The Sacramento Kings window to win a title isn't as open as you think

In the NBA, you grind day after day to give yourself a championship window. But then, when you get that window, it's closed shut before you can even really enjoy the breeze.

Take the Denver Nuggets, for instance. They spent years trying to build a title contender around Nikola Jokic, finally built one, looked like a dynasty en route to their 2023 NBA Championship, and now, just one year later, they have executives speculating whether or not they are stuck in basketball purgatory!

This brings us to the Sacramento Kings. After spending nearly two decades in the doldrums of the Western Conference, the team has what looks to be their most promising roster since the 2003-04 season. But the catch is that they may only have two chances (this year and next) to win the NBA title with this group.

Why windows close fast in the NBA

There are three big reasons why championship windows close faster than a Chick-fil-A on a Sunday. First, there is the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and all the financial penalties that come with being in the luxury tax.

Second, you have injuries. With how intense schemes and rotations are these days, it's harder than ever for athletes to stay healthy year after year.

Lastly, the league has entered an era of great parity and rapid competition. Since everyone knows that windows are short, they are uber-aggressive whenever they feel like they have any sort of chance (see the New York Knicks). Gone are the days of simply banking on continuity to grow/maintain your standing in the league. You need to make a major move each offseason just to keep pace.

De'Aaron Fox is eyeing a monster extension

Shortly after the Jalen McDaniels trade was announced, it was reported that De'Aaron Fox would bypass the 3-year, 165-million dollar extension he is currently eligible to receive in search of a bigger extension this offseason.

And if Fox has a huge 2024-25 season, that could be a monster payday. If Fox is named to an All-NBA team this season (an honor he has earned only one time in his career), he would become qualified to sign a 5-year, 345-million dollar extension.

The Sacramento Kings championship window is now

If Fox signed that extension, it wouldn't kick in until the start of the 2026-27 season. Unfortunately for the Kings cap sheet, that would also be the first season of Keegan Murray's rookie extension (which will likely be a max extension given how essential his skillset is to this team).

That means that after next season (2025-26), the Kings will have almost all of their money tied up in Fox, Murray, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis. That is a strong core four. But it isn't good enough where you can surround them with only minimum players and rookie contracts and still have a true title contender.

So, the Kings need to pounce now and use their current cap flexibility to add a key contributor – someone who can vault them from a frisky team to an inner-circle contender.

The good news here is that the Kings are fully aware of this situation, as it has been suggested (by Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee) that the McDaniels trade was done to open up a pathway for the Kings to make another move.

Who will that player be? Maybe Cameron Johnson or Kyle Kuzma? Someone else? Who knows. At least the Kings are aware that the window is closing quickly.