Can the Kings Copy the Knicks' Championship Roster Build?

The Sacramento Kings are at the crossroads of their roster reshuffling, as Scott Perry heads into his second offseason with a team that still closely resembles that which was left behind by the previous front office and general manager Monte McNair.

Perry snagged three promising rookies in last year's draft in Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud, and Dylan Cardwell, but the veterans in Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Malik Monk are still on the roster after being on the trading block for nearly a full calendar year.

But as those veterans all have a year off of their contracts this year compared to last, as should theoretically be easier to move this offseason. At the very least, the Kings are one year closer to clearing their books as both LaVine and DeRozan have one year left on their deals, and Sabonis and Monk are down to two years left.

Those veterans leaving, along with the arrival of this year's seventh pick in the soon approaching NBA Draft, should give Perry a chance to truly build the roster as he sees fit. And he should look back to his old stomping grounds for a template of what to copy as he reshapes the Sacramento roster.

Knicks Roster Build

The New York Knicks are walking away with this year's championship after one of the most impressive postseason runs in NBA history, and they did so with a roster build that the Kings look like they may already be on their way to replicating.

The Knicks' starting five of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns is incredibly balanced and versatile, which is truly saying something with two "poor defenders" in Brunson and Towns. It's more challenging than ever to build a defense and team around a poor defender, but the Knicks were able to pull it off with two players who have struggled on that side of the ball during their careers.

It helps that both Burson and Towns are incredibly skilled on offense and more than make up for their deficiencies on defense, but it also speaks volumes that they are surrounded by defenders at nearly every other position on the court.

It's hard to find a better defensive trio than Hart, Bridges, and Anunoby on the wings. All three can defend multiple positions, guard on the perimeter, and help inside. It creates the opportunity to offload defensive responsibilities for Brunson and Towns perfectly. Throw in the duo of Jose Alvarado and Mitchell Robinson off the bench, and the Knicks have even more defensive firepower coming in to spell the starters.

Kings on Their Way?

Dec 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) is defended by Sacramento Kings guard Nique Clifford (5) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Getting back to the Kings, the question now becomes if the Kings can replicate this formula. It helps that Perry is the one who started this build for New York, and there are already signs that he's taking a similar approach in Sacramento.

Clifford is a two-way guard who can do a little bit of everything, like Hart, and Raynaud has the potential to turn into a skilled offensive player who can impact the game with both his scoring, passing, and screens. Even Cardwell can be compared to Robinson as the defensive specialist off the bench to back up Raynaud for years to come. They have a long way to go before they get to the level of Hart and Towns, but the general idea is there with the three incoming sophomores.

On the wings, they currently have Keegan Murray and De'Andre Hunter set to join forces as the first true wing duo since the Kings marched out Murray and Harrison Barnes. Both are solid two-way players who could fill a variety of roles for any team in the league. Murray still has the potential to take an offensive leap if his shooting returns to form, but at least he's a plus defender who can guard the team's best player every night.

The biggest hole that the Kings need to figure out is the Brunson role, which hopefully they will get solved with the upcoming draft. Sacramento has been repeatedly connected to Darius Acuff Jr, who has the potential to be a top-tier scoring guard in the NBA, but has already been labeled as the worst defender in the top ten of the draft.

Many teams could be scared away by that kind of label, but the Knicks just showed that, if done right, building around an offensive first guard can work. It's easier said than done, but the Kings could be well on their way to fielding a roster similar to New York sooner rather than later. Now we all just have to hope that it works out even half as well as it did for the Knicks.

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