Kings: draft‑first reset
Sacramento is publicly pitching a draft‑first offseason plan and is expected to hold a high lottery pick as it pivots toward a broader rebuild. The team messaging frames the summer as a reset focused on young talent rather than only veteran band‑aids. (si.com)
Sacramento is entering the 2026 offseason talking like a lottery team, not a patchwork contender: draft the best player available and start from there. (si.com) At his end-of-season news conference, general manager Scott Perry said the Kings will take “best player available or best talent to the roster,” regardless of position. Perry said that could be a point guard or “another position” because the team is “in the early stages of building.” (si.com) The timing matches the standings. Sacramento finished 22-60, tied for the fourth-worst record in the league, and NBA.com lists the Kings at 14th in the Western Conference. (nba.com) With the regular season over, Sacramento is in the 2026 draft lottery pool. A league explainer says the lottery is May 10 in Chicago, and the draft is scheduled for June 23-24. (nba.com; nba.com) One projection cited by Kings on SI lists Sacramento’s own first-round pick as “projected top-seven,” which is the clearest asset on a roster with expensive veterans and multiple free-agent decisions. The same offseason primer lists Zach LaVine with a $49 million player option and four unrestricted free agents: Precious Achiuwa, Russell Westbrook, Drew Eubanks and Doug McDermott. (si.com) The reset language is a shift from the roster Sacramento carried into this season. NBA.com’s team page lists DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray as the biggest established names still under team control, with Devin Carter and Nique Clifford among the younger pieces. (nba.com) Lottery math explains why the draft is the center of the conversation. RotoWire’s post-regular-season odds had Sacramento fifth in the lottery order at 11.5% for No. 1 and 45.2% for a top-four pick, with the Kings tied on record with Utah at 22-60 pending tiebreak procedures. (rotowire.com; nba.com) The franchise has room to add more than one young player. The Kings on SI offseason primer says Sacramento also owns its own second-round pick in 2026 and a Charlotte Hornets second-rounder protected for picks 56 through 60. (si.com) For now, the clearest part of Sacramento’s plan is the part Perry said out loud: the Kings are treating this summer like the front end of a rebuild, and the lottery ball on May 10 will shape how far that reset can go. (si.com; nba.com)
