The number of former members of the Sacramento Kings' roster and coaching staff who have gone on to bigger and better things after leaving the team has become impossible to ignore. At this point, the Kings are basically the G League affiliate for the entire league, getting their next waves ready.
It's become a running gag across the NBA when it comes to how much talent the Kings have screwed up on in the past decade. The worst of it was arguably the 2018 NBA Draft, when they passed on players like Jalen Brunson and Luka Doncic in favor of Marvin Bagley III. That one still hurts.
From there, it keeps getting worse. They drafted De'Aaron Fox, only to watch him leave for the Spurs and head to the finals. A similar scenario happened with Tyrese Haliburton. The Kings drafted him, traded him for Domantas Sabonis, and watched Hali lead the Pacers to the finals.
The problem isn't even just with the players. Sacramento signed Mike Brown as their head coach, who honestly did good work with the dog of a team he was given. He was fired by the Kings, hired by the Knicks, and just finished leading New York to their first NBA Championship in 53 years.
Sacramento is becoming a feeder team for the NBA
Names like Haliburton and Fox aren't the only ones who went on to bigger and better things after cutting their teeth with the Kings. The portfolio of former Kings finding success somewhere else grows with each season, making it harder to develop any kind of momentum in Sacramento.
Naturally, this is pretty much all the fault of the Kings' front office and ownership. They fired Brown, traded Haliburton and Fox, and fumbled the 2018 draft so badly people are still talking about it. Nobody forced them to make these incredibly bad decisions that keep adding to the dysfunction.
A lot of fans are looking at breakout rookies from the 2025-2026 season like Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell with great concern. Not because they aren't good players but because these fans wonder how long until the Kings trade Raynaud to the Cavs for James Harden. Don't do it, Vivek.
For anyone who has been on this ride since the end of Rick Adelman's era, there's a perpetual feeling of impending doom surrounding this franchise. Many expect that it's only a matter of time before the Kings commit another unforced error, such as helping the Magic win a title by giving up Cardwell.
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