Bleacher Report’s latest future NBA power rankings put the Sacramento Kings at No. 30, and on the surface, it’s not a hard case to make. This franchise has spent the better part of two decades giving people reasons to doubt it, with just one playoff appearance since 2006 and a long trail of coaching changes, front office turnover, and roster decisions that never quite added up.
But Sactown Sports’ Matt George and Kayla Anderson think that kind of history-driven judgment leaves out a key piece of the picture.
George didn’t push back on the skepticism itself. If anything, he said the reaction from Kings fans is completely understandable after so many false starts.
“There’s two sides to the coin,” George said. “There’s the one side that I completely understand. Any fan-hear me when I say Kings fan -feeling like you have to prove to me that things are going to be different because I won’t believe it anymore.”
That kind of mistrust comes with the territory in Sacramento. Still, George’s point was that a three-year outlook should be about more than what the Kings have done wrong in the past. He believes the organization under general manager Scott Perry deserves to be evaluated on what it is trying to build now.
“The future power rankings have nothing to do with Darius Acuff Jr.,” George said. “It has nothing to do with the decisions that Scott Perry is making.”
Acuff, the Kings’ seventh overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, barely got a nod in Bleacher Report’s writeup. George and Anderson see that as a miss, especially when the conversation is supposed to be about where Sacramento might be headed, not just where it has been.
They also pointed to the rest of the cupboard Perry has to work with. Sacramento controls nearly all of its future first-round picks, giving the front office plenty of flexibility as it tries to reshape the roster.
There’s financial room coming, too. George highlighted the possibility of major money coming off the books next summer with Zach LaVine and De’Andre Hunter.
“Between Zach LaVine and DeAndre Hunter, next summer the Kings have $68 million coming off the books,” George said.
Anderson’s gripe was similar: if Bleacher Report wanted to bury the Kings at the bottom, fine, but the ranking should have at least acknowledged that there’s a realistic route to something better.
“If they’re going to put them at the bottom, which, fine, whatever. They haven’t proven anything,” Anderson said. “Then at least mention that it could take a turn for the best.”
That’s the heart of the argument. George and Anderson aren’t pretending Sacramento has earned trust. They’re saying a three-year projection should leave room for the chance that the franchise is finally doing things differently.
Perry inherited a roster with problems and little financial wiggle room from former general manager Monte McNair. Since then, the work has begun with Acuff, Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford, Emanuel Sharp, Dylan Cardwell, and Alex Karaban.
It’s still too early to know whether that group turns into anything meaningful. But with Acuff in place, a batch of young players around him, a stash of draft assets, and financial flexibility arriving in 2027, the Kings have more building blocks than a No. 30 ranking suggests.
For a team that has been hunting for a direction for years, the next three seasons may decide whether Sacramento stays trapped by its past or finally gets a chance to tell a different story.
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Kings Young Core Is Already Creating A Training Camp Question
The Kings young group has already spent part of the offseason trying to get ahead of training camp, gathering for open gym runs hosted by former assistant coach Rico Hines. Darius Acuff Jr., Emanuel Sharp, Nique Clifford, Alex Karaban and Dylan Cardwell were among the players taking part, with the sessions giving Sacramento a glimpse of how the next wave is trying to fit together before camp even opens.
What stood out most was the voluntary nature of it all, the kind of extra work that can matter when a roster is still sorting out who belongs in the rotation. Sharp drew attention for his shooting, while Acuffs playmaking looked like a piece the Kings could eventually use, but the bigger question now is how much of that chemistry can carry into a more competitive setting when the real evaluation begins. [Read more 🡒]
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Kings Future May Depend On One Rookie Wing Taking A Real Step
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Karabans development this season is about more than just minutes for a first-year player. If he settles in and looks like a real piece, it could help clarify how Sacramento builds out the roster and where it can afford to be patient. If he stalls, the Kings may have to keep searching for answers on the wing, which makes his progress one of the more important storylines on the board. [Read more 🡒]