The Sacramento Kings didn’t make much noise this offseason, but they did land one move that changes the conversation: drafting reigning SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff Jr. with the No. 7 overall pick.
That selection is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for Sacramento’s summer. Outside of Acuff, the roster has mostly stayed put, and part of that is tied to the money already committed to Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis. The two are set to make nearly $100 million combined this upcoming year, which naturally limits how much flexibility the Kings had to reshape things.
On Monday, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey handed Sacramento a B- for its offseason work, and his reasoning centered on Acuff’s upside.
"And even with relatively little action on the roster this summer, the Kings pass for simply lucking into Darius Acuff Jr. with the seventh overall pick," Bailey wrote. "His defense and shot selection appeared to need plenty of work at summer league, but he has star and lead playmaker potential. For a team without any other top-flight prospects, Acuff's scoring and passing will generate a lot of hope this season."
That hope is easy to understand. Acuff looks like a natural backcourt fit next to LaVine, giving Sacramento another high-level shot creator and passer in a spot where the Kings need both. The rookie’s efficiency wasn’t where it needs to be during the 2026 NBA Summer League, but the production still jumped off the page: 19 points, 5.3 assists and one steal per game.
The tape matched some of the numbers. Acuff repeatedly found teammates with sharp passes, especially when he was reading pick-and-roll coverage and kicking the ball out to shooters on the perimeter.
Sacramento’s biggest loss, though, is DeMar DeRozan. The six-time All Star is still a free agent after negotiating a buyout with his previous team, and a reunion with the Kings now looks unlikely. DeRozan gave Sacramento a steady veteran voice for its rookies last season, but with the team leaning younger and more guard-heavy, the fit has changed.
There is at least some upside on the wing. Keegan Murray and De'Andre Hunter are back after both missed significant time with injury last season, and that should help balance a roster that has been top-heavy in other areas.
For now, the Kings are stuck in evaluation mode. The front office is still sorting through how its veterans fit alongside the new pieces, and Bailey noted that Sacramento would have scored better had it found trades for DeRozan, LaVine and Sabonis. But he also pointed out the reality: there may not be suitors for any of them, which left the Kings to release DeRozan and keep the other two.
"Finding trades for DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis would've earned the Sacramento Kings more points, but there simply may not be any suitors for any of them. So Sacramento had to settle on releasing DeRozan and keeping the other two," Bailey wrote. "Ideally, one or both will play well enough between now and February for Sacramento to squeeze a little value out of them in deadline deals."
That’s where things stand in Sacramento: a quiet summer, one big rookie swing, and a roster still waiting to reveal what it really is. There are also lingering questions about LaVine and Acuff sharing the floor, especially on defense, and that conversation is already part of the Kings’ long-term picture.
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Hunter fits the cleaner basketball argument because he can help balance the lineup without crowding Sabonis, while Raynaud brings size and offensive skill but also some overlap with the All-Star center. There is real pressure on Sacramento to get this right, too, with the NBAs lottery changes making the old safety net of chasing position far less useful, which means Christies call is less about experimentation and more about finding the five that can win now. [Read more 🡒]