When it comes to bad luck in this season, it's hard to beat the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers would be a close second. Among their endless injuries was De'Andre Hunter, who barely played before being benched for the season. How he fits into what has developed since is difficult to envision.
The Kings only made one move before the 2026 trade deadline. It sent Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis to the Cavs while Dario Saric began a journey that ended back in Europe. The only new player they brought in was Hunter, though this allowed them to give Dylan Cardwell a proper NBA contract.
Sacramento had their reasons for bringing Hunter in. The goal was to bolster their frontcourt defense as well as add another scoring option. It also didn't hurt that the Kings were able to get two guards out of the logjam while bringing in a much-needed forward to the roster.
The ultimate goal was to pair him with Keegan Murray and build around this duo. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. Murray only played 23 games this season, and Hunter was taken out by an eye injury in his second game with the Kings. Then, the Kings started evolving without them.
Sacramento's future might not need Hunter
While the 2025-2026 season wasn't exactly great, there were some bright spots. Players like Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford, Precious Achiuwa, Dylan Cardwell, Devin Carter, Daeqwon Plowden, and even Killian Hayes all started building a rhythm together thanks to all the injury absences.
Naturally, current injured players such as Murray, Russell Westbrook, and Malik Monk will work nicely into the rhythm next season. The question is Hunter, and how he fits. When he left Cleveland, he wasn't having a great season. It's unlikely that being on the bench for a couple of months helped.
Hunter was viewed as somewhat of a rebuild project all on his own. Assuming he can find his own rhythm on the court, he then has to figure out how he fits into a group that's already built great chemistry. The question then becomes whether Hunter even should be part of this rebuild.
After playing a game and a half with the team before his injury, Sacramento really has no idea how Hunter fits into this roster. Given that Scott Perry has been preaching patience, the Kings are unlikely to make any rash decisions. Still, a lot has to go right for him to fit the next phase.