The Sacramento Kings are in a spot where doing less might be the smartest move on the board.
With the 2026 NBA Draft complete, Summer League wrapped up and free agency still moving, the Kings technically have room to add two more players. But the real play, according to the situation they’re in, is to leave those spots empty and avoid crossing a line that could create bigger problems later.
Right now, Sacramento has 16 players on its active roster. That breaks down to 13 on standard NBA contracts and three on two-way deals with the team’s G League affiliate.
On paper, that looks like space for two more bodies. In reality, the Kings are too close to the first apron to keep shopping without risking penalties that could make a rebuild even harder to manage.
That’s the key difference here. A team built to chase a title can absorb that kind of hit. Sacramento is not in that lane, and the source material makes the case that it can’t afford to act like it is.
There’s also a basketball reason to stay put. The Kings have a roster full of rookies, sophomores and players who are only now getting real NBA run.
Those guys need minutes, and they need a lot of them. Adding two more veterans into the mix would only crowd the rotation and take away the reps that matter most for development.
And the likely names for those open spots wouldn’t move the needle much anyway. Those places previously belonged to Drew Eubanks and Doug McDermott, and both players rarely saw the floor. Sacramento would be better served by putting that money, time and attention into other parts of the roster for now.
There’s also flexibility in waiting. Because salaries are prorated over the course of the season, they become cheaper later on. That gives the Kings a possible path to make additions closer to the trade deadline if the numbers and the fit line up.
In the meantime, the two-way players remain part of the picture. Jonathan Mogbo, Adam Flagler and Isaiah Stevens can still get chances with the main club, which only strengthens the case for keeping those final roster spots open.
For Sacramento, the cleanest move may also be the smartest one: don’t add anyone else.
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Keegan Murray is one of the biggest beneficiaries of that sorting process. After a stretch of experimentation, the current read on Sacramentos lineup points toward a more natural spot for him, one that could help define the rest of the rotation around him. The broader plan also asks for some tricky balancing, with the Kings weighing how to distribute minutes across the frontcourt and whether their preferred shape can hold up once the season starts and the roster is finally set. [Read more 🡒]