The Sacramento Kings logo on the shorts of a player during a game.
The Sacramento Kings logo on the shorts of a player during a game.
Key Points
The Kings are 13th in the West with a disappointing 6-20 record.
They plan to explore trades for veterans amid locker room disconnect and poor performance.
The Sacramento Kings have had a disappointing start to the 2025-26 NBA season as they currently sit 13th in the Western Conference standings with a 6-20 record.
Of course, the Kings have made the playoffs just one since the 2006-07 season and they were hoping to make a run at a playoff spot this season after keeping their core of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan together this offseason.
Sacramento Kings stars Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan
Sacramento Kings stars Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan
Sacramento also made some key additions to their roster in the offseason as they added Dennis Schroder, Russell Westbrook and Drew Eubanks in free agency and selected Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford in the 2025 draft.
Despite this, the Kings have once again had a poor start to the season and that has caused most of their roster to end up in trade rumors as many around the NBA expect them to begin a rebuild ahead of the trade deadline.
On Tuesday, NBA reporter Marc J. Spears reported that the Kings will explore trades for their veteran players such as DeRozan, LaVine and Westbrook due to a reported disconnect between the veterans and the coaching staff.
This is a massive report by Spears as it appears as though there is tension in the Kings’ locker room between the veterans and head coach Doug Christie, which could see them make multiple moves ahead of the trade deadline to add more young talent and draft capital to better the franchise’s future.
Zach LaVine
Zach LaVine
Despite this, DeRozan and LaVine have not drawn much interest from other teams over the past handful of seasons going back to their days with the Chicago Bulls.
Because of this, the Kings may have a hard time finding trades for them, though DeRozan may be the easiest of the two to trade due to LaVine’s massive contract.
Kings guard Russell Westbrook — Source: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
While that may be the case, Sacramento may have an easier time trading other key veterans such as Westbrook, Malik Monk, Eubanks and Schroder while Sabonis may also draw some attention to teams needing a boost in their frontcourt.
Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) — Source: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Either way, it appears as though the Kings may be heading towards a rebuild this season as they will likely look to build around their young core of Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis, Clifford and Raynaud to try and turn their franchise around after years of disappointment.
Due to this, Sacramento may be one of the more active teams ahead of the trade deadline, though they may find it difficult to move some of their key players due to their larger contracts.
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