The Sacramento Kings have turned another young player into a cautionary tale.
Just over a year after drafting Nique Clifford and then watching him shine at the 2025 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Sacramento has moved him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two second-round picks. That’s a brutal return on a player the Kings originally targeted by trading a protected first-round pick to the Thunder in the 2025 NBA Draft to move up and select him.
Clifford did enough to earn regular minutes last season after his strong Summer League showing, but he wasn’t in the rotation this season. Now he’s gone for less than Sacramento gave up to get him, and that sequence says plenty about where the franchise stands with its young talent.
It’s the latest entry in a long stretch of Kings frustration. Outside of their 2023 playoff run, Sacramento has spent the last two decades and more piling up disappointment, and the draft has been a major part of that story. The organization has had chances to build through youth, but too often the picks have been wasted or the players who did flash have been moved on from before they could fully take root.
Tyrese Haliburton remains the clearest example. He showed real promise in Sacramento, but the Kings grew impatient with missing the playoffs and dealt him to chase a postseason push, bringing in Domantas Sabonis. Since then, the picture has only gotten uglier for Sacramento: De’Aaron Fox is gone, Sabonis is on a less-than-ideal contract, ahd Haliburton has become one of the best players in the world when healthy.
The list of misfires goes beyond that. Drafting Marvin Bagley III second overall instead of Luka Doncic is still a glaring miss. Failing to develop Devin Carter was another tough blow.
Neemias Queta fits the same pattern. Sacramento drafted him in the second round, waived him a couple of years later, and now he’s a key piece for the Boston Celtics after earning a big payday this summer.
Davion Mitchell also found more success after leaving the Kings. Even Keegan Murray, who started his career so well, hasn’t been amazing over the last couple of seasons.
So the Clifford trade doesn’t stand alone. It lands as part of a much bigger pattern - one that has made Sacramento’s drafting and player development look like the worst in the NBA.
In Other News...
Zach LaVine Just Sent A Big Message About The Kings Offense
After the loss to Orlando, Zach LaVine made it clear the Kings are already adjusting around the rise of rookie Darius Acuff Jr. LaVine said his role is shifting to support the young guard, who has quickly emerged as Sacramentos primary scorer, and he acknowledged his own turnovers as part of what went wrong in the game. For a team still searching for the right offensive balance, the message was less about one rough night and more about where the Kings are headed.
Acuffs latest outing only strengthened that case, with 29 points and six assists as he kept extending a streak of consecutive games with at least 20 points and five assists. LaVine said he wants to help Acuff grow by adapting his own style, which is a notable admission from a veteran scorer who has spent much of his career carrying the load himself. For Sacramento, the bigger question now is how quickly that partnership can settle in while the offense continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Trade Buzz Suddenly Tests Sacramentos Commitment To Its Youth Movement
Scott Perrys latest move already signaled how Sacramento is thinking about the back end of its roster, sending guard Nique Clifford to Oklahoma City for future second-round picks. It was the kind of deal that fits a team trying to keep its options open, and it also comes at a time when the Kings are still shaping the next wave around rookie Darius Acuff Jr., whose development has become part of the bigger conversation in the organization.
Now the buzz around Draymond Green is putting that youth-first approach to the test. Green, Perry and Acuff all have Michigan ties, and Green recently offered Acuff advice during a preseason game, which only adds to the intrigue around a possible fit. Sacramentos interest appears tied in part to the idea of Green as a mentor, but with the Kings still leaning into younger pieces and Green currently a free agent, the path from speculation to something real is far from clear. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Unexpected Center Move Raises A Bigger Sabonis Question
After moving Nique Clifford in a separate deal, the Kings filled out their roster by signing veteran center Mason Plumlee to a rest-of-season non-guaranteed contract. It is a practical depth move more than a headline-grabber, but it does give Sacramento another experienced body in the middle and helps the team get back to the 14-player minimum.
Plumlee is entering his 14th NBA season, and the structure of the deal gives the Kings some flexibility while they sort through their frontcourt plans. The contract is prorated and carries a guarantee date of January 10, with Sacramento needing to waive him by January 7 to avoid the full salary becoming guaranteed, which keeps the focus on how long the team intends to keep him around. [Read more 🡒]