While the Sacramento missed out on the playoffs by a country mile, former members of the franchise are in it to win it. Mike Brown has coached the Knicks to one East Semi-Final, while Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis are in the other with the Cavs. And a faceoff between them is definitely possible.
Sacramento is in the midst of a rebuild that will hopefully turn them into a playoff team down the road. That's way down the road, of course, as there is an almost impossible amount of work to do. The NBA isn't making that work any easier with their proposed anti-tanking changes to the draft.
In the meantime, the Kings have made some moves. That includes turfing their former head coach Mike Brown, a change that ended with him getting signed on by the New York as their new head coach. Now, he and the Knicks will face the Sixers in one Eastern Conference semi-final.
Schroder and Ellis are in a similar position. The Kings traded them to the Cavs right before the 2026 deadline. Now, they're in the other Eastern Conference semi-final against the Pistons. Schroder is getting more minutes than Ellis, who sat out the last three games of the series.
Former Kings may throw down in the East Finals
What makes this even more interesting is the fact that the Cavaliers and the Knicks could end up facing each other in the Eastern Conference Finals. It's not a sure thing, of course, as they both have difficult opponents in their respective semi-finals matchups. Still, it would be interesting.
Assuming they get past the Pistons and the Sixers, watching the Knicks and the Cavs face off would actually be a solid finals match in the East. Both teams have heavy-hitters on their roster that could potentially go off. There's a real chance that this happens, which could be a little tough for Sactown.
Brown, Schroder, and Ellis are all relatively recent departures from the Kings. For some Sacramento fans, seeing them succeed with different teams could be a little infuriating. Not so much when it comes to Schroder, being that he was only a King for a few months.
It gets even worse if either the Knicks or the Cavaliers make the NBA Finals and take on the Spurs. Former Kings' point guard De'Aaron Fox is killing it with San Antonio and could be waiting for either of these teams if they also make the cut. And any of them winning their first titles would be rough.
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