camp and beginning the second full season with Perry and Christie steering the ship in Sacramento.
The team’s preseason schedule starts Monday, October 5th vs. the Los Angeles Lakers at 7 P.M. PST, followed by Thursday, October 8th @ the Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30 P.M.
PST, Saturday, October 10th @ the Golden State Warriors at 5:30 P.M. PST, Tuesday, October 13th vs. the Portland Trail Blazers at 7:00 P.M.
PST, and Friday, October 16th @ the San Antonio Spurs at 7:00 P.M. PST.
In Other News...
Kings Face A Costly Jalen Duren Debate They Cant Ignore
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For Sacramento, the interest is easy to understand. Duren would fit the kind of frontcourt upgrade the Kings would at least have to consider, but a serious pursuit would come with real financial consequences and roster-building tradeoffs. In other words, this is the kind of name that can brighten a wishlist and complicate a spreadsheet at the same time, which is exactly why it is worth monitoring now rather than waiting for the market to get there. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Simmons Suddenly Has Real Rotation Pressure In Sacramento
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Plowden and Sharp already look like the kinds of players who could be squeezed by the numbers, but Simmons brings a different kind of intrigue because his role is tied to how his comeback actually looks on the floor. For a team trying to sort out its priorities early, that makes his spot one of the more interesting lineup questions hanging over the Kings right now. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Have A New Reason For Hope At Point Guard
Sacramento has spent plenty of time searching for stability at point guard, so it is no surprise a rookie like Darius Acuff Jr. has already drawn attention. The former Arkansas freshman came in with a strong rsum after leading the SEC in both points and assists, and that kind of production has fueled real optimism around his fit with the Kings.
Acuff showed flashes of why people are excited during summer league, especially as a creator who can set the table and score in bunches. The next step, though, is the hard one for any young guard: handling NBA-level defense while tightening up his shooting efficiency, and if he gets there, the early comparisons to former Kings guard De'Aaron Fox will only get louder. [Read more 🡒]