THE SACRAMENTO KINGS were an NBA-worst 14-50 in early March, planted in prime position for a guaranteed top-five pick in a loaded draft. But rather than embracing the tank -- such as multiple other teams did down the stretch -- the Kings kept active a few of their productive veterans, leaned into their improving youth and generated enough momentum to win eight of their final 18 games.
It could be categorized as their best and most self-destructive stretch of basketball of the season.
Because of the surge, the Kings leapfrogged the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers in the standings and tied the Utah Jazz at 22 wins on the final weekend of the regular season. In that span, those four teams combined for only 11 wins, racing past the Kings in the final season where full-on tanking was incentivized, before the NBA's lottery reforms kick in for the 2027 draft.
A week after the regular-season finale, the Jazz won a tiebreaker over the Kings for the fourth slot in the lottery. The following month, Utah used its improved positioning to jump to the No. 2 pick, eventually selecting Kansas guard Darryn Peterson. The Kings, meanwhile, stumbled to No. 7.
"Sometimes you need a little racing luck," general manager Scott Perry told ESPN last week.
Even though the Kings didn't get racing luck in the lottery, they still believe they got lucky on draft night.
Perry's affinity for Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff Jr. was an open secret in the league in the weeks leading up to the draft on June 23. Nobody internally is claiming Acuff was first on the Kings' final big board, but he was certainly ranked higher than seventh and, league sources said, the team's dream scenario outside of the consensus top-four prospects.
Perry ignored what the Kings' front office viewed as smokescreens from the LA Clippers (No. 5) and the Nets (No. 6), believing they didn't need to trade up to land Acuff. The local fanbase embraced the idea, roaring at the draft watch party when the Clippers went with Illinois guard Keaton Wagler and the Nets followed with Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr., leaving Acuff on the board. The desire for a partnership was mutual.
"I heard the noise [about how much they wanted me]," Acuff told ESPN at summer league last month. "I wanted to be a part of this team and this organization."
Acuff, who turns 20 in November, steps into a rare position for an NBA teenager -- his fast-tracked development has become the focal point of the Kings rebuild, entering its second season under Perry. Success will be viewed through the lens of his growth, not the stats and career arcs of those around him.
That's a tricky dynamic on a roster populated with established veterans, including Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine, their two highest-paid players -- who the team considered trading before ultimately deciding to move on, given the tepid markets. Now, Acuff, a high-usage, score-first point guard with passing chops, is about to get the keys to an offense at a time when Sabonis and LaVine are attempting to recharge their careers and reestablish their value, either in Sacramento or elsewhere, depending on how this season goes.
"The point guard is a quarterback," Perry said. "So when you come in as a rookie, you're not just coming in trying to figure out how far you can get your own game. You've got to be a student and concerned and understanding of everybody around you. There's a different expectation with that position.
"So there's going to be a lot on his plate."
IT WASN'T LONG ago that Sabonis, 30, was seen as the centerpiece of what appeared to be a successful Kings rebuild. Sacramento's previous general manager, Monte McNair, struck a shocking February 2022 deadline deal, sending a young Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers to acquire Sabonis and pair him with De'Aaron Fox.
It was a highly criticized move, but it generated the most success the Kings have had in nearly two decades: Sabonis was an All-Star in his first full season in Sacramento, finishing seventh in MVP voting, earning third-team All-NBA honors and leading the Kings to 48 wins.
The Kings hired a coach, Mike Brown, they believed would run an offense conducive to Sabonis as a high-post, dribble handoff hub. They renegotiated and extended Sabonis' contract a year earlier than needed, prioritizing his desires while the regime that traded for him remained intact.
But that era fell apart rapidly. The Kings went from 48 wins to 46 the following season, but that two-win difference was enough to drop them from third to ninth in the Western Conference. Brown was fired 31 games into the following season, and Perry arrived as GM in April 2025, inheriting a roster he intended to slowly deconstruct, unbeholden to the past personnel decisions.
Perry sat with Sabonis in his office for two hours the same week he took over the job and the two have maintained a transparent relationship since, team sources said. That included open dialogue about the trade opportunities that could benefit both sides over the past year.
The Kings nearly traded Sabonis to the Toronto Raptors at the deadline in February -- a move he would've welcomed, a source with knowledge of the situation said -- for a package that included RJ Barrett, but the Raptors were unable to get off the three-year, $84 million remaining on Jakob Poeltl's contract, which doomed the deal.
Sabonis had season-ending surgery on a partially torn meniscus later that month, and the Kings revisited trade talks surrounding him this summer. Perry visited with restricted free agent center Jalen Duren in early July and explored the idea of a sign-and-trade swap of big men, but the Detroit Pistons balked at the idea of losing Duren for Sabonis, league sources said.
There were predraft conversations about Sabonis with the Charlotte Hornets (who held pick Nos. 14 and 18) and at least one phone call with the Boston Celtics, team and league sources said, but nothing materialized. In Charlotte's case, the idea would've been to pair Sabonis with point guard LaMelo Ball, but the franchise instead opted to trade Ball for draft picks and lean further into a youth movement.
So Sabonis -- with two years and $94 million remaining on his current contract -- returns to the Kings and, team sources said, has expressed a willingness to recommit and buy-in to this season's team.
Acuff said Sabonis texted him a couple of days after he was drafted, welcomed him to the team and expressed excitement about their offensive potential together.
"Sabonis is a great player," Acuff said. "An All-Star level player. Just to play with a guy like that, that'd be a blessing for sure."
Sabonis made it a point to travel to Las Vegas and sit with the Kings' front office personnel courtside for one of their summer league games. Last week, he visited Perry in Sacramento for another meeting about their future together and the mutually beneficial need for him to play well.
Sabonis became extension-eligible in July, but offering a new contract isn't currently being explored, team sources said. He switched representation to CAA Sports last week.
"He's going to play hard," Perry said. "I don't think he knows any other way to play. So regardless of what may or may not have been, when Domas locks in, he's going to come and compete. That's my expectation. We need the best version of him this year and for him to accomplish whatever goals and objectives he has as a player for the remainder of his career, he knows he's got to play."
THE PAIRING OF Sabonis and Fox ended in February 2025, when Fox asked out and was eventually shipped to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal.
LaVine, 31, was the centerpiece return of that trade, arriving in Sacramento at a time when controlling owner Vivek Ranadive had taken control of personnel power and made a frantic attempt to remain competitive late that regular season, team sources said. Instead, the Kings went 15-18 the rest of the way, falling in the play-in tournament for the second consecutive season.
LaVine was limited by injuries to 39 games last season and averaged just 19.2 points, his lowest since his first season in Chicago (2017-18). He was the 16th-highest paid player in the league and entered the summer facing a decision of his $48.9 million player option. Perry, while exploring avenues to fast-track a rebuild and get LaVine to a winning environment at this stage of his career, tested his market at the deadline and would've been amenable to sign-and-trade possibilities this summer.
But nothing appetizing enough materialized and LaVine opted in, leaving him as a big-ticket expiring contract entering the season. The Kings have no interest in buying out his contract, and he's expected to be a major part of the rotation entering the season. His value as a trade deadline option and unrestricted free agent next summer will be determined by his effectiveness.
LaVine, like Sabonis, reached out to Acuff after the draft, visited the summer league team in Las Vegas and has expressed excitement about sharing the court with the rookie point guard as he aims for a bounce-back season.
"An excellent gesture," Perry said. "It's important that the veterans that are around not only can show or offer constructive criticism or constructive feedback to a young player like him. It's also incumbent upon them to encourage, welcome and help fast-track his growth as well too in this particular situation."
IN RECENT NBA history, a team in the Kings' position -- coming off a 22-win season and not having a guaranteed superstar to build around -- might be looking to tank. But Sacramento has no intention to pull the plug, believing better health and an improving layer of youth could lead to a more encouraging record in a leaguewide environment that doesn't reward winning as much anymore.
"I hate that word [tank]," Perry said.
Sacramento did offload one notable veteran this offseason, waiving the partially guaranteed contract of DeMar DeRozan, which significantly lowered their luxury tax bill. And they could make another veteran addition.
The Kings still have an open roster spot and have had discussions with guards Russell Westbrook and Victor Oladipo about filling it, league sources said.
Westbrook averaged 29 minutes in 64 games for the Kings a season ago. Perry said the former league MVP "outplayed" the minimum contract Sacramento can offer him, so it remains to be seen whether Westbrook would desire a reunion and a presumably smaller role behind Acuff. The Kings, however, value Westbrook's serious, disciplined approach and believe his work habits and mindset could benefit Acuff's growth.
Oladipo, meanwhile, is trying to work his way back to the NBA after injuries derailed an All-Star career. He hasn't appeared in an NBA game since April 2023, reviving his career in a 15-game G League stint last season. Perry and assistant GM BJ Armstrong attended an Oladipo workout in Las Vegas last month, and Oladipo later visited Sacramento for a private workout, team sources said.
The Kings have also maintained interest in unrestricted free agent wing Jonathan Kuminga, but unlike last summer, they have been hesitant to get into sign-and-trade conversations, as such a move would hard cap them at the first apron. Without such a move with the Atlanta Hawks, they would have only a minimum to offer, so those talks have gone nowhere, league sources said.
Perry and the Kings are instead focused on the patient development of Acuff and their young core, including second-year players Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford and Dylan Cardwell, while nudging expectations upward -- slightly -- and waiting for extra roster flexibility that will finally arrive next summer after LaVine's contract expires.
Coach Doug Christie received a vote of confidence at the end of the season from the franchise's decision-makers, but he only has one more guaranteed year left on his contract. Perry expects "a jump in development" from Christie, just as he does from the young players on the roster.
"Be better in Year 2 than Year 1," Perry said. "So that's the expectation -- that in Year 2, we have established a standard where when you come and see the game, you say, 'OK, that's what King's basketball looks like.' That's the first thing that has to be established. With that, you expect to win more games than [the 22] you won a year ago. I think that both of those are very realistic and those are clear expectations."