The Sacramento Kings are heading toward the 2026-2027 season with a clear present and a very different future sitting on the same roster.
For now, the most likely opening five looks veteran-heavy, with Domantas Sabonis, De'Andre Hunter, Keegan Murray, and Zach LaVine joined by rookie point guard DariusAcuff. That group makes sense on paper.
It gives the Kings players who already know how to function at this level, even if the shared experience is still limited. It also helps keep the early load from falling too hard on the younger pieces who are still finding their footing.
Acuff is the exception to that safety net. The rest of the young core can keep growing without carrying the entire weight of the franchise just yet, but he is stepping into a much bigger spotlight right away.
Still, the Kings are not building only for the short term. This roster already includes the outline of the next starting five, and that may be the most encouraging part of where Sacramento stands. Scott Perry has done well on the draft front, and the organization now has a collection of young players with real upside.
That next group could look like this: Darius Acuff Jr. at point guard, Emanuel Sharp at shooting guard, Alex Karaban at small forward, Maxime Raynaud at power forward and Dylan Cardwell at center.
Raynaud and Cardwell already showed enough last season to strengthen the case. Acuff, Sharp and Karaban are expected to do the same in 2026-2027. The bigger idea is that they are not just developing individually; they are growing together, and that kind of shared progression is exactly what Sacramento needs from this stage of the rebuild.
There is more young talent in the mix too, with Nique Clifford, Daeqwon Plowden, Jonathan Mogbo and Adam Flagler all giving the Kings more to work with. Mogbo, in particular, is viewed as someone the front office should keep around for the long haul.
Of course, none of this is locked in. Some of these players may not hit.
Others could end up on the move as the rebuild keeps taking shape. But the current roster gives Sacramento a reason to feel good about what comes next, especially if the team eventually reaches the point where it can shop in free agency.
In Other News...
Kings Cost Cutting Move Looks Worse With Another Toronto Payoff
What looked like a straightforward cost-cutting move for Sacramento last summer has aged in an increasingly awkward way. The Kings sent Sasha Vezenkov and Davion Mitchell to Toronto for Jalen McDaniels and two second-round picks, a deal that was supposed to help reshape the roster while trimming money from the books, but the return has done little to quiet second-guessing.
Vezenkov eventually headed back to Europe after a buyout with the Raptors, while Toronto turned those picks into Alijah Martin and Jamal Shead, with Shead already landing a three-year contract extension. Mitchell, meanwhile, is now with the Miami Heat and appears to be their starting point guard, another reminder that Sacramentos decision moved on from a useful guard while Toronto kept finding ways to turn the deal into more value. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Linked To Young Shooter Who Could Fit Steve Kerr Perfectly
Jordan Hawkins is suddenly on the market after a fast-moving stretch that saw the former UConn standout, taken 14th overall by New Orleans in 2023, traded to Memphis and then waived. It is a reminder that first-round pedigree only goes so far in the NBA, especially for a young guard whose biggest selling point is still the same one that got him drafted in the first place: the ability to space the floor and punish defenses when the shot is falling.
For a team like the Kings, who have long valued offense and perimeter creation, a player such as Hawkins at least fits the profile of a low-risk flier with upside. Sacramento is not alone in that thinking, either, with Dallas and Golden State also mentioned as logical landing spots for the same reason: each could use shooting, each could give him a clear role, and each offers a style of play that might finally help him settle in as a reliable NBA weapon. [Read more 🡒]
De'Andre Hunter Suddenly Looks Like A Huge Kings X Factor
De'Andre Hunter has barely had a chance to show what he can mean for Sacramento since arriving in last Februarys trade, and the injury that cut his first season short only made the wait longer. With preseason opening on the horizon, the Kings finally have a healthier version of the wing in camp, and Hunter says he is ready to play after spending much of his early tenure sidelined.
For Sacramento, that matters because Hunter brings exactly the kind of two-way flexibility the roster can use, especially on a team trying to get more versatile on defense without sacrificing scoring support. He spoke about that defensive versatility himself, and with an expiring contract in hand, he has a chance to make a strong early case that he can be more than a name in the middle of a trade package. [Read more 🡒]