The Sacramento Kings will be running their offense through point guard Darius Acuff Jr. this upcoming season, positioning the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to challenge for Rookie of the Year. While the young guard will be playing a ton of minutes, it appears Sacramento is eyeing NBA free agency for someone to mentor him.
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Kings have started hosting workouts for a few veteran point guards this summer. Cam Payne was brought in for a workout with the team following the club’s attendance at a private workout by Victor Oladipo. In addition to Sacramento’s interest in Oladipo and Payne, free-agent guard Elfrid Payton is another name the organization is considering.
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Payton, age 32, didn’t play in the NBA last season. He split time with the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets, appearing in just 24 games during the 2025-26 campaign. He averaged just 3.5 points per game, while putting up 6.9 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game in 21.3 minutes played per contest. The 6-foot-3 point guard spent this past season with the NBA G-League’s Austin Spurs, averaging 6.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 5.7 APG in 29 contests.
Payne, 32, appeared in 22 games this past season with the New York Knicks. In those contests, averaging 17 minutes per game, he shot just 37.6 percent from the field while averaging 7.4 points, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The 6-foot-2 point guard hasn’t averaged more than 16 minutes per game over a full season in the last three years.
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Oladipo, former two-time NBA All-Star, has seen the latter half of his career derailed by injuries. Now 34 years old, the 6-foot-3 point guard is attempting a comeback for the upcoming season after last having played with the Miami Heat during the 2022-23 campaign. That year, he averaged 10.7 PPG and 3.5 APG before patellar tendon issues sidelined him for the next two seasons.
Sacramento was reportedly also exploring the idea of re-signing Russell Westbrook before the future Hall of Famer decided to retire. Given the caliber of guards the Kings are looking into, it’s reasonable to assume any signing would be third on the depth chart and largely just asked to offer veteran guidance to Acuff.