The disaster of the Sacramento Kings; are they doomed to rebuild?

Diego Jiménez Rubio | Thu, 03/27/2025 - 18:39

Sacramento Kings, Possible Reconstruction. Photo: gettyimages

A historic franchise in decline, unable to find the formula to be competitive again. This is how Sacramento Kings can be defined. Hopes were high for their losing streak to end this season, but everything has turned out worse than expected, with management decisions further diminishing the team's chances.

A deep roster, star projects, All-Star caliber players, and much anticipation. All converged in a Sacramento Kings team that in 2023 broke the streak of not making playoffs since 2007. It was a very painful drought for a team that made risky decisions in the transfer market for years and has now shot itself in the foot this season. Letting go of De'Aaron Fox was seen by many as the beginning of the end for a project where Domantas Sabonis is not enough, and the arrival of DeMar DeRozan has not delivered as expected.

They have been unable to find a suitable playing style for all, and the addition of Zach LaVine a few months ago was a rushed and desperate solution that has backfired. Evidence of this is that when the three stars are on the court together, the Net Rating of Sacramento Kings ranks 24th in the entire NBA, condemning the team to a play-in tournament where success seems unlikely. It wouldn't be surprising if they were ousted by the Suns and the Mavs from this privilege, which would be the ultimate proof that they need a complete rebuild.

When Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan share the court, the Kings are a subpar team:

115.5 OffRtg (15th)
121.0 DefRtg (28th)
-5.6 NetRtg (24th)

An average offense coupled with a horrendous defense certainly isn’t a long-term winning formula for Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/HLgMHOTJwX
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) March 26, 2025