After a dismal 2025-2026 season, Sacramento Kings fans are hoping for a major turnaround in 2026-2027. That's not happening. The Kings have a long way to go before this rebuild starts taking shape, and that's not a bad thing. Still, it's more likely that the Kings will get worse before getting better,
No fanbase wants to look at a 22 and 60, and think that the situation is not as bad as it could possibly get. Keep in mind that this was the Kings' second worst record since moving to Sacramento in 1985. The worst was 2008-2009 when the Kings went 17 and 65. It was pretty low bar to get over.
The Kings have started a rebuild process, which began with the hiring of Scott Perry as their new general manager. His first draft for the Kings in 2025 was a huge success as the team selected Nique Clifford in the first round, Maxime Raynaud in the second, and signed the undrafted Dylan Cardwell.
These three rookies, alongside Devin Carter, Daeqwon Plowden, Precious Achiuwa and Russell Westbrook, started picking up steam. Now, the 2026 Draft looms with three picks coming, not to mention free agency. There's acutal reason to hope in Sacramento, but it needs time to develop.
Patience is everything in the Kings' rebuild
There's not doubt that the Kings' are starting to trend in the right direction, and that there are opportunities on the horizon to improve their situation. That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of obstacles in the way, including three veteran contracts putting them in money troubles.
Sacramento has massive payroll problems and they need to make cuts, specifically Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan. Those three contracts are pushing the Kings into the second apron, which could cost the franchise in a variety of ways that will slow down the rebuild.
Over the course of the summer, the Kings will try to trade all three of them. If that doesn't work out, buyouts for DeRozan and LaVine are on the table, but Sabonis will likely end up around for another season. The other option is to just let them stay until their contracts expire.
Until these three players have moved on to other franchises, the rebuid will be reduced to a crawl. This means next season could easily be as bad as 2025-2026, if not worse. At the same time, these are growing pains many rebuilding teams have gone through and survived. So will the Kings.
