The Sacramento Kings had a 3.8 percent chance to retain their first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but after Monday's lottery, the pick will officially go to the Hawks at No. 13. Sacramento will begin to own its future first-round picks in 2026. What will happen between now and then?
The Kings answered a few critical questions since the Mavericks eliminated them in the Play-In Tournament. Monte McNair and Sacramento mutually agreed to part ways, and he has since been replaced by Scott Perry, who most recently served as the Knicks' GM. Sacramento also removed the interim tag from Doug Christie, making him the official head coach.
Several other questions will be answered this summer, such as what to do with Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan? That trio underperformed. Sabonis hasn't indicated that he'd like to be traded, and the Kings want to keep it that way. Winning would help. LaVine will be an extension candidate over the offseason. The decision to acquire DeRozan last summer was a mistake.
Sacramento needs stability and a clear sense of direction. Fans hope the Kings will lay the groundwork for those things this summer to ease the uncertainty about the future.
Kings need to establish what direction they want to go in
The Kings finished ninth in the West with a 40-42 record. At least two of the teams that finished below them (the Spurs and Mavericks) should finish with better records next season after they were hit with injuries (and one monumental trade) in 2024-25.
Finding a way to stay competitive in a stacked conference is a good start for Sacramento, but fans want more than that. The Kings were supposed to build off their 2023 playoff appearance (the first since 2006), but have regressed since then. NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported that Sacramento doesn't plan to tear things down this summer (subscription required), but wants to become an actual threat in the West.
Perry will reportedly have more leeway than McNair to help the Kings get there. The new GM said he wants Sacramento to establish an identity. Roster reconstruction will be part of that. It turns out you can't recreate key pieces of the Bulls' previous Play-In roster and expect to get more out of it.
Fans can only hope the offseason will be the start of a strong foundation. As always, actions mean more than words. Let's see what the Kings can do.