The Sacramento Kings have gone through some big changes in a shockingly small period of time. That includes the injury to Ben Simmons, which changes the dynamic of the starting lineup dramatically. The five players hitting the court for the season opener will look a bit different.
In the final 2026 preseason game, the Kings ran a starting lineup that included Simmons at power forward. Keegan Murray shifted over to small forward. Domantas Sabonis was the center, Darius Acuff Jr. the point guard, and Zach LaVine stepped on the court as the shooting guard.
What was interesting about this move was that it pushed De'Andre Hunter back to the bench. He didn't play for the Kings much last season due to an injury, and his preseason performance was nothing special. As such, a shake-up that moved him right out of the starting lineup made sense.
With Simmons out, the simplest move is to put Murray back at power forward and return Hunter to the starting small forward position. Frankly, that's likely what will happen. At the same time, there are other options here that should be explored given the players currently on the roster and the future.
The Kings should use this opportunity to swing big
Naturally, Sabonis isn't going anywhere. Both Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell are injured, so there's no question that Sabonis will start. For now, Precious Achiuwa and Jonathan Mogbo will be his backups at the position. Neither LaVine nor Acuff is going anywhere either, and will still start.
The question is the forwards. Frankly, Hunter wasn't the only one underperforming in the preseason. Murray was incredibly underwhelming when he was on the court, as well. Sure, he's coming back from injury, but that may reinforce the idea that he's not ready to start quite yet. He might need more time.
Sacramento should strongly consider starting Achiuwa at power forward, then putting Nique Clifford at small forward. Clifford's preseason was rather up and down, but he showed far more spark, energy, and intensity than either Hunter or Murray did. The minutes could be huge for him in the long run.
The Simmons situation could and should spark a bigger conversation in Sacramento about who is starting and who isn't. This is an opportunity to push the rebuild forward by getting the next generation of Kings on the court and creating opportunities to develop them at a greater rate.
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