Alarming Report Reveals Kings' Veterans Clashing With Doug Christie

December 15th is here, and so is the unofficial start of trade season for the Sacramento Kings and the rest of the NBA. Most media members will remind fans that this date is marked on the calendar solely because it is when most players are available to be traded, not because there is some magic spell that is lifted.

NBA insider Marc J. Spears of Andscape recently went in-depth about De’Aaron Fox and his success with the San Antonio Spurs after his exit from the Kings. Fox is coming off a huge win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup, while the Kings just lost their 20th game before Christmas.

Spears also describes the state of the Kings in contrast to Fox’s current situation and reported that some of Sacramento’s veterans may not be incredibly satisfied with the coaching staff.

“The Kings are struggling with the likes of Murray and veterans Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook on their roster. Sources told Andscape that there is a disconnect between some veteran Kings players and Christie and his coaching staff,” Spears wrote.

Is it Doug Christie, The Roster, or All The Above?

Plenty has been said about the state of the Kings’ roster and how its construction has doomed the team. Sacramento has enough guards for two NBA teams and just two healthy, full-time roster players above 6-foot-8 in Maxime Raynaud and Dario Saric.

Raynaud, the 42nd overall pick in last June’s draft, has been better than expected while starting in place of Sabonis, but Saric hasn’t played since October. This leaves Keegan Murray and Precious Achiuwa to help Raynaud in the frontcourt, and don’t even get me started on the lack of wings.

Even without diving into any other issues, this is already a zero-sum game for Christie, who is in his first full year as a head coach.

The Sacramento Kings and interim coach Doug Christie are finalizing a multiyear contract to make Christie the franchise's next head coach, sources tell ESPN. Christie's agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, negotiated a new deal for the Kings' full-time job this week. pic.twitter.com/OKdBWxszVm
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 29, 2025

While the roster situation limits Christie's rotations, he isn’t blameless for the Kings' issues. On ESPN 1320 on Monday morning, Kings insider James Ham made the point that Christie has been reluctant to play Raynaud with Achiuwa, which makes it challenging for the Kings to handle stronger forwards.

Instead, Murray, DeMar DeRozan, and Russell Westbrook have shared the court with Max, which leads to issues when trying to defend stronger players like Julius Randle or Naz Reid. Reid specifically killed the Kings on Sunday night and gave Murray issues with his physicality, despite Murray’s best efforts.

Although there are changes that Christie can make to his rotations and schemes, the impact that those changes would have on the team is a different story.

Why The Disconnect Will Continue

Christie hasn’t been perfect, and criticism of his coaching is absolutely warranted. This issue with the reported disconnect between the Kings’ vets and their head coach is that they are also a big part of the problem.

According to Cleaning the Glass, LaVine is second-to-last on the team in on/off differential despite making nearly $50 million per year. DeRozan, Westbrook, and Dennis Schroder are also in the red, while the younger Kings are all close to even or positive. This isn’t to say that the vets are bad players; they just don’t fit.

. @TeamLou23 on DeMar DeRozan:

"In Toronto, I thought my career was over... all of them guys rallied around me and extended my career 7-8 years. ... I'm looking at this as a friend. I want my friend to be moved, be with a contender and go out the door with a smile on his face." pic.twitter.com/YFqgw3jGIo
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 15, 2025

Most of the vets are being asked to do things they’ve never had to worry much about in their careers, and despite them putting in effort, it hasn’t translated to on-court success. It isn’t their fault that the previous front office built one of the most unbalanced rosters in the league and inexplicably filled it with players who are all more comfortable in lead roles.

The frustration is palpable while watching games and listening to players in postgame interviews, but appeasing the veterans isn’t the answer for the 6-20 Kings.

“Sacramento is expected to explore making trades of its veteran players, a source told Andscape,” Spears also reported.

As the quote above confirms, LaVine, DeRozan, Schroder, and possibly even Sabonis aren’t likely to be part of the Kings’ future as the team looks to build a perennial contender. The Kings have made it clear at every step that they are going to be picking up the phone, but completing a trade will be much easier said than done, given the sheer amount of money that needs to be moved.

Until those Shams Charania notifications start to hit, the disconnect between Christie and the veterans will continue, and I would expect this isn’t the last we hear of it.

The jury is still out on Christie as a head coach, but as bad as things have been, he still deserves the chance to show what he can do with a reasonably assembled roster.

I also hope that the veterans can put their personal feelings aside and help the younger players grow because there isn’t anything they or Christie can do to turn the tide on this season. I don’t think there’s anyone who faults them for their frustrations with how things are going, but it’s unreasonable to put all the blame on Christie without looking in the mirror.

Is it Doug Christie, The Roster, or All The Above?

Why The Disconnect Will Continue

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