A 22-Win Message: Did Perry Prove Point to Kings Ownership?

It's no secret that the Sacramento Kings have a difficult offseason ahead of them. They have a payroll that projects to be in the second apron and are coming off a 22-win season. Not only were the Kings one of the worst teams in the league last season, but they were extremely expensive with a handful of veterans on large contracts taking up the cap sheet.

And that's put Scott Perry in a disadvantageous position as he attempts to retool this roster for the second offseason during his Kings tenure. While this is his second offseason, reports are that he may have been working at an even bigger disadvantage than we knew of last offseason after taking over the role.

James Ham, host of The Kings Beat and Locked on Kings podcasts, joined Damien Barling and Kenny Caraway yesterday on D-Lo and KC, and was asked how he thought Perry thought the season would go after his first offseason with the Kings.

"I think Scott Perry thought what was going to happen this season is exactly what happened, I honestly do," Ham stated. "I think that when you go out, and you sign a Dennis Schröder, and you bring in a Russell Westbrook, that is to placate your boss, and to show them you're doing something, and to prove to them that what you have in front of you is not going to work."

There are no definitive quotes from Perry himself, but if you've been around Sacramento long enough, you know that Ham is as connected as it gets.

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Feb 4, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) during a free throw in the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

The Kings have had a long-standing connection between owner Vivek Ranadive and the General Managers, regardless of who it has been at the time. Ranadive has been linked to both the DeMar DeRozan signing and the Zach LaVine trade, neither of which have remotely worked out for the Kings. And that's just in recent years.

It's getting harder and harder, if not impossible, to ignore how Ranadive's involvement with the roster is hurting the team. This has been speculated for years and is nothing new, but it's the first major story since Perry has taken over as GM.

The hope was that Perry would come in and be given the reins to Sacramento, with Ranadive and the rest of the Kings management allowing him to do his job. The hope now shifts to hoping that Perry was able to prove his point and give himself time to build out the roster as he sees fit. It appears that he did what Ranadive thought would work, and it failed miserably.

It's hard to argue against a 22-win season, especially when the Kings were trying to win. If this had been a bad team that was trying to drop in the standings, that's one thing, but Sacramento was never supposed to be in the position they were in. Injuries hurt, but they were just that bad.

The good news for the Kings and Perry is that in (reportedly) getting the roster closer to Ranadive's image didn't set them back long-term. That damage was done by Monte McNair and Wes Wilcox, but Perry was able to move off of Schröder during the season, which was his only major move from last offseason.

"The fact that he was able to move off of Dennis Schröder and reset and say, 'See, I told you, this is not what we thought it would be, this is not it', Ham went on to say.

If the Kings are ever going to get back to the playoffs, they either need to get incredibly lucky and win the May 10th Draft Lottery or take their time and let Perry rework the roster in his true image (or ideally both). But if that's not the case, we could see another carousel at the general manager position again soon, with the same storyline as ever leading the way. Here's to hoping it's the first choice.

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