Whatever it takes to win an NBA Championship, everyone seems to agree that the 2025-2026 Sacramento Kings simply do not have it. Jeff Teague, a former player and current podcaster, recently pointed out that the team needs a young star to build around. No kidding, Teague.
It's an incredibly obvious thing to say, but that doesn't make Teague incorrect. He played in the NBA from 2009 to 2021, winning a championship in his final season as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. He is now part of the Club 520 podcast, which discusses the NBA. He knows a little something.
In a recent episode analyzing the Kings' preseason opener loss to the Toronto Raptors, Teague discussed the ongoing woes Sacramento is facing that will follow them into this season. He broke it down to one missing piece of the puzzle, specifically a young star.
Teague mentioned Sabonis as a current star, but also that he has five years of good basketball left at most. He also brought up Keegan Murray, who was supposed to be that young star when he was drafted in 2022. That potential has yet to materialize and won't anytime soon, thanks to his injury.
The future of the Kings
When looking at Teague's comments, there is no lie detected. The top players for the Kings are either past their prime or are never going to live up to their full potential. The front office needs to start planning for the next draft, which, it honestly looks like they already have.
The most recent draft went pretty well for the team. Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford were both great picks. Dylan Cardwell went undrafted, but the Kings made a smart move by signing him to a contract. Any one of them could be the star Sacramento needs moving forward.
Keeping those players in mind, that's not exactly what Teague means.
What Teague is talking about is a signature rookie like Cooper Flagg, someone who is going to be dominant from the get-go. To find someone like that, the Kings will have to get their hands on a high lottery pick in the range of first, second, or third. Easy as pie, right?
That means the team needs to either get really lucky or make some big trades. Sacramento has limited trade capital, but they may be able to put something together using some combination of Sabonis, DeRozan, Schroder, Murray, and maybe even Ellis. It could work.