In the last week, the Sacramento Kings have made some impressively questionable decisions, which is saying a lot for this franchise. While this might not have been their intention at first, the Kings essentially traded Nique Clifford to clear space for Mason Plumlee. The rebuild is officially cooked.
One of the first things Scott Perry did after taking over as the Kings' general manager was draft Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud. He also signed Dylan Cardwell shortly after that same draft in 2025. It was a successfull start to his reign as all three players became serious building blocks for his rebuild.
That was success number one. Getting managing co-owner Vivek Ranadive on board with the rebuild was the second. Even more impressive was Perry getting Ranadive to step back as he's long been known as a micro-manager who meddles with every aspect of the franchise, mostly for worse.
The rebuild continued to find success in 2026 with the drafting of Emanuel Sharp, Alex Karaban, and Darius Acuff Jr. Going into 2026-2027, the outlook for the Kings wasn't great, but a lot of people saw growth on the horizon. Now, a series of bizarre moves have utterly tanked any rebuild momentum.
What are the Kings even trying to do?
Recently, Sacramento made the decision to trade Clifford. While he definitely had work to do, there had been drastic improvements in his game. This was on display in the Kings' first preseason game in October. Apparently, that wasn't enough for them as he essentially disappeared from the rotation.
Trading Clifford meant that the Kings had to sign someone to make the 14 person roster minimum. What they needed to do was sign another point guard to backup Acuff. Instead, they signed a veteran center in Plumlee. Apparently, the four centers they already had weren't enough.
For all intents and purposes, the Kings traded away a great developmental 3&D prospect to make room for an aging center who averaged less than two points per game last season. It's safe to say that the rebuild is dead in the water as the Kings are back to making insane decisions that defy logic.
Clifford is now on the Thunder, the team who originally drafted him before the Kings traded for him on draft night. He will likely excel in their developmental system, becoming another in a long line of Kings' mistakes and missed opportunities. Plumlee will end up a fourth-string center on a basement team.
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