Maxime Raynaud still in Kings' plans

The Kings’ big question right now is simple — who stays part of the next version of this team? Maxime Raynaud looks like one of the answers. Sacramento just came out of a brutal 2025-26 season, then dropped to the No. 7 pick in the draft lottery, but the tone around Raynaud has stayed notably positive. That matters because teams in this spot usually start treating almost everyone as expendable. Sacramento doesn’t seem to be doing that with him. ### Why is Raynaud part of this conversation? Because he was not supposed to matter this quickly. Sacramento took Raynaud with the No. 42 pick in the 2025 draft after his final Stanford season, then signed him in early July. Second-round centers usually get parked in the background. Raynaud didn’t. He played his way into real minutes and then into real relevance on a losing team that badly needed something to build on. (si.com) ### What did he actually do as a rookie? He produced enough that this stopped being a feel-good bench story. Raynaud finished his rookie season averaging 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. In March alone, he put up 17.9 points and 8.5 rebounds over 15 starts, shot 59.5% from the field, logged six 20-point games, and won Western Conference Rookie of the Month on April 2. (nba.com) ### Was it empty late-season production? Not really — or at least not entirely. Bad teams always create weird stat lines late in the year, but Raynaud’s numbers came with some real markers. He led rookies in double-doubles, ranked near the top of the class in total rebounds, and joined a very short historical list of rookies to hit his scoring-rebounding-efficiency combo. The useful way to read that is not “future star guaranteed.” It’s “this is real NBA rotation talent at minimum, and maybe more.” (nba.com) ### So what changed this week? The lottery made the roster conversation sharper. Sacramento finished 22-60, then fell to No. 7 instead of landing the kind of top pick that can instantly reset a franchise. Team-adjacent coverage of the fallout called the season deeply frustrating, but it still grouped Raynaud with Nique Clifford and Dylan Cardwell as rookies who impressed. That is the tell. When an organization is reviewing a lost year and still naming a player among the positives, that player is usually still in the plan. (nba.com) That last step is an inference — but it’s a pretty grounded one. ### Why does No. 7 make Raynaud more important? Because No. 7 is useful, but it’s not a guaranteed savior slot. If Sacramento had jumped to the very top, the franchise could center everything around one incoming blue-chip prospect. At seventh, the team still needs internal hits. Raynaud becoming a real starting-caliber big or high-end rotation center would count as one of those hits — and a cheap one, which matters even more on a messy roster. (si.com) ### Is he untouchable now? No — that’s the catch. The Kings are still the Kings, and bad teams explore everything. Domantas Sabonis is still on the roster, the frontcourt picture can change fast, and Sacramento could use young players in larger trade constructions. But Raynaud no longer looks like throw-in material. He looks like the kind of player a front office would rather keep unless a bigger move demands otherwise. That last part is inference, but it follows from the production and the tone around him. (yardbarker.com) ### What’s the bottom line? Raynaud is not the whole Kings future. But he looks like part of it. On a roster short on certainty, that is already a big win. (si.com)