Fans of the Sacramento Kings are incredibly loyal, but they've also been conditioned to accept failure. That's what has made the last couple of weeks so confusing for them. The rebuild is taking shape, and there is actual hope for the future of this franchise. Next season will be something new.
While it wasn't official yet, this whole rebuild process started with Scott Perry becoming the new general manager of the Kings in April 2025. This rebuild is happening because he made the move to Sacramento and then convinced managing co-owner Vivek Ranadive to make it happen.
Then, Perry executed one of the most successful drafts the Kings have ever seen. In 2025, he turned one first-round pick and one second-round pick into Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud. He followed that up by signing the undrafted Dylan Cardwell to a two-way contract. All three were great choices.
On top of that, he signed Daeqwon Plowden to a two-way contract and brought in then free agent Precious Achiuwa. The rebuild hadn't officially started even by the point Achiuwa was signed, and Perry was already establishing the foundations for it. That is long-term planning at its finest.
Perry's 2026 moves have been even more impressive
So far, the 2026 offseason has been a masterclass by Perry in rebuilding a team with minimal resources. Keep in mind that the Kings still have to work around the contracts of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan. Moving on from them will take time, but it will eventually happen.
In the meantime, Sacramento came up huge in the 2026 NBA Draft. They signed the point guard of their dreams in Darius Acuff Jr. as well as a great shooting guard in Emanuel Sharp. The Kings also made a trade-day move that secured Alex Karaban, a two-time national champion UCONN forward.
In addition to that, Perry re-signed Achiuwa, gave Plowden the first standard NBA contract of his career, and signed both Jonathan Mogbo and Adam Flagler to two-way contracts. The team also had to let go of Devin Carter and Killian Hayes, but there are always going to be cuts in this process.
Sacramento is absolutely headed in the right direction. There is more work to do, including the official release of several free agents as well as completing some major trades. But where the Kings are right now is incredibly encouraging, and largely due to the influence of Perry.
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