Not wanting to trade Darius Acuff Jr. makes a lot of sense. He's a strong rookie who is playing incredibly well. But the Sacramento Kings have indicated they are open to trading anyone else, which is a huge mistake. Players such as Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell are likely keys to the future.
The least fun part about this supposed rebuild the Kings are working through is that anything and everything is on the table, even if it makes no sense. It doesn't feel like there's any real strategy to this process, just Sacramento's front office reacting to whatever random stimuli cross their paths.
That's certainly been the case with their openness to trading anyone on the roster. One would hope that means they're only open to any reasonable offer. It's hard to believe that considering this is the same front office that just got fleeced by Sam Presti in the Nique Clifford trade.
To be fair, making Acuff off limits is the right call. There's no question that he's a core building block. At the same time, it's strange that Raynaud and Cardwell, a pair of standout rookies from last season, aren't also on that list. It makes me wonder what exactly the Kings are looking for at this point.
What's the plan, Scott?
The vision for this rebuild comes primarily from general manager Scott Perry, at least from what we know from the outside looking in. His drafting has been great so far. What the team does with those rookies hasn't been, as evidenced by the recent trade of a developmental prospect in Clifford.
Now, the Kings are reportedly open to trading away other rookies and sophomores. In addition to Raynaud and Cardwell, that appears to include Alex Karaban and Emanuel Sharp. Keep in mind that the Kings aren't actively shopping them around, just that they're open to inquiries on most players.
While Raynaud and Clifford started the season of with injuries, they more than proved their value in 2025-2026. Raynaud was a fixture on the Kia Rookie Ladder and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team. Cardwell went from undrafted to two-way player to full NBA contract in a few months.
Trading any more of their rookies and sophomores feels just as shortsighted and rash as the Kings moving on from Clifford so quickly. Hopefully, Sacramento sticks with these young stars, or they might just end up watching them succeed with another franchise the way Davion Mitchell has.
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