For the last few weeks, Victor Oladipo has been linked to the Sacramento Kings, and on the surface it’s the kind of name that makes you stop and think. There’s talent there.
There’s history there. But there’s also a roster problem that makes the fit look awkward from the jump.
The biggest issue is simple: Oladipo is still, at his core, a shooting guard. He can handle point guard duties in a pinch, but that has never really been his lane.
Sacramento, though, is already crowded at that spot. If you include two-way player Adam Flagler, the Kings would be looking at six shooting guards already - and Oladipo would make it seven.
That’s not the only red flag. Oladipo is 34, and his injury history is as heavy as it gets.
He hasn’t played in the NBA since 2023, after injuries pushed him out following the 2022-2023 season. He then spent two seasons recovering before playing 2025-2026 in the G League.
Now he’s trying to carve out another NBA landing spot.
It’s worth remembering why he was such a big deal in the first place. The Magic took him second overall in 2013 for a reason.
He was a force in college, especially on defense, and that defensive edge carried over once he settled into the league. His peak came in 2017-2018, when he earned his first of two All-Star selections.
That same year, he made the All-NBA Third Team and the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while also leading the NBA in steals and winning NBA Most Improved Player.
Even now, there’s still a basketball case for him. If Oladipo is anywhere close to his old self, he’d bring more defense than plenty of players on Sacramento’s roster.
But that’s exactly why this feels like such a gamble. The Kings would be betting on a player with a major injury question at a position where minutes are already tight and competition is already real.
The names he’d be battling for time with matter, too. Nique Clifford, Emanuel Sharp, and Daeqwon Plowden are all in that mix, and it’s fair to ask whether Sacramento would really carve out playing time for Oladipo ahead of them.
Nobody’s rooting against him. Plenty of people, myself included, would like to see Oladipo back in the NBA.
It just has to be the right team, with the right plan, and the right role. If Sacramento wants to be that team, it needs to know exactly how it would use him.
In Other News...
Kings Now Face Serious Off-Court Questions Involving Familiar Names
A civil lawsuit filed by former Sacramento Kings assistant athletic trainer Crystal Lee has put several familiar names back in the spotlight, this time far away from the court and the locker room. Lees complaint targets the Kings business entity and Senior Director of Athletic Health Jaspreet Randhawa, and it lays out allegations of pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination, adding another off-court matter for the franchise to navigate.
The Kings have denied all allegations and said they will vigorously defend themselves against the claims, but the filing also brings General Manager Scott Perry and Assistant Coach Doug Christie into the narrative, even though neither is named as a defendant. For a team trying to keep its focus on basketball, the broader concern is how far the dispute could reach and what else may come out as the case moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Now Face Serious Allegations About Their Workplace Culture
A former assistant athletic trainer has taken the Kings to court, turning a workplace dispute into a much larger test of the organizations culture and how it handles employee complaints. Crystal Lees lawsuit accuses the team and its senior director of athlete health, Jaspreet Randhawa, of pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination, with the filing alleging she was pushed down the ladder, cut out of her duties and ultimately fired after speaking up.
For a franchise that has worked to project stability, the case lands in a sensitive spot because it puts internal treatment of staff under a public microscope. The Kings have denied the allegations and say they will vigorously defend against them, but the claims raise the kind of questions that can linger well beyond the courtroom and force a closer look at how the workplace operates behind the scenes. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Backcourt Problem Has Jerry Reynolds Leaning One Way
The Kings still have a backcourt vacancy to sort through, and with limited financial flexibility and open roster spots on the table, the search for a veteran point guard has become one of the more practical questions of their offseason. Sacramento is expected to bring in incoming draft pick Darius Acuff Jr., but the need for someone who can steady the position behind him has kept Cameron Payne, Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo in the conversation as possible fits.
Former Kings general manager Jerry Reynolds weighed those names with an eye toward experience and what the team actually needs, and his view pointed in one direction. Payne and Payton offer different kinds of point guard seasoning, while Oladipo brings a broader resume that makes him a more complicated option, especially for a club trying to make a careful roster decision. For the Kings, the issue is not just adding another body at guard, but finding the right veteran presence without tying up resources they do not have to spare. [Read more 🡒]