Sacramento: rebuilding without losing their bearings
Sacramento face two jobs at once: rebuilding a competitive team around Domantas Sabonis and letting Darius Acuff Jr. learn to run it. After a 22-win season, the overhaul of the squad cannot wait for a climb up the standings. The Kings' success will also be measured by the responsibility they genuinely hand their young players.
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Sacramento face two jobs at once: rebuilding a competitive team around Domantas Sabonis and letting Darius Acuff Jr. learn to run it. After a 22-win season, the overhaul of the squad cannot wait for a climb up the standings. The Kings' success will also be measured by the responsibility they genuinely hand their young players.
A heavy toll, and continuity to rediscover
The Kings finished the 2025–2026 regular season at 22–60, fourteenth in the West. Doug Christie has several key players back whose previous season was severely cut short: Sabonis played only 19 games, Zach LaVine 39 and Keegan Murray 23. Their return gives the coach options. On its own, though, it does not fix the flaws of a team that must organise its possessions better and contain opposing drives.
An offence can have good scorers and still be predictable. Sacramento will have to avoid stringing together individual sequences: Sabonis's screen, LaVine's threat and Murray's movement must play off one another. The aim is to make the first advantage easier to exploit, rather than asking each ball handler to start the action again against a set defence.
Acuff opens a new chapter at the point
Darius Acuff Jr., the seventh pick in the 2026 Draft, arrives with a major creative role up for grabs. Alex Karaban and Emanuel Sharp also join the group, while Ben Simmons returns to the NBA after sitting out the 2025–2026 season. These arrivals do not serve the same purpose: the rookie point guard must learn to run the offence, while the others offer options for pairings and secondary playmaking.
DeMar DeRozan has left Sacramento, Russell Westbrook has retired and Devin Carter has gone. Jonathan Mogbo is now in the end-of-camp group. Minutes and decision-making therefore have to be redistributed. For Christie, the task is not to replace every departed player like for like, but to define which possessions go to the young point guard and which run through his veterans.
- →Darius Acuff Jr.2026 arrival · see context in the story
- →Alex Karaban2026 arrival · see context in the story
- →Emanuel Sharp2026 arrival · see context in the story
- →Ben Simmons2026 arrival · see context in the story
- →Jonathan Mogbo2026 arrival · see context in the story
- ←DeMar DeRozan
- ←Russell Westbrook · retirement
- ←Devin Carter
Sabonis, an anchor to learn from
Sabonis can ease Acuff's adjustment by offering him a screening partner and a passing outlet in the middle of the defence. A catch at the free-throw line lets the centre find a cutter, swing the ball or hand it back to a guard on the move. This game demands above all good timing: if players stand still around him, the quality of his reads loses much of its value.
LaVine will need to be able to finish plays without having to start them all. Murray and De'Andre Hunter can stretch the floor and take on defensive assignments on the wings. This division of labour is a line of work, not a guarantee of output. Sacramento need their veterans to give structure to the young players' sequences, without taking away all their initiative the moment a mistake happens.
Historical reference points, kept separate from role projections.
Two interior options in 2025–2026
Points per game with Sacramento, 2025–2026 regular season: Raynaud 74 games, Achiuwa 73. Raynaud is unavailable as of 18 October 2026; these averages do not prejudge his return date.
A possible starting five and an already constrained bench
Our working projection pairs Acuff, LaVine, Hunter, Murray and Sabonis. It remains conditional and is not an official line-up for the opening game. Malik Monk is a creative option off the bench, but his availability remains to be monitored as of 18 October. Nique Clifford, Precious Achiuwa and Simmons offer other profiles: running, defence, passing or a presence near the rim, depending on the combinations chosen.
The frontcourt starts the season under constraint. Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell are listed as unavailable as of the 18 October cut-off, so they are not included in the immediately available bench in our projection. Achiuwa can take on more responsibility inside. Karaban and Sharp will have to earn their minutes, and their presence on the roster does not yet signal a regular place in the rotation.
Possible rotation options, subject to availability
Editorial projection, conditional as of 18 October 2026. The text sets out the caveats and alternatives; this graphic does not represent an official announced line-up.
The squad as updated on 20 October 2026
The group listed on 20 October 2026 comprises 16 players. The roles below are meant to help read the possible pairings; they are neither a rotation hierarchy nor an official line-up. Unavailable players remain included in the squad.
16 players
| Player | Status | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Point guards and guards | ||
| Malik Monk | Players to watch | – |
| Darius Acuff Jr. | – | |
| Zach LaVine | – | |
| Nique Clifford | – | |
| Ben Simmons | – | |
| Daeqwon Plowden | – | |
| Emanuel Sharp | – | |
| Forwards and versatile players | ||
| Keegan Murray | – | |
| De'Andre Hunter | – | |
| Leaky Black | – | |
| Jonathan Mogbo | – | |
| Alex Karaban | – | |
| Centres and big men | ||
| Precious Achiuwa | – | |
| Domantas Sabonis | – | |
| Dylan Cardwell | – | |
| Maxime Raynaud | – | |
Squad as of 20 October 2026. Roles are not exclusive; being in the squad guarantees neither availability nor playing time. The medical updates in the story keep their original dates. Roles are not exclusive. "–": no statistic included in this table; not a zero value. The text distinguishes between availability and place in the rotation.
Compared with the preparation group initially presented, Adam Flagler is no longer in this squad.
Creating more simply, defending with fewer breakdowns
The attacking resources are there, but putting them together could clog the paint. Sabonis and Simmons, in particular, need partners who can stretch the defence. Playing them together means gaining something elsewhere: ball movement, rebounding, running or defence. A combination should be judged on the shots it produces, not just on the individual quality of the names involved.
At the other end, the Kings will have to limit chain help rotations. A drive contained at the first line of defence spares the centre from leaving the rim and the wings from sprinting out to an open shooter. Getting back in transition and rebounding must complete that effort. Without these basics, good offensive sequences risk serving only to keep Sacramento in touch.
The strengths
- Sabonis to organise around screens.
- Several creators in the backcourt.
- Opportunities for the younger generation to earn minutes.
Issues to resolve
- Two centres unavailable as of 18 October.
- Balancing the spacing between the big-man profiles.
- Protecting the first line of defence.
Measuring progress without muddying development
A useful season should make the team easier to read: a point guard who improves his decision-making, veterans able to string performances together and young players whose roles come into focus. The race up the standings will flow from that consistency. Setting qualification as the expected outcome from the start would mask the gap to be closed after 60 defeats.
The first weeks will show whether Christie can stabilise his pairings despite the absences inside. Acuff will need a right to make mistakes, but also clear instructions on tempo and turnovers. Real progress would be to see Sacramento learning in close games, with identifiable responsibilities, rather than changing solutions at every difficult spell.
Give the young players a structure, and real responsibilities within it.
Acuff's progress and the continuity of the core players should make the team easier to read.
Opening game: away at the Clippers
Sacramento will open their regular season away at the Clippers on Thursday 22 October at 3:30 Brazzaville time. This first fixture will offer a look at the organisation around Acuff, the sharing of the ball with Sabonis and the replacement options inside. A single game will not deliver a verdict on the rebuild; it will show the first responsibilities handed out.
22/10/2026 at 03:30, Brazzaville time · match centre
- The team’s live schedule appears here.
Countdown to tip-off.