Kings’ Depth Could Complicate Their Plans for the Future

Do the Sacramento Kings have too much depth on their roster heading into the 2025-26 season?

Apr 5, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Daeqwon Plowden (29) before the game against the LA Clippers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Sacramento Kings made waves in the NBA last week when they signed Ben Simmons to a one-year deal, and finally, in the now-quiet days of the offseason, their final roster feels set. Ok maybe it was more of a ripple throughout the league, but for Sacramento, Simmons joining the Kings brings a new level of excitement heading into the season.

Part of Simmons's intrigue is his ability to play multiple positions, thanks to his unique blend of point-guard skills and the length to play wing. The possibilities are nearly endless, and it was actually hard to limit myself to just three ideas when looking at the options with Simmons on the Kings.

And while the options were great, it brought the question to mind. Do the Kings have too much depth on their roster that is going to create a backlog for them to be able to find out who they should build around in the future?

Too Much Depth?

Houston's Emanuel Sharp (21) and Kingston Flemings celebrate during a second-round game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament between Houston Cougars and Texas A&M Aggies at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday March 21, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Kings currently have 14 players on their roster, with two two-way spots held down by Jonathan Mogbo and Adam Flagler. Of those 16 players, you could make a case that 15 should have a chance at rotational minutes this season, with Flagler the only one with what looks like an insurmountable path to minutes.

Point Guard	Darius Acuff Jr, Ben Simmons, Emanuel Sharp, Adam Flagler (TW)
Shooting Guard	Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, Daeqwon Plowden
Small Forward	De'Andre Hunter, Nique Clifford
Power Forward	Keegan Murray, Precious Achiuwa, Alex Karaban
Center	Domantas Sabonis, Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell, Jonathan Mogbo (TW)

Darius Acuff Jr. is the clear future of the team and will play huge minutes as he begins his NBA career, Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis are back and should be on the court to rebuild their standing in the league, and Keegan Murray and De'Andre Hunter will likely round out the starting unit.

Behind Acuff on the 'young player' depth chart is Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell, Emanuel Sharp, and Alex Karaban. All six of Scott Perry's picks over the last two offseasons project to be part of the future plans. Maybe not long-term, but at least the current iteration of what the Kings are trying to build.

The three sophomores in Clifford, Raynaud, and Cardwell should all be in the rotation, but even Cardwell and Raynaud could be fighting for minutes with Sabonis' return from injury. Sharp and Karaban will have a harder path to roles, especially after the Simmons signing. Both deserve a big opportunity right away to show what they can do, though, but that could be easier said than done.

Precious Achiuwa is the clear backup four, which pushes out Jonathan Mogbo, who, even though he's a two-way player, already looks like he is a steal on his current deal and could earn a standard contract sooner rather than later. Giving Mogbo as many minutes as possible to see if he can develop feels like the perfect thing for the Kings to do this year; it's just not really there from a rotational standpoint.

We haven't even talked about Malik Monk yet. Who could be the player on the outside looking in. It's a hard thought to have for not only a fan favorite, but also a player with a $21.6 million player option for next season. Even Daeqwon Plowden showed he deserves a real look this year with his strong play to end last season. But as we've seen, someone is going to have to sit.

And there's a chance the Kings could sign one more player to fill out their roster this offseason. It wouldn't be surprising to see Sacramento enter the year with 14 players on their roster, but if they were to add someone, such as one of these three fliers, it could create even more of a logjam of players trying to show what they can do.

What Can Change?

Apr 12, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) warms up before a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Injuries will likely make rotational decisions easier as they come and go throughout the year, but even then, it would take multiple injuries to make enough of a dent for everyone to see meaningful rotational minutes.

The true thinning out might come at the trade deadline, but there's no guarantee that the Kings will be able to pull off trades for any of their veterans, and they could be better served letting LaVine run out his contract this year and moving Sabonis during the offseason.

It's no secret that the Kings have more questions than answers heading into the 2026-27. Now we just have to hope that they didn't leave too many question marks on the roster that they won't be able to get all the information they need to tweak the roster perfectly going forward.

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