“This process that takes a little longer with the drafting and developing is the more solid foundation in my opinion.”
Sacramento Kings general manager Scott Perry spoke with reporters on Friday morning, explaining his 2026 NBA trade deadline decisions and future vision.
While plenty of foresight into their future plans was mentioned above, the experienced front-office member began by reflecting on their relatively quiet trade deadline, calling it “just the first opportunity” to improve their roster. He also said they had no appetite to make moves just for the sake of shaking things up.
Perry’s lone move was sending Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis, Dario Saric, and a late second-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team deal that landed them forward De’Andre Hunter.
“Contrary to some public sentiment, De’Andre is a very proven two-way player in this league, and he’s not an old player,” Perry said of their new addition. “He’s just 28 years old. He allows us to defend at a high level. I believe he’s exhibited that throughout his career.”
He also acknowledged Hunter’s short-term deal ($24.9 million in 2026-27, his final season under contract), which enables future flexibility in how they handle his contract.
“We knew years one and two (of having this job) were going to be difficult in terms of having much financial flexibility,” Perry said. “2027-28, as currently constructed, that’s going to be the first opportunity we will have a little window to start having more flexibility and making some more moves.”
The deals of Hunter, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, as well as other role players, will all come off the books in the 2027 offseason.
But with the remainder of this season and all of next year’s between then and now, it’s going to be a process. Often, Sacramento has attempted to skip steps in the rebuilding process, but Perry made it clear that patience will be needed.
“Take a step back and look around the league at some of the teams now that maybe are at the top of the league or consistently competing to win championships, that very few, I don’t know of any, what I call overnight successes,” he said when asked about the importance of patience.
“You’re talking years of drafting, developing, trading, guys working, not working. There (are) a lot of moving parts. I understand the frustration of the fan base… we’re in a society (where) people want things now. You want to win. But what I would submit is that what we’re doing again is we’re not going to just chase shiny objects for the sake of doing it, or make deals for the sake of it.”
“We’re not trying to be a team that’s hanging in the play-in realm every year because that becomes frustrating too,” he continued. “That’s the worst place to be.”
Obviously, that makes the importance of their upcoming draft selections and offseasons essential, but there’s no desire to move on from their current prospects if it would cost draft capital to shed their veteran contracts.
While understanding the bleak history the organization has, Perry is pushing towards building a sustainable winner that could eventually be in the championship conversation.
Given the mess of contracts that he inherited when taking over this offseason, and his comments on Friday, expect him to take his time in the team-building process.
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Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Friday, February 6th – vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, February 7th – vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:00 PM PT
Monday, February 9th – @ New Orleans Pelicans – 5:00 PM PT
Wednesday, February 11th – @ Utah Jazz – 6:00 PM PT
Thursday, February 19th vs. Orlando Magic – 7:00 PM PT
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