Kings need rim protection
- Sports Illustrated says Sacramento's top offseason need is rim protection and tougher interior defense. - The piece singles out center depth and frontcourt physicality as the 'most glaring roster hole.' - That framing signals GM Scott Perry may prioritize physical bigs, trades, or draft moves during a pivotal 2026 offseason ( ).
Sacramento’s biggest offseason problem is simple: the Kings gave up too much at the rim and do not have enough size behind Domantas Sabonis. (basketball-reference.com) The numbers were ugly in 2025-26. Sacramento finished 22-60, ranked 28th in defensive rating at 121.5, and allowed 121.0 points per game, the league’s 27th-worst mark. (basketball-reference.com) The roster shows why the frontcourt is under scrutiny. Sabonis played only 19 games, and the center group behind him was a mix of rookie Maxime Raynaud, rookie Dylan Cardwell, Drew Eubanks and Precious Achiuwa, with no established rim protector in that rotation. (nba.com, basketball-reference.com) Raynaud gave Sacramento 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 74 games, and Cardwell averaged 7.5 rebounds in 44 games, but the Kings still cycled through multiple starting lineups with Sabonis, Eubanks and Achiuwa at center as the defense slipped. (nba.com, basketball-reference.com) That leaves Scott Perry with a clear roster question in his first full offseason running basketball operations. The Kings announced Perry as general manager on April 21, 2025, and he now heads into the draft and trade market after a 22-win season. (nba.com, nba.com) Sacramento also has a relatively old core in key spots. DeMar DeRozan is 36, Russell Westbrook is 37, and Sabonis is 29, while Keegan Murray played only 23 games and Zach LaVine appeared in 39. (nba.com) A rim protector changes the geometry of a defense: he is the big who meets drives at the basket, forces floaters instead of layups, and lets perimeter defenders press up higher. Sacramento’s 2025-26 results suggest it never found that back-line anchor for long stretches. (basketball-reference.com, basketball-reference.com) The Kings have already reshaped leadership once. Perry hired Doug Christie as head coach on May 1, 2025, and Christie’s first full season ended with Sacramento 14th in the West and near the bottom of the league on both offense and defense. (nba.com, basketball-reference.com) So the offseason debate is less about whether Sacramento needs more scoring and more about what kind of big man it needs next. After a season with a 121.5 defensive rating, the cleanest fix starts in the paint. (basketball-reference.com)
