This season was supposed to be Keegan Murray's big return to the Sacramento Kings. Instead, he's back in the IR list with ankle issues and will be revaluated in two weeks. Murray's situation is declining rapidly, which is enough to make fans wonder what his future with the Kings might actually look like.
Going into the 2025-2026 season, two things happened with Murray, both of them rather impactful on the Kings. He signed a five-year extension worth roughly $28 million per year. In addition to that, the injuries that kept him on the bench for the vast majority of last season started.
In the end, Murray only played 23 games for the Kings last season, and that wasn't even the first year of his extension. That started with the 2026-2027 season. The first problem was a left thumb issue that required surgery. After that, the issues with his left ankle started and things went downhill.
Murray's ankle problems hold him back
First, he badly sprained his left ankle and was out of action for several weeks. Then, Murray made his return, but reinjured the same ankle only three game later. That effectively ended his season as he eventually required arthroscopic ankle surgery in mid-May, and has been recovering ever since.
His usage during the preseason was limited at best, and he never really looked like himself. A lot of people wrote that off as Murray's usual level of on-court inconsistency. Instead, his ankle was still causing him problems. It turns out that his ankle situation is worse than most people knew.
Murray has been diagnosed with left ankle capsulitis, which is the fancy way of saying he has joint inflammation that makes his ankle stiff and sore. As it stands right now, he will be on the shelf for at least two weeks. A return will be defined by the status of his ankle, though he could miss more time.
Future of Murray in Sactown
There's a lot riding on the next couple of weeks, both for Murray and Sacramento. If his ankle isn't healing, additional rest, rehabilitation, and potentially even surgery could keep him on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. That means the Kings keep moving their rebuild forward without him.
If this becomes a long-term issue Murray never fully recovers from that ends his career, the Kings have options to move on. None of them are good options, but they have them. Hopefully, this situation will not come to that and Murray will recover over the coming weeks.
Depending on how all of this plays out, the Kings should look into trading Murray. He isn't looking like the key foundational piece Sacramento needs him to be. Once he's healthy again, it may be time to look for a trade deadline deal that gets Murray off the Kings' books.
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