The Sacramento Kings have not exactly been a great success so far in the 2025-26 NBA season, currently sitting at 12-32 after a recent home loss to the Miami Heat. While the Kings did recently put together a four-game winning streak, including wins over the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers, they are still widely expected to be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline.
Russell Westbrook, who was signed shortly before the season began, has been a rare bright spot for the Kings this year. In fact, StatMuse recently pointed out on X, formerly Twitter, that Westbrook is the only player in the NBA this season with at least 650 points, 250 assists, 250 rebounds, and 60 steals, more than proving that he is still a capable NBA player, despite the fact that teams weren't lining up to sign him this past offseason.
However, this is precisely the problem for Sacramento, in that they are relying way too heavily on players like Westbrook and other veterans, as opposed to stockpiling any kind of young talent to give them something to build with moving forward.
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Currently, Westbrook is three-pointers, assists, and rebounds on the Kings, and second in steals in points. While it's a great story for Westbrook, who is proving many of his doubters wrong, it also goes to show how shortsighted the Kings' front office has been in terms of roster building in the three years since their surprise playoff appearance back in the 2023 campaign.
Sacramento has virtually nothing in the way of young talent on its roster, with Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray being two of the only somewhat viable rotation players age 25 or younger on the team. Instead, the team has been relying heavily on players like DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Westbrook to do the heavy lifting, which is not a recipe for long-term success.
In any case, perhaps Westbrook's uptick in production this year will convince a contender to take a swing on him at the upcoming trade deadline, which is set for February 5.