The Sacramento Kings are running out of Summer League runway, and the final takeaway from the Las Vegas games is hard to miss: they need another ball handler behind Darius Acuff Jr.
Acuff is officially done for the summer after an uneven showing, but the talent was obvious. He flashed real scoring punch and passing ability, even if his defense and decision-making still need work. What the Kings didn’t get, though, was much help from anyone else in a lead-guard role.
That was the problem all along. Sacramento’s Summer League offense never really settled in. The wins in the California Classic came more from defense and timely shot-making than from any kind of consistent offensive rhythm.
Emanuel Sharp looked strong in his lane as a three-and-D player, but he does not project as a true point guard right now. There has been fresh buzz around Nique Clifford getting a look at point guard, but he still looks more like a 2/3 than someone who should be running the offense.
Isaiah Stevens and Adam Flagler also failed to separate themselves over the course of the exhibition games. They may keep developing, but it’s tough to bank on two-way players carrying much of the load once the regular season starts.
That’s where Malik Monk comes back into focus.
Scott Perry and the Kings’ front office have spent the offseason with veteran contracts in play, and DeMar DeRozan is already a free agent after being waived on his non-guaranteed deal. Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, and Monk remain on the roster, with chatter still lingering around LaVine and Sabonis. Monk, though, has been the quiet one.
Last season, his name was tied to the Detroit Pistons and Golden State Warriors. This summer, he has barely come up in trade talk at all. After watching what Sacramento has - and what it doesn’t - that silence may be telling.
Monk may not be the cleanest fit for what the Kings want defensively, but he is easily the best ball handler on the roster outside of Acuff. The two aren’t identical, but they do overlap in an important way: both can score, both can pass, and both can take pressure off everyone else. Monk would make sense as the bench piece who can reprise his sixth-man role and spell Acuff, while also keeping Doug Christie from needing to lean on Acuff for 30-plus minutes every night.
A different move could still come. Sacramento could add another point guard, and Monk could still end up on the block. But with the offseason winding down and Russell Westbrook looking like he will land with a new team, the options are thinning fast.
For now, the Summer League lesson is pretty clear: keeping Monk might be the best move the Kings can make.
In Other News...
Kings Summer League Already Created One Real Winner And One Concern
The Kings Summer League run has already offered a useful early snapshot of the roster battle ahead, with Sacramento taking the California Classic and its first game in Las Vegas before dropping the next two. Even in a small sample, there have been clear takeaways: second-round pick Emanuel Sharp has looked like the kind of two-way guard who can stick, bringing defense and shooting that have stood out in a crowded evaluation period.
The rest of the group has been more uneven, which is exactly why these games matter for a team trying to sort out the edges of its roster. Darius Acuff Jr. has flashed enough offense to keep people watching, but the defensive lapses that were part of the pre-draft conversation have shown up again, while Marquel Sutton and Dylan Cardwell have each given Sacramento reasons to keep them in the mix as the calendar moves toward the regular season. [Read more 🡒]
Kings May Already Be Turning The Page On Keegan Murray
Keegan Murray was supposed to be part of the Kings long-term core, and for a while that looked like a straightforward bet. Sacramento locked him in with an extension in October 2025, then kept pushing forward with a rebuild built around new draft picks, trades and signings, all while Murrays 2025-2026 season was interrupted by injuries and uneven play whenever he was available.
Now the bigger question is less about whether Murray can help and more about where he fits in a reshaped roster. The Kings are clearly searching for a new direction, and rookie point guard Darius Acuff is already getting attention as a possible centerpiece of that next era, which leaves Murray in an awkward middle ground: still valuable, especially on the defensive end, but no longer as easy to project as the future face of the franchise. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Loss Leaves Fans Asking One Big Question About This Approach
The Kings Summer League trip through Las Vegas has been less about the final score and more about figuring out what kind of identity this group can build on the fly, and Tuesdays 82-76 loss to Boston only sharpened that conversation. Sacramento dug itself a deep hole early at the Thomas & Mack Center, missing 18 of its first 19 shots and going scoreless for nearly seven minutes before finally finding a rhythm.
Alex Karaban gave the Kings a reason to keep pushing, finishing with 21 points and eight rebounds, and Sacramento even clawed back from a 16-point deficit to make things uncomfortable late. But Boston had the steadier answer when it mattered, with Hugo Gonzalez posting 24 points and 10 rebounds, leaving the Kings with another reminder that the margin for error is thin when the offense starts this slowly. [Read more 🡒]