With the 2024-25 NBA season now in the books for the Sacramento Kings, the focus has now shifted to preparing for the 2025-26 campaign (and enjoyingwhat has been an otherwise wonderful 2025 Playoffs).
While the job of roster building at the NBA is far from easy, there is one strategy new general manager Scott Perry desperately needs to avoid if he wants to end the new season before it even begins.
The Kings cannot run it back with this team
This season did not go the way the Kings had originally hoped it would. Part of the reason for this is that they could never find any luck from downtown. On the season, the Kings had the highest opponent 3-point percentage (38.1%). As a general rule, this stat is largely luck-based and out of a defense's control.
However, the Kings need to be careful not to give too much credit to their bad opponent shooting luck. As we said, 3-point shooting played a part, but, at the end of the day, this team underperformed because of their roster.
As we've discussed all season long, the Kings built an imbalanced roster. Then, at the 2025 Trade Deadline, they re-tooled it but still failed to find the balance that they needed. Throughout the season, the Kings had too many on-ball scorers and not enough size, defense, and spacing.
If the Kings try to bring back the core of DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and Malik Monk, 2025-26 will be doomed before it even starts. In fact, they probably won't even be lucky enough to make the play-in tournament because there are young teams primed to take a step next season (like the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs).
Fixing the mess the Kings have made won't be easy. Heck, it could take a full-scale rebuild. But at the very least, two of the four guys we mentioned above need to be traded for players who can check the boxes we outlined above.
For what my money is worth, Sabonis and Monk are the two that should be kept. Sabonis is the best player of the bunch, and Monk has the best combination of age/contract situation. If the Kings can flip DeRozan and LaVine for some solid pieces, they could have a sneaky competitive team with Sabonis, Monk, Keegan Murray, Devin Carter, etc.
To be honest, even this suggestion could just lead to another meaningless run at the play-in tournament. But one thing is for sure: trotting out this same core next season is a disaster no one needs to see (again).