In a season that just doesn't want to give the Sacramento Kings an inch of breathing room, the hits just keep coming. New acquisition De'Andre Hunter sustained a concerning eye injury against the Clippers, causing him to miss the rest of the game. It put the Kings in an all too familiar position.
With the trade deadline firmly in the NBA's collective rearview mirror, everyone knows what the Kings did, or more precisely, didn't do. Fans wanted to see big moves on players like Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine. The deals just weren't there, so the front office chose no trades over bad trades.
That being said, Sacramento did pull off one move. As part of a three-team deal, Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis, and Dario Saric all headed to greener pastures. In exchange, the Kings got De'Andre Hunter. The move also opened up room to offer Dylan Cardwell a proper NBA contract.
De'Andre Hunter (eye) won't return Friday for Clippers-Kings after being poked in the eye, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/CiSA5URBKs
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 7, 2026
In his second game with the Kings, Hunter was forced to leave early due to an accidental eye injury. With the second game of a back-to-back tonight, it remains to be seen if De'Andre will be available to play. It's also a prime example of the King's luck in 2025-2026.
Kings have had endless injuries this season
Since day one of the season, the Kings have been dealing with injuries. That's not an exaggeration. Both Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis missed the first game of 2025-2026 due to injuries. Sabonis was only out for one game, but Murray's injury kept him out for the first few weeks.
Then, Murray returned, and Sabonis was out for two months with his own injury issues. Not enough? Sabonis finally came back, but Murray is out again. To date, these two haven't played a single minute together in 2025-2026. And that doesn't count all the other players who have been injured.
Hunter's eye injury is yet another pothole in the Kings' path. This one hurts especially badly because he is so new to the team, and the coaching staff is still working out how he fits into what they're doing. They see him as a potential key player in the rebuild, but they need him on the court for that.
Hopefully, the eye injury isn't severe, and Hunter will recover quickly. Early indications seemed to be that he would be a good fit, and already looked to have something brewing with guys like Precious Achiuwa. It's just that losing a new player in less than two games is typical of the Kings.