The Sacramento Kings are in desperate need of another point guard to take some of the pressure off rookie Darius Acuff Jr. And this is one time they cannot look within to find an answer. Nique Clifford in particular should not fill that role as he has consistently proven himself to be a better shooting guard.
Attempts to solve the point guard problem in Sacramento have been going since early 2025 after De'Aaron Fox left. To be fair, the Kings have been their own worst enemy on this. They keep getting rid of point guards with no one in the queue to replace them because they got rid of the queue.
The end result immediately after Fox's departure was trying to use Malik Monk as the starting point guard. That was a train wreck for two reasons. First, Monk plays better off the bench. That's just the way it is. Second, he's a shooting guard. Monk can fill in at the five for short bursts, but that's it.
Sacramento has hopefully found someone to be their long-term starting PG in Darius Acuff Jr. The Kings recently selected him seventh overall in the 2026 NBA Draft. While he has everything it takes to succeed, Acuff lacks a proper mentor or a true secondary point guard. Clifford isn't the fix.
The Kings cannot turn Clifford into a point guard
This is not a slight against the sophomore shooting guard in the least. Clifford is a talented and skilled player with a huge potential upside as he develops. Like Monk, he's just not someone who excels at the point guard position, mainly because he just doesn't have the skillset.
Clifford is a perimeter and mid-range shooter who stretches the defense, but also locks the opposing team's best perimeter shooters down. That's the game that he has already consistently played for the Kings. He's not a pace-setter, ball-handler, or elite facilitator, which is what a point guard does.
After being bombarded and overwhelmed by injuries in 2025-2026, Clifford had to fill in as a point guard on more than a few occasions. The forced experiment did not go well. Clifford just does not have the innate skill for the position that someone like Acuff does, and it showed.
Sure, Clifford could adapt to the role well enough to be a reliable third choice. But that cannot get in the way of helping him grow into the elite shooting guard he is meant to be. The Kings need to find a different way to help Acuff that doesn't muddy the development waters of another player.
Add us as a preferred source on Google