After being blown out by the Thunder, the Sacramento Kings immediately got blown out again by the Timberwolves. While there were more than a few perplexing choices made that game, having Russell Westbrook play off the bench instead of starting was, by far, the worst of them all.
With a loss to the Timberwolves, the Kings fall to three and seven, not to mention 13th in the Western Conference. Sacramento is only ten games deep into the season, and the postseason already looks out of reach. Well, unless something drastic changes, like every other team just quits playing.
Until a couple of big-money contracts are out of the way, correcting the Kings' imbalanced roster will be largely impossible. That means there is a real chance that the 2026-2027 season will be roughly as bad as the 2025-2026 season. It continues to be tough to be a Kings fan.
Adding to the problems has been a nonstop string of injuries that have plagued the team. Most of those players are back at this point, except for Keegan Murray, who is still healing from his thumb surgery. He will hopefully be back in the next couple of weeks.
The Kings shoot themselves in the foot
None of that means the Kings have to actively try to make things worse for themselves. The Wolves are a tough team with lockdown defense and an explosive offense. Any team facing them needs to be up for the challenge and make sure all of their best weapons are in place.
As such, having Russell Westbrook play off the bench against Minnesota made absolutely no sense. He is the hottest player on the team, putting down some incredible numbers. That includes a run of double-doubles and even a triple-double. That work was rewarded by benching him.
Westbrook ended up playing limited minutes, turning in one of his weakest games since joining the Kings. He has become the engine that drives the team, pushing them to do better. Win or lose, Russell has been setting the tone for the Kings. That has been most effective as a starter.
Putting Westbrook in as a starter might not have won the game for the Kings, but it would have put their best foot forward. Sacramento doesn't have a lot of momentum at this point. As such, playing their hottest starter off the bench certainly finished off what little momentum they had left.