The Sacramento Kings have moved quickly to secure their 2026 rookie class, signing all three newcomers to long-term deals after what was described as their second straight strong draft.
Darius Acuff Jr. and Alex Karaban both landed standard four-year rookie scale contracts, while Emanuel Sharp signed a three-year deal through the second-round exception. For Sacramento, it’s a clear sign the front office wants this group tied into the rebuild, not floating on the edges of it.
Scott Perry followed up his strong 2025 draft with another productive class in 2026. The Kings took Acuff and Karaban in the first round, then added Sharp in the second. It was a clean haul from top to bottom, and now the team has made the commitment official by getting all three players under contract.
The bigger point is where these rookies fit. Sacramento needs them on the main roster if they’re going to grow the right way, and the organization already got a reminder of that last season with Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford, and Dylan Cardwell. The idea now is to get this year’s rookies working alongside that sophomore group and build some real rhythm inside the rotation.
There’s still more roster movement ahead. The Kings have one open spot on the main roster, and all three two-way contracts are already spoken for. Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis are unlikely to be traded this summer, while DeMar DeRozan will leave at some point, which would open another spot.
That makes the rookie development piece even more important. Acuff, in particular, is expected to be pushed into a major role quickly and is likely to start at point guard this season.
Sacramento needs him ready fast, and the same goes for Karaban and Sharp. They don’t have to be finished products right away, but the Kings need them moving in the right direction, and moving there quickly.
For a team that has shuffled its roster plenty over the past year, this is where the plan has to hold. Sacramento has to make sure these young players are actually used, not just collected. Getting them on standard NBA contracts and into the action at Golden 1 Center is the next step.
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Charles Barkley Just Delivered A Brutal Verdict On The Kings
Sacramentos rebuild is already looking like a long one, and the roster turnover tells the story. The Kings have moved on from the core that helped fuel their recent playoff run, with DeAaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes and DeMar DeRozan all gone or waived as the franchise resets after a 22-60 finish and a 14th-place showing in the Western Conference.
The hope now is that Darius Acuff Jr. becomes part of the next wave, but even that comes with the usual summer uncertainty. The 2026 first-round pick has flashed enough to keep attention on him, yet his Summer League play has been uneven, which only adds to the sense that Sacramento is still searching for a clear path back to relevance. [Read more 🡒]
One Rookie Just Put Pistons Fans On Notice In Vegas
The Las Vegas Summer League has already started sorting out which 2026 rookies look ready for a bigger stage, and Sacramento had one of the more eye-catching showings in the early slate. Among the mix of top picks and undrafted newcomers putting up numbers across the first few days, the Kings got a strong outing from their rookie group in a win that stood out because of how active and efficient it was on both ends.
One Sacramento rookie, the No. 45 pick, led the way with a game-high 21 points while adding defensive disruption and taking care of the ball, a useful sign for a player trying to carve out a role quickly. The Kings also had another summer league performance worth noting in a separate win over Orlando, where a different young player filled the box score with scoring, rebounding and rim protection, giving the front office a little more to track as the summer rolls on. [Read more 🡒]