With the regular season winding down and no postseason in sight, the Sacramento Kings are only a few games away from golfing in Cancun. But the front office has a lot of work to do in the offseason with the 2026 NBA Draft coming up and determining how that will impact their free agency decisions.
The Kings are looking at 10 players entering free agency in one form or another after the end of 2025-2026. That includes Zach LaVine, who has a player option worth nearly $50 million coming up. Another team playing him that kind of money is unlikely, so he'll probably be hanging around.
Leaving LaVine out of the conversation, that still leaves nine players the Kings need to have a strategy for. There are a few unrestricted free agents Sacramento will likely let walk. There are others who are likely in the running for contract extensions or upgrades from two-way contracts.
All of these moves will have to fit into the larger rebuild strategy being spearheaded by general manager Scott Perry. That being said, some of those free agent decisions will inevitably be impacted by what happens at the 2026 NBA Draft. It could be a game-changer for the Kings.
The next step in the Kings' rebuild is coming up quickly
As it stands right now, Sacramento has one first-round draft pick and two in the second round. The NBA Draft Lottery is coming up on May 10th. Currently, the expectation is that the Kings should garner a pick in the top five, being that they are likely to finish as the fourth-worst team in the league.
That means three new rookies for the Kings. The first-rounder will likely end up with a full NBA contract, while the two second-rounders will likely be two-way contracts. Including three existing two-way players, the Kings have a total of 18 active roster members. That means cuts.
The first step in deciding who stays, who goes, and who gets which contract will be getting through the draft. Once that is completed, the Kings will have a much clearer vision of what they have to work with. After that point, real decisions can be made about the futures of their free agents.
Hopefully, players like Devin Carter, who has a team option coming up, and Daeqwon Plowden, whose two-way contract is wrapping up, will stay. Both of them have proven themselves since the trade deadline. The Kings need to make hard choices, just not dumb ones.