Everyone makes mistakes. That includes NBA franchises that can draft the wrong player, trade someone away they shouldn't have, or mad a bad coaching decision. It happens.
For the Sacramento Kings, the last year has felt like a series of huge mistakes packed into a relatively short period of time. Individually, any one of them could cripple a franchise.
Because of these choices, the 2025-2026 season will be a telling one. If it doesn't go well, a full rebuild from the court all the way through the front office might be coming to Sacramento.
It started with Mike Brown
While it feels like a lifetime ago at this point, the Kings brought Mike Brown in as head coach in 2022. He went on to lead the team to a winning record in 2022-2023 as well as the King's first playoff appearance since 2006. Brown was unanimously voted the NBA Coach of the Year that season.
The 2023-2024 season wasn't as auspicious with the Kings' record slightly sliding, leading to them missing the playoffs. When the 2024-2025 season started off slowly, the Kings fired Brown two days after Christmas.
Terminating Mike Brown directly led to long-time point guard and face of the franchise, De'Aaron Fox, leaving for the Spurs shortly after. After a series of baffling trades and acquisitions, the Kings now have an unbalanced team that isn't likely to have a good season.
The Kings future hangs in the balance
Look, the team may surprise everyone, fall into a groove, and have a solid 2025-2026. Weirder things have happened in the NBA. If Detroit can turn it around, so can Sacramento.
The reality is that a lack of success this season could mean cleaning house. Yes, that means a complete rebuild on the court with only a handful of current players like Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray remaining.
That house cleaning will also include the front office, particularly anyone associated with canning Mike Brown. It was the inciting incident for all of the Kings' current woes. after all.