What Dylan Cardwell's New Injury Announcement Means for the Kings

The Sacramento Kings already cannot catch a break. The 2026-27 regular season hasn't even started yet, and the Kings' center depth is already decimated. After the Kings announced that Maxime Raynaud would be reevaluated in two weeks for a right patellar subluxation, the team's next man up also suffered an injury.

On Tuesday, the Kings announced that Dylan Cardwell would also be reevaluated in about two weeks due to a calf strain.

"Sacramento Kings center Dylan Cardwell was evaluated after experiencing left calf soreness following the Kings game versus the Los Angeles Lakers on October 8. Imaging revealed a calf strain in Cardwell's left calf. He will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks. Further updates will be provided as appropriate," the team announced.

Sacramento Kings center Dylan Cardwell will be sidelined for at least two weeks due to a calf strain.

Cardwell and Maxime Raynaud are both facing multi-week absences with the season set to begin next Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/zc6wibfo9Z
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) October 13, 2026

Now, the Kings will be without both Raynaud and Cardwell for the next two weeks, creating a gaping hole in their center rotation.

What Cardwell's absence means

With Raynaud sidelined, it became clear that Cardwell would fill in as the Kings' backup center. After going undrafted in 2025, he emerged as one of the biggest rookie gems for the Kings last season. In 44 appearances, he averaged 5.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game, while shooting 58.7% from the field.

Cardwell immediately became the team's top interior defender and a high-level rebounder, while his high energy and showmanship quickly turned him into a fan favorite. With Raynaud out and Domantas Sabonis seemingly still ramping up, Cardwell was set to step into a significant role to start the season.

This is a huge loss for the Kings and an unfortunate missed opportunity to get Cardwell the minutes he deserves. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery, but he will likely be out for the rest of preseason and the first three or four games of the regular season.

Apr 3, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Dylan Cardwell (32) during the third quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Kings will certainly miss Cardwell's defensive presence to start the season, but they should be able to survive a few games with him and Raynaud unavailable.

What do the Kings do?

With Raynaud and Cardwell both sidelined, the Kings have one easy solution: Precious Achiuwa. While Achiuwa is a natural power forward, the Kings have already experimented with him at center plenty since signing him last season, and they are likely comfortable with him being Sabonis's backup for the time being.

The Kings are now expected to have a starting frontcourt of Ben Simmons and Domantas Sabonis, which allows them to roll with a backup duo of De'Andre Hunter and Achiuwa. Of course, this is not ideal, given the Kings likely want to have some more size off the bench, but it'll do for the first few games of the season.

The biggest worry right now is that Sabonis seems to be either ramping up or dealing with an injury. If Sabonis also has to miss any time, the Kings could be in trouble.

Inside this morning's shootaround as the Kings prepare to host the Trail Blazers in their 4th preseason game.
Domantas Sabonis & Malik Monk, both present at shootaround, weren't seen participating in activities and both were not in uniform, putting their availability for… pic.twitter.com/mTPw3ZMdsg
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 13, 2026

Sabonis has already missed the Kings' last two preseason games and is not yet trending in the right direction ahead of Tuesday's matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers. There is a chance we will see the Kings without any of their three rostered centers on Tuesday night, but let's hope Sabonis's issue does not drag into the regular season.

This is a far-from-ideal time for either Raynaud or Cardwell to be sidelined, but the Kings will have to make it work.

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