There is not much for the Sacramento Kings to be happy about this season. Aside from taking things in a new direction after trading De'Aaron Fox and bringing in Zach LaVine, the Kings have taken a major step back from the playoff contenders they were supposed to be. After losing 116-111 to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night, Sacramento is now 1-7 over their last eight games and 36-40 overall.
As a result, the Kings have fallen to the 10-seed in the Western Conference and are just one game ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the final play-in tournament spot.
Even if the Kings can hold onto their play-in spot, it is hard to envision them making the playoffs at this rate. Although it has been a lost season, especially with a gut-punch from the 17-win Wizards, there is a lone bright spot to this team's recent misfortunes.
In 2022, Sacramento traded Mo Harkless, Justin Holiday, and a first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Kevin Huerter. That pick dealt to Atlanta was a 2024 first-round pick with top-14 protections attached to it. However, since the pick did not transfer last season, the Kings are now responsible for sending a 2025 first-round pick with top-12 protections to Atlanta.
The only problem is that the Kings aren't intentionally trying to lose games to keep their draft pick, and this pick is currently projected to fall to 13th overall, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Several losses down the stretch have resulted in the Kings falling in the Western Conference standings, and they currently own the 13th-worst record in the league, one game ahead of Phoenix and the Miami Heat in the league-wide standings.
Related Sacramento Kings NewsArticle continues below
That gives Sacramento only a 4.7 percent chance at the moment to move into the top four of the draft lottery and retain their pick. Should this happen, the Kings would instead send their 2026 first-round pick with top-10 protections to the Hawks.
Even with Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, and LaVine all playing over 35 minutes on Wednesday night, this team did not have what it takes to beat one of the worst teams in the league. That has been the story of the Kings throughout the 2024-25 season, as their lackluster play has led this organization down a dark path.
What the future looks like for the Kings entering the offseason is very unclear.
In addition to hearing trade rumors for DeRozan since he is near the end of his career, Sacramento will also be a key subject of discussions regarding the futures of Sabonis and Monk. There is a sense around the league that Sabonis could eventually request a trade from the Kings, similar to what Fox did this season, if a clear vision is not presented for the future.
Although the Kings could wind up keeping their draft pick this season, a lot of uncertainty surrounds this franchise.