The Sacramento Kings have spent the early part of summer building momentum, rolling through the California Classic undefeated and opening Vegas with another win before finally dropping one to the Washington Wizards last night. Darius Acuff Jr., Emanuel Sharp, Dylan Cardwell and Nique Clifford have grabbed most of the attention, but Marquel Sutton has forced his way into the conversation.
Sutton arrived in Sacramento after going undrafted, and at first he looked like just another body on the Summer League roster. That changed quickly. After a slow start, the LSU forward has turned into one of the team’s biggest surprises, and he’s at least made a strong argument for a camp invite.
His path is a familiar one for the Kings. Like former summer-King Isaac Jones, Sutton began in junior college before moving to Omaha for his sophomore year.
He then put together three productive seasons there, finishing with averages of 18 points and 8 rebounds per game before making the leap to LSU. The numbers dipped in the SEC, but the competition level did not.
LSU may not have been a powerhouse this season, but the conference itself is one of the toughest in the country, and that matters when evaluating a player coming from a weaker league.
At LSU, Sutton started all 32 games and averaged 13 points and 7 rebounds. He also began stretching his game beyond what he’d shown earlier in his career. Three-point shooting was never his calling card, but he increased his volume and showed a little more touch, even if 30% on 3.4 attempts per game still falls short of efficient.
The Kings have made a habit of uncovering undrafted talent, and that’s part of why Sutton is worth watching. Keon Ellis and Dylan Cardwell both arrived as undrafted two-way players before earning standard contracts, and Sutton is trying to work his way into that same lane. Summer League can fool people if they let it, but his value has shown up in the details as much as the scoring.
He barely played in Sacramento’s first California Classic game, logging about 10 minutes while coach Chris Darnell leaned on the top of the rotation against the Brooklyn Nets. Once Darius Acuff, Jonathan Mogbo and Dylan Cardwell sat in the second game, Sutton got a real chance to show what he could do. He responded with 16 points and 8 boards against the Golden State Warriors’ Blue squad, then took another step against the Milwaukee Bucks.
That was the game where he looked less like a nice story and more like a player who belongs. Sutton finished with 24 points, hit 4 of 8 from three and added two blocks in 33 minutes.
The shot-making stood out, but so did everything around it. He kept moving, found open pockets and gave his teammates a clean outlet.
For a team with a rookie point guard in line to take over, that kind of off-ball activity matters. It also made life easier for Darius Acuff against the Bucks, and that sort of play is hard to ignore.
On paper, Sutton fits what Sacramento needs at the end of the bench. He’s listed at 6’8”, and even if the hot shooting doesn’t last, there are other numbers that point to usefulness in short bursts. His 3.7 BPM at LSU last season and sub-8 % turnover percentage suggest a player who can help without creating extra problems.
The roster picture is the obstacle. Sacramento is at 13 of 15 standard contracts and already has its three two-way spots filled by Mogbo, Isaiah Stevens and Adam Flagler. That makes it difficult to carve out a place for Sutton unless the Kings make a different move, such as converting one of their current two-way players, like Mogbo or Stevens, to a standard deal and opening a two-way slot.
For now, the more realistic path may be a camp invitation and a longer look against veterans who aren’t in Summer League. Sutton is 23, so the Kings may be more patient with him than they would be with a 19-year-old rookie. The climb is still steep, and Scott Perry and the front office still have decisions to make, but Sutton has done enough to keep himself in the picture.
In Other News...
John Wall Just Sent Kings Fans A Big Darius Acuff Message
Darius Acuff Jr. has already drawn some real attention in Sacramento, and it is easy to see why the Kings are intrigued. The former Calipari guard arrived with a reputation as a promising young scorer, and he fits neatly into the kind of long-view talent evaluation teams lean on during Summer League, especially when a players ceiling seems to matter as much as the early returns.
John Wall only added to that buzz with the kind of endorsement that tends to travel fast around the league. A fellow Calipari alumnus and former NBA All-Star, Wall put Acuff in rare company as a scorer, which is the sort of praise that can stick with a young guard even as he continues to find his footing in Las Vegas. For Kings fans, it is another reminder that Acuffs name is already starting to come up in bigger conversations, even if the on-court production has not fully caught up yet. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Loss May Have Exposed A Bigger Problem Than Expected
The Kings perfect Summer League run ended in a 104-85 loss to Washington, and the scoreline came with a reminder that summer success can be fragile once the competition tightens. Maxime Raynaud still gave Sacramento plenty to like in his debut, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while the team also got a look at a two-big setup by starting Raynaud alongside Dylan Cardwell.
What stood out just as much was how quickly the game tilted away from Sacramento once Washington found rhythm and pressure. Darius Acuff Jr. had a rough shooting night, and the Kings never really solved the defensive issues that let the Wizards keep control, leaving this loss to feel less like a blip and more like a useful warning sign for what still needs cleaning up. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Just Gave An Undrafted Rookie A Real Chance To Impress
Elias Ralph has already taken a meaningful step toward a pro basketball future, landing a spot on the Kings Summer League roster after going through a workout with the team about a month earlier. The former Pacific forward, who went undrafted, said he is grateful for the chance and is treating the summer as a chance to learn, improve and show he belongs in a professional setting.
Ralph has not yet appeared in a Summer League game, and he was out during the California Classic, but the opportunity alone gives him a platform to keep building. For a player trying to turn a strong college run into a real career, the next stretch is about staying ready, absorbing everything he can and hoping the work eventually opens a door to a G League role and, down the line, an NBA roster spot. [Read more 🡒]