We have officially entered the dog days of summer and the NBA offseason, but hey, at least the Sacramento Kings’ schedule is out!
Ah, yes, the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento has been one of the–how do I put this delicately–most talked about teams in the league this offseason, as many around the game have posed similar questions:
“What direction are they heading?” “Build it up, or tear it down?” “Kuminga? Westbrook?”
The Kings are currently a team with talent, no question–but is it the right collection of talent?
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A Look At The Kings Starters
De’Aaron Fox is gone. Mike Brown is now the head coach of the New York Knicks. Even rotation staples like Trey Lyles (free agent), Jonas Valanciunas (traded to Denver), and Jake LaRavia (signed with the Lakers) aren’t in the equation for 2025-26.
All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis is set to enter this season as Sacramento’s franchise anchor, with six-time All-Star wing DeMar DeRozan and his former Chicago Bulls teammate, star guard Zach LaVine, entering his final guaranteed year of his contract ($48.9 million player option for 2026-27).
Keegan Murray, the fourth overall pick from the 2022 NBA Draft, has shown promise during his first three years in the league, and now he’ll look to cash in this season as he enters the final year of his rookie-scale contract, with restricted free agency looming less than one year from now.
After moving on from Fox and realizing that dynamic guard Malik Monk is best-suited as a Sixth Man option, new general manager Scott Perry’s pricey “splash” of the offseason thus far has been veteran point guard Dennis Schroder, who will assume floor general duties for the Kings now that his three-year, $44 million pact has been finalized.
Schroder, who is joining his 10th NBA team he has played for during his soon-to-be 13-year career, provides Sacramento with a true stop-gap option who can plug holes, score in bunches, and provide the Kings with stability as they figure out the direction this team is heading in the short term.
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Adding Monk into the equation, one of the Kings’ key players since the inaugural Beam Team season in 2022-23, adds to the argument that this current roster has plenty of talent. Monk is likely to begin the season in a Sixth Man role, whereas last training camp, he was outspoken about wanting an opportunity to start.
Monk got his shot at starting last season, logging starts in 45 of his 65 appearances, averaging 18.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game on 44/32/89 shooting splits.
It was a down year for Monk’s shooting numbers, as his three-point shooting percentage dropped to 32.5 after posting back-to-back 35+ percent seasons from deep in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Could Monk’s reduced shooting percentages have something to do with his usage and responsibilities as a starter?
That’s a question that new head coach Doug Christie and his staff will have to find an answer to, because it appears that Sacramento’s starting unit is already set for this fall: Schroder, LaVine, DeRozan, Murray, and Sabonis.
Monk thrived in a reserve role during his first two Kings seasons, finishing fifth and second in Sixth Man of the Year voting, respectively. Getting Monk back to being that dynamic playmaking presence could be a key for this year’s version of the Beam Team, especially when you look at the current state of the bench.
How Thin Is The Kings’ Second Unit?
Monk gives the Sacramento Kings one of the better Sixth Man options in the league, but this roster is top-heavy with guards.
Unless Christie gets creative and shifts one of Schroder–the lone true point guard on the roster–LaVine, or DeRozan to the bench, Keon Ellis is in line to join Monk with the second unit.
Ellis is viewed as an up-and-coming talent around the league, one who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season after Sacramento exercised its $2.3 million team option for 2025-26. One thing that the Kings’ starting lineup has lacked over the years is defensive versatility, something that Ellis provides at a high level (fifth in the NBA in steals last season).
Not only is Ellis the Kings’ best defender, he also finished last season having converted 43 percent of his attempts from three-point range–the eighth-best three-point field goal percentage in the league. This kind of three-and-D player would be an ideal fit in any starting five, but Sacramento is faced with the issue of having to find room in a starting five that already features Schroder, LaVine, and DeRozan.
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Moving DeRozan to the second unit has been floated by several fans on social media since last season, but the future Hall of Famer hasn’t come off the bench since his rookie season in 2009-10.
Having Monk and Ellis on the bench gives the Kings depth, but only at the guard spots. The rest of the second unit is a big question mark.
Without a player like DeRozan in a reserve role, Sacramento will lean on rookie wing Nique Clifford, the 24th overall pick from June’s NBA Draft, as well as the returning Doug McDermott and recently-acquired Dario Saric.
Clifford has plenty of upside and potential after having an impressive showing at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, while McDermott was primarily used in empty-the-bench scenarios during 2024-25. Saric appeared in only 16 games last season with Denver, the least of any of his eight NBA seasons thus far.
Lyles and LaRavia, two players who played the bulk of the Kings’ backup forward minutes last season, are gone. Barring more moves, Christie will have to make do with Clifford, McDermott, Saric, Isaac Jones, Drew Eubanks, and rookie big man Maxime Raynaud to round out the rest of the rotation.
Another wild card to Sacramento’s bench unit this season will be second-year guard Devin Carter, who also played in Las Vegas Summer League alongside Clifford and Raynaud.
Carter missed the bulk of last season as he recovered from torn labrum surgery in his shoulder, but is a player with upside as another defensive presence who can defend multiple positions. Offense will be the main issue when it comes to the Providence product’s development, particularly his ability to be consistent from the perimeter.
Sacramento undoubtedly has a collection of talent when you’re looking at spots one through seven in the rotation:
Schroder, LaVine, DeRozan, Murray, Sabonis, Monk, and Ellis. The rest involves question marks and unknowns, with those roster spots being filled by players who were brought in for depth or are at the beginning of their NBA careers.
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Maybe Clifford can prove himself early and run away with the backup small forward role. Maybe Raynaud can outperform Eubanks in camp and earn the backup center spot.
Of course, maybe more moves are on the way, too. Perry has had his eyes on free agent guard Russell Westbrook all summer, with many wondering if Sacramento is waiting for the Jonathan Kuminga saga to conclude before moving forward in the Westbrook pursuit.
Kuminga appears to be the final piece holding up any other potential Kings moves. It’s increasingly likely that the 22-year-old forward will return to Golden State, likely by way of picking up the one-year qualifying offer that will result in the former seventh-overall pick entering unrestricted free agency next summer.
If Sacramento is to move on from Kuminga, targeting Westbrook could add more depth, but create more issues as Sacramento would then have Monk, Ellis, and Westbrook all included in the second unit. More guards. More guards. More guards.
It’s also possible that Perry opts to pass on Westbrook, instead wrapping up the summer by inking players to non-guaranteed or training camp deals as we inch closer to the start of camp (September 29th).
That being said, here is the current Sacramento Kings roster as we move within six weeks of traning camp:
Projected Starters
PG – Dennis Schroder
SG – Zach LaVine
SF – DeMar DeRozan
PF – Keegan Murray
C – Domantas Sabonis
Second Unit
G – Malik Monk
G – Keon Ellis
F – Nique Clifford
F – Isaac Jones
C – Drew Eubanks
Depth
G – Devin Carter
G – Terence Davis**
F – Doug McDermott
F – Dario Saric
C – Maxime Raynaud
Two-Way Contracts
C – Dylan Cardwell
G – Daeqwon Plowden
G – Isaiah Stevens
**non-guranteed deal
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
Sacramento Kings preseason basketball is on the way, but we’ll have to wait a bit longer before we see the Beam Team back in action.
The Kings will open up their preseason slate on Wednesday, October 8th, at home against the Toronto Raptors. You can see the full preseason schedule below.
Sacramento will begin the regular season on Wednesday, October 22nd in Phoenix before returning home to play its home-opener against the Utah Jazz on Friday, October 24th.
Click here to see the full 2025-26 Sacramento Kings schedule.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Preseason
September TBD – Start of NBA training camps for the 2025-26 season
Wednesday, October 8th vs. Toronto Raptors – 7 PM PT
Friday, October 10th @ Portland Trail Blazers – 7 PM PT
Wednesday, October 15th vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 7 PM PT
Friday, October 17th @ Los Angeles Lakers – 7 PM PT
Regular Season
Wednesday, October 22nd – @ Phoenix Suns – 7 PM PT
Friday, October 24th – vs. Utah Jazz – 7 PM PT
Sunday, October 26th – vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 6 PM PT
Tuesday, October 28th – @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 5 PM PT
Wednesday, October 29th – @ Chicago Bulls – 5 PM PT
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