Sacramento Kings offseason recap, early 2026-27 season preview
The Sacramento Kings appear to have some direction heading into this season, with a bevy of young players ready to help steer the franchise into contention.
Sacramento is coming off its second-worst season in program history, going 22-60 in the Western Conference and sitting at the bottom of the standings for a majority of the regular season. However, recent draft picks Darius Acuff Jr. and Alex Karaban appear primed to help lead the youth movement the Kings hope will lift them out of the bottom of the West.
General manager Scott Perry will enter his second full season at the helm and will look toward veterans Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray to help guide the Kings, who haven't made the playoffs since breaking the 16-season drought in 2023.
ESPN's staff of experts is looking back at the offseason and taking an early look at the 2026-27 season for all 30 teams, with 30 pieces -- one for every team -- rolling out each weekday through Sept. 18. We're answering the biggest looming questions, evaluating X factors and much more.
Let's dive into the Kings, who made some important contract decisions this summer:
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Offseason at a glance
Key additions: GDarius Acuff Jr., FAlex Karaban, GEmanuel Sharp
Key subtractions:GDeMar DeRozan, GRussell Westbrook
Key retentions: FPrecious Achiuwa
Perry, currently in the organization's power seat, is continuing a steady transition toward the younger core he has drafted. Arkansas guard and No. 7 pick Acuff is the spotlight name on a roster populated with six players in their first two NBA seasons.
But they still have notable high-minute holdovers from the past regime, including Murray, Malik Monk, LaVine and Sabonis. Of those four, Murray appears the most locked-in as a stable member of the team's long-term vision. Perry explored trades for Monk, LaVine and Sabonis over the past year, but didn't value the proposed returns, and the three are expected to open the season in Sacramento.-- Anthony Slater
Zach Kram's offseason grade:C
The Kings saved money by trading 2024 lottery pick Devin Carter and waiving DeRozan, who had a partially guaranteed 2026-27 deal. But they've otherwise been inactive this summer.
At least they'll have more financial flexibility in future offseasons, with LaVine ($49.0 million) and De'Andre Hunter ($24.9 million) coming off the books next summer and Sabonis ($94.1 million over the next two seasons) set to reach free agency in 2028. -- Kram
What we learned this offseason
From Ben Golliver's offseason lessons piece:The Kings need to start worrying about draft relegation now.
The NBA instituted new rules governing its draft lottery that will kick in next season: The league's worst teams are subject to relegation. Instead of getting the best odds, as was the custom in previous years, the teams that finish with the three worst records will have only a 5.4% chance of landing the No. 1 pick. From there, each of the next seven teams will have an 8.1% chance.
The system is designed to discourage hardcore tanking and keep bad teams invested in winning late-season games. That all makes sense, but some teams can't help being bad and will pay the price under the new rules.
Sacramento is worth keeping an eye on in this conversation. The Kings finished with just 22 wins last season and made no major veteran additions via free agency or trades. They waived DeRozan -- who led them in total points and minutes last season -- and are counting on better health from star centerSabonis to boost their outlook. Remarkably, the Kings' top five contracts all look overly generous: LaVine, Sabonis, Hunter, Murray and Monk will somehow combine to earn more than $163 million in 2026-27.
Meanwhile, Sacramento used its lottery pick on Acuff, an intriguing lead guard who struggled with his scoring efficiency and defensive responsibilities in summer league. While Acuff could develop into a star, getting there will likely require a lot of patience.
In past years, the Kings could give the car keys to Acuff, go into tank mode and position themselves for another top-end talent in the draft. Next year? The Kings could easily find themselves in the relegation zone at the exact moment they can least afford it.-- Golliver
The big question: Can Sabonis and LaVine recharge their careers and regenerate value?
Sabonis and Perry met in Sacramento in late July and affirmed a recommitment from the former franchise center who faded into the background last season after a regime change and a torn meniscus. The Kings weren't able to find a workable Sabonis trade with the Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets or Detroit Pistons and will instead bring Sabonis back as the presumed starting center with two years left on his current contract, pairing him with Acuff.
LaVine, similarly, returns to the fold after an injury-riddled season and an inability to find an exit strategy that worked for both sides. He's on an expiring $48.9 million contract and, as the presumed starting shooting guard, should get an early-season runway to jolt back his value prior to the trade deadline and 2027 free agency. -- Slater
Basketball Power Index rank: No. 30
Here are the predicted Net Points per 100 possessions for the Kings' top seven players for the 2026-27 season:
The lone positive player projected for this team is Sabonis, who was bad and injured last season. Only Dylan Caldwell is projected to be better than minus-1.0 new points per 100 possessions. If you're looking for a positive here, Acuffaveraged plus-10.1 offensive net points per 100 possessions in college last year (schedule adjusted), which was second to Cameron Boozer among players with 750 minutes.-- DeanOliver
Read about how Net Points works here.
Biggest X factor this season
Murray is entering the first year of a five-year, $140 million extension, but he still hasn't taken the big, expected steps forward that would justify such a commitment. He certainly didn't do so last year, when he played only 23 games and made 28% of his 3s when available. The Kings are surely hoping he gets back on track in 2026-27.-- Kram
Fantasy insight from our experts
Rookie Acuff could finish as the top fantasy rookie from the 2026 class after landing with the Kings at No. 7. He averaged 23.5 points at Arkansas and will have a major role on a rebuilding Sacramento team. DeRozan is gone, Westbrook is retired and Sabonis remains a trade candidate, so there's a path for Acuff to become one of Sacramento's main scoring options.-- Eric Moody
Odds by DraftKings
at time of publication.
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