When the Sacramento Kings made the decision to sign Precious Achiuwa, they chose to release Isaac Jones. It was a stark reminder of why the Kings need this rebuild as they continue to favor veterans while letting the development of young talent slide, something that has cost them big.
Fans have watched the Kings essentially descend into madness over the past several seasons. The franchise has struggled to remain even remotely relevant thanks to poor roster construction and bad culture from the ownership all the way down through every level of the organization.
The breaking point seems to be the 2025-2026 season, which the Kings have opened with an abysmal record of three wins and 11 losses. That's not going to get better anytime soon thanks to a brutal schedule that has the Kings facing teams like the Thunder three times before New Year's Eve.
A big part of the reason Sacramento is in this position is because of their seeming inability to develop young players. They tend to focus on veterans over growing rookies, which has led to them making some bad choices. That includes recently letting Isaac Jones walk and keeping Dario Saric.
The Kings keep making the wrong call
When Sacramento decided to sign Precious Achiuwa, that was the right move. He's been in the league for five seasons, and has proven himself to be a tenacious defender. Once he finds his rhythm with the Kings, Achiuwa will definitely help improve the their borderline nonexistent defense.
The problem was cutting Isaac Jones, a second year power forward/center with huge potential if given the chance to grow and develop. Detroit sure seems to see something in him because the Pistons recently picked Jones up on waivers, and they are number one in the Eastern Conference.
Despite needing to make room for Achiuwa and Jones having real potential, Dario Saric, another forward/center on the Kings' roster, is still there and riding the bench every game. He hasn't played a minute since the third game of the season. Jones has played more recently for the Kings than Saric.
The difference is Saric is in his 10th season while Jones is in his second, and the Kings always seem to favor veterans even when it's the wrong choice. If Sacramento is actually going to make this rebuild work, they will absolutely have to change that mentality because they need young talent to win.