Projecting the Kings' Starting Lineup and Rotation After the Trade Deadline

In what was anticipated to be a very eventful trade deadline for the Sacramento Kings, by the time the buzzer sounded at noon PT on Thursday, they completed just one deal. The Kings' lone trade parted ways with Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroder, and Dario Saric, while bringing in De'Andre Hunter.

The three-for-one deal also opened a roster spot for the team to elevate two-way rookie center Dylan Cardwell to a four-year standard contract. While the Kings still have an open roster spot to potentially use on the buyout market or a cheap free agent, we have a general idea of what the lineup will look like for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

As the Kings sit at 12-40 with 30 games left in the season, here is their projected starting lineup, assuming the team gets back to full health after the All-Star break.

The Starting Lineup

G Russell Westbrook
G Zach LaVine
F DeMar DeRozan
F Keegan Murray
C Domantas Sabonis

Feb 4, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook (18) reacts to a call during the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center. | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

While this lineup should not come as a surprise, this is a group we have yet to see together. Of course, that is because Murray and Sabonis have not shared the floor this season due to injuries. Once Murray returns from his extended absence, this should be the lineup Doug Christie rolls with.

Not to say this is the Kings' best lineup, because there are enough losses on their record to prove this core does not play well together, but it would be a shocker to see any of these guys come off the bench at this point.

"Well, what about tanking?" Trust me, this group will continue to lose games.

The biggest concern is that the trade deadline was supposed to send away the Kings' veterans to open up minutes for their young guys. This lineup has an average age of 31.4 years old, where ideally, the Kings would be turning to their rookies, Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell, and Nique Clifford, at this point.

Luckily, those guys should get plenty of run in the second unit.

The Second Unit

G Nique Clifford
G Malik Monk
F De'Andre Hunter
F Precious Achiuwa
C Maxime Raynaud
C Dylan Cardwell

Jan 21, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Dylan Cardwell (32) celebrates after drawing a foul against the Toronto Raptors during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

The Kings will likely be running an 11-man rotation for the most part to end the season, with all of these guys getting their fair share of minutes off the bench. This is actually an intriguing second unit, and one that should excite some fans.

Most notably, their rookie center duo of Raynaud and Cardwell should be featured a ton to end the season, and it would not be surprising to see Christie expirement some with both of them.

Devin Carter?

23-year-old sophomore guard Devin Carter was drafted 13th overall in 2024, but has fallen out of the rotation this season. Despite missing a big chunk of his rookie season due to shoulder surgery, he is still on pace to play fewer minutes this season than he did the last.

Carter finally got a shot in Sacramento's last game, playing a season-high 24 minutes, but was that just the team trying to put him on display before the trade deadline? Either way, it is hard to map out how Carter will fit into the rotation.

In an ideal world, Carter gets a chunk of minutes alongside Clifford in the second-string backcourt, but there is no telling how Christie will approach this decision.

The Starting Lineup

The Second Unit

Devin Carter?

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