The Sacramento Kings’ backcourt picture is getting murkier by the day, and Darius Acuff Jr. is right in the middle of it.
With Ben Simmons looking like a starter at one of the forward spots, the biggest question becomes simple: who is actually backing up Acuff at point guard? Sacramento brought Simmons in because it was short on floor generals, but if he’s opening games at power forward or small forward, he won’t be filling the role the Kings seemed to need most.
Acuff has given fans plenty to like in preseason. He’s flashed real scoring ability, even if the ride has included a few uneven stretches along the way.
The talent is obvious. The next step is cleaning up the playmaking and getting better at setting up teammates instead of looking for his own shot first.
That’s part of why Sacramento kept searching after drafting him. Malik Monk and Adam Flagler are still on the roster, but both are more natural shooting guards than true point guards.
Simmons, when healthy, can handle the position well, and his contract is relatively cheap. The catch is that he didn’t log much preseason time, and the Kings used him as a power forward rather than sliding him in at point guard.
The chatter around the league is that Sacramento plans to keep Simmons in the starting lineup once the regular season begins. That leaves the Kings needing another answer behind Acuff, and Simmons does not look like that answer if he’s already locked into a frontcourt role.
Monk and Flagler are still options in theory, but neither saw much action in the preseason, and Monk is apparently injured. Elfrid Payton would make sense if Sacramento keeps him around, since he could provide dependable minutes and serve as a useful veteran presence for Acuff. But that hinges on the “if” because nothing is settled yet.
Then there’s Nique Clifford, who may be the most interesting name in the mix. He’s not a natural point guard, but the Kings have been giving him reps there during the preseason. That could point to a longer-term plan to make him more versatile and, in turn, give the team another option behind Acuff.
For now, the Simmons situation raises more questions than it answers. Sacramento already had enough forwards on hand before bringing him in.
What it really needed was a second point guard. Maybe that was never the plan with Simmons in the first place.
In Other News...
Malik Monk Just Added Intrigue To The Kings' Rookie Guard Buzz
Darius Acuff Jr. arrives in Sacramento with a little more attention than most rookies usually get, and not just because he is beginning his first NBA season at 19. He is the Kings highest draft pick since 2022, which already gives him a built-in place in the teams long-term conversation, but the early buzz around him has picked up because of how quickly he appears to fit a style Sacramento can use.
Malik Monk added another layer to that intrigue by drawing a direct comparison between Acuffs movement, scoring instincts and overall approach to the game and his own. The difference, of course, is in the role: Monk worked his way into that kind of impact, while Acuff is expected to step right into a starting job from day one, giving the Kings a fresh young guard to watch closely as the season begins. [Read more 🡒]
Former Kings Big Mans Brutal 2026 Just Got Even Worse
Drew Eubanks offseason took another sharp turn after the former Kings big man landed with the Knicks for preseason work, only to suffer a torn pectoral muscle before the year even began. Sacramento had already moved on after the 2025-26 season, and now the veteran center is facing a far tougher road than anyone could have expected when he made his next stop.
The injury led New York to waive him, and there is no projected timetable for his return. With surgery and rehabilitation ahead, Eubanks is expected to miss the 2026-27 season, leaving his career in an uncertain place after a brutal stretch that has only gotten worse. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Face A Season-Long Tug Of War That Could Reshape Everything
The Kings are heading into the 2026-27 season with a familiar front-office balancing act, trying to stay competitive while also keeping one eye on what comes next. Sacramento has veteran pieces in place with Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, De'Andre Hunter and Malik Monk, but the bigger organizational priority is making sure the younger players on the roster get the kind of development that can actually matter beyond this year.
That creates a season-long tug of war inside the rotation and the roster itself. Sacramento is expected to manage the veterans contracts and roles with an eye toward eventual movement, while also giving rookies and sophomores the chance to grow into larger responsibilities. For a team that wants to avoid getting stuck in between eras, how those minutes are divided could end up shaping far more than just this season. [Read more 🡒]