So far, Sacramento's preseason has been a bit of a mixed bag. The team has lost both games and, outside of Zach LaVine, the starters have been mediocre and inconsistent at best. Thankfully, players like rookie Maxime Raynaud have proven to be a source of hope for Kings' fans.
Bench players, including the Kings' rookies and young guns, are picking up the slack for a group of starters who are having trouble getting things together for the most part. While neither preseason game was a victory, it was good to see the rookies killing it every chance they got.
This has been particularly important at the five position. Domantas Sabonis is one of the top centers in the league, but he lacks backup. It became especially apparent after the Jonas Valanciunas trade over the summer. Giving up one of the best backup centers in the league was questionable at best.
Fortunately, Dario Saric had a solid game against the Blazers, at least from a scoring perspective. He went 100% from the three-point line, hitting four out of four. The problem is that he didn't really do much else. Making things worse is the fact that Sabonis is having a slow start rebounding.
Maxime Raynaud puts on a show
That's where Maxime comes in. The Kings picked him up in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft, which has turned out pretty well. Both Maxime and Nique Clifford have looked great in the preseason, and giving off "steal of the draft" vibes. The future of the Kings is actually optimistic.
Raynaud has put out solid performances in each preseason game. Against the Raptors, he had seven points, six rebounds, and two steals in 12 minutes. In the next game with the Blazers, he picked up two points, five rebounds, and four assists, again in 12 minutes.
While it would be nice to see him be more consistent on scoring, these numbers are actually quite impressive for his first two NBA games ever. At this point, he's playing a more well-rounded game than Dario Saric, who has been in the NBA for a lot longer.
If the Kings continue Raynaud's development and give him regular minutes at this stage in his career, they could easily have the NBA's next monster center on their hands. And if that happens alongside Nique Clifford and Dylan Cardwell, Sacramento could be a real contender down the road.