Much like the front office's of every other basement-dwelling team in the league, the Sacramento Kings are holding their collective breaths until the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. The latest FanSided mock draft has them going with Nate Ament, but he might be too much of a project for the Kings to handle.
When it comes to the draft lottery, the Kings have been slipping down the list rather rapidly. They've gone from top three to fifth to seventh to ninth. And those last couple of drops came after the season was over, so it's hard to say what's pushing them further down the rankings.
Regardless, FanSided now has the Kings picking ninth. While that seems like the end of the world, it really isn't. The 2026 NBA Draft will be absolutely loaded with top tier talent throughout the first round and into the second. That's good because the Kings also have a pair of second round picks this year.
In the 2025 NBA Draft, general manager Scott Perry did great work with the 13th and 42nd picks, selecting Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud respectively. This year, he has three chances to work his magic in a draft with an even deeper talent pool than 2025 had.
Nate Ament may not be the Kings' guy
FanSided has Sacramento using their projected ninth pick to select Nate Ament, a forward out of Tennessee. It's not the first time Ament's name has been connected to the Kings in a mock draft, and he would be a better fit than someone like Mikel Brown Jr. Ament still might not be the right choice.
As his recent college campaign came to an end, Ament was waffling on whether he would declare for the draft or not. The reason seemed to be a rough season that pushed him out of the top five. In the end, he chose to enter the draft, though he could use another year in college ball to polish his game.
Ament is a sizable wing with a great touch and high release on mid range shots. Plus, he's a better defender than a lot of other players in his category. That being said, he has a number of red flags, such as his inability to create separation and finish at the rim. He's also not great from three.
The Kings would be far better off with Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, an NCAA Champion projected to go 13th. He is a versatile player who could be an instant asset to Sacramento rather than another project to work on. Sacramento already has Devin Carter for that.
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