The Sacramento Kings are deep into a rebuild, and after a 22-win season, there’s no pretending otherwise. The reset is already underway, with the franchise reshaping its young core around seventh-overall pick Darius Acuff Jr., and that gives a clear starting point for looking three years down the road.
The long view matters here because Sacramento still has room to keep adding talent. Tyran Stokes and Caleb Holt are among the names on the team’s radar for the 2027 NBA Draft, while Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and CJ Rosser are among the top prospects in 2028. But for now, the focus stays on the players already in the building and what their best-case starting five could look like by 2029-30.
That projected group is Darius Acuff Jr., Emanuel Sharp, Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell.
There are obvious questions baked into that lineup, but the idea is that time should answer them. Emanuel Sharp, a 2026 second-round pick, could carve out a starting role if his game grows into the kind of 3-and-D profile that fits cleanly next to Acuff Jr. In that setup, Sharp becomes the kind of backcourt piece every young point guard wants beside him.
The frontcourt picture is just as interesting. Maxime Raynaud, who is coming off an All-Rookie season as the Kings’ center, may eventually be better suited to a power forward role if Sacramento wants him sharing the floor with Cardwell.
Raynaud has the tools to function as a Domantas Sabonis-like offensive hub, especially if his jump shot keeps coming along. Cardwell, meanwhile, is the paint anchor - the rim-protector and rebounder the Kings need to steady everything behind him.
Dylan Cardwell undrafted rookie defensive tape https://t.co/h6BnTsW40y pic.twitter.com/nYkoRgvo8W
There are other names in the mix, too. Nique Clifford, Alex Karaban and Precious Achiuwa - if he re-signs after his two-year contract expires - all have a case to be part of the conversation. But if Sacramento is building around Acuff Jr. and Keegan Murray, the cleanest fit is for Sharp, Raynaud and Cardwell to develop into starters alongside them.
And that is the whole thing for the Kings. The rebuild only matters if Acuff Jr. becomes the franchise point guard they believe he can be. The team has pieces around him, but the seventh-overall pick has to hit.
With De'Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan out of Sacramento, and Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis likely to join them as former Kings soon, the organization is clearly moving toward a younger core. Clifford, Sharp, Raynaud, Karaban and Cardwell all give the Kings something to dream on. But if Acuff Jr. doesn’t become the star at the center of it all, the rest of the group won’t mean much.
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Kings Face A Brutal Reality Fans Know All Too Well
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Rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr. is the face of that next wave, and the hope in Sacramento is that development and chemistry can make the gap between expectation and reality a little less bleak. The forecast itself leaves room for that possibility, suggesting the Kings could land closer to 25 wins if the right pieces stay healthy and start fitting together, which at least gives this roster something more concrete to chase than another long season of empty nights. [Read more 🡒]