The Sacramento Kings didn’t make a splash at the trade deadline, and that was very much by design. General Manager Scott Perry made it clear in his post-deadline press conference: this isn’t about panic moves or short-term fixes. It’s about patience, long-term vision, and building something that can actually last.
That mindset framed the Kings’ biggest move-sending out Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis, along with a second-round pick, in exchange for De’Andre Hunter. On paper, it’s not the kind of deal that grabs headlines.
But for Perry, it was about reshaping the roster with intention. Hunter brings size and length on the wing-two things Sacramento has sorely lacked-and his expiring contract adds a layer of flexibility for a team that’s trying to clean up its cap sheet.
“We’re at the extreme early stages of laying the foundation,” Perry said. And if you’re wondering when this foundation might start turning into something more, he pointed to the 2027-28 season as a potential pivot point-when the Kings will finally have some financial breathing room. That timing just so happens to line up with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine’s contracts coming off the books.
But let’s be honest: the Kings are 12-41, and this season has all the markings of an unintentional tank job. Sacramento is saddled with veteran contracts that other teams aren’t exactly clamoring to take on, and the team’s record reflects that.
Still, Perry isn’t shying away from the reality of the situation. He admitted the Schroder experiment didn’t pan out, but chalked it up to fit and circumstance more than anything else.
“As the season unfolded, and you just see the fit didn’t work… that happens sometimes,” Perry said. “He didn’t change as a person at all.
He did what he was capable of doing. Unfortunately for him and us, we had a lot of our guys we thought he was going to play with miss a lot of time too, so then you pivot.”
As for giving up Keon Ellis, Perry acknowledged it wasn’t easy, but it came down to roster balance. “We had a lot of guards on the team this year,” he said, noting that Ellis struggled to carve out a consistent role.
“You’re going to lose solid players in the process of making deals. We needed to get bigger, we needed to get some more size and length here.
That is what De’Andre brings.”
Perry also addressed the elephant in the room: fan frustration. And let’s be real-Kings fans have been through it.
Years of rebuilding, retooling, and rerouting have left the fanbase hungry for something real. Perry gets it.
But he’s urging patience and preaching sustainability over quick fixes.
“You’re talking years of drafting, developing, trading, guys working, not working - there’s a lot of moving parts,” he said. “We’re in a society where people want things now, you want to win.
But what I would submit is that what we are doing, again, is we’re not going to just chase shiny objects for the sake of doing it, or make deals for the sake of it to try to stay in the middle. This process that takes a little longer with the drafting and developing is the more solid foundation.”
He was crystal clear on one point: the Kings don’t want to be stuck in NBA purgatory-the dreaded “Play-In realm,” as he put it. That space between contending and rebuilding, where you’re good enough to hang around but not good enough to matter. Perry doesn’t want any part of that.
And while the Kings are currently staring down a top lottery pick, Perry pushed back hard against the idea that Sacramento is actively tanking. “We’re not doing this… to institutionalize losing,” he said.
“That’s not in our vocabulary: tanking. You’re not going to see a team that’s going to go out in these final 30 games and say we’re trying to lose.
Absolutely not.”
He pointed to the randomness of the NBA Draft Lottery as a reason not to chase losses. “The team that won it last year had the 11th best odds-Dallas.
They weren’t trying to lose, and they won it. In the last 20, 25 years, three or four times the team with the worst record won the lottery.
So, there is no guarantee. It’s not like football.”
Still, the optics aren’t great. In Friday’s loss to the Clippers, head coach Doug Christie played DeRozan, LaVine, and Russell Westbrook 20 minutes or less.
Rookie Dylan Cardwell took more shots than DeRozan and LaVine combined. Whether that’s tanking or just experimenting with lineups is up for debate.
But one thing’s clear: the Kings are losing a lot-regardless of who’s on the floor.
That said, if the losses are going to keep coming, giving the young guys more run at least makes things more watchable. It’s about development now, not desperation.
And for those hoping the Kings might clear the decks with a few veteran buyouts? Don’t count on it.
Perry confirmed there will be no buyouts this season. The veterans are staying put-for now.
The Kings are playing the long game. And while that might not ease the sting of another tough season, Perry is betting that patience, not panic, will eventually pay off.