Latest Report on 2 Kings Stars' Uncertain Future With Team

This season in Sacramento has been no less than a disaster for the Kings. Not only did they fire their first winning coach in almost 20 years, they also traded one of their best players ever in De’Aaron Fox. Domantas Sabonis has really struggled since the trade, and reports have come out that he will be looking for clarity from Sacramento’s ownership and front office on the direction of the team.

Domantas Sabonis could request a trade if the Kings don’t establish a clear direction this offseason, per @BrettSiegelNBA

“Many around the league are preparing for the possibility of the Kings becoming big sellers ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline next February, which would… pic.twitter.com/7dMOmbdN6X
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 28, 2025

Apparently, Sabonis isn’t the only Sacramento star who will be looking to have “tough conversations” with the team. The Athletic’s Sam Amick recently joined The Carmichael Dave Show on Sactown 1140 and spoke with Carmichael Dave and Jason Ross about the situation in Sacramento beyond this season.

“You have DeMar (DeRozan), who I think is going to be similar to Sabonis… There’s going to be tough conversations in the summer where guys decide if they feel like being part of this”

DeMar DeRozan may get some criticism for his play style, but he’s been a useful player for Sacramento this season and is one of the more efficient scorers on the team. Beyond his play, DeRozan is a very respected veteran and was well-liked at every stop during his years of service in the NBA.

DeRozan joining Sabonis in being concerned about the Kings’ direction is a bad sign for fans, as DeRozan played in Chicago on a team that was not a contender, but seemed to be supportive and open to staying regardless. The question to ask is: who can blame him?

All of this news coincides with Sacramento dropping a game to the Wizards that many have dubbed as the worst loss in team history. While some of this may be hyperbole, it certainly feels like one of the worst losses ever when you see that the Wizards were missing a significant portion of their roster and rested starters Alex Sarr and Jordan Poole in the fourth quarter. Not to mention the Wizards are the worst team in the NBA with only 17 wins.

Kings just lost to the Wizards, the WORST team in the league with EIGHT players out with injury.
— KingsMuse (@kings_muse) April 3, 2025

I can’t imagine that anyone is blaming DeRozan and Sabonis for wanting to know more about where this team is headed in the future, as any hope of making the actual postseason has simmered to almost nothing as the season winds down.

There are so many fingers being pointed at every player, the front office, the coaching staff, but the most pressure should be on the team’s owner, Vivek Ranadive.

Since Ranadive purchased the team, the Kings have made the postseason once, where they took the Golden State Warriors to seven games before being knocked out in the first round. This is undoubtedly the highlight of his tenure as owner, and the team has only gotten worse since.

After deciding not to make any changes to the “Beam Team” that had a lot of success, but was clearly in need of improvement to compete, Sacramento started on the path to mediocrity that it hasn’t veered from since. While the team did make the play-in tournament last year, they were embarrassed by the New Orleans Pelicans for the sixth time in the 2023-24 season.

While some of this has to fall on general manager Monte McNair, the dysfunction has been a consistent presence regardless of who has taken the GM or head coach seat in Sacramento. That kind of dysfunction points to team ownership, and with Vivek’s history of meddling in team decisions, you can pretty much guarantee that the issues start at the top.

Whether Ranadive made the decision to fire Mike Brown and/or trade for Zach Lavine may never be confirmed, but his willingness to involve his family, ex-players, and failed general managers in team decisions certainly plays a part in Sacramento’s stars feeling uneasy about the team.

This offseason will be an interesting one in Sacramento, and don’t be surprised if you hear that any of the Kings players aren’t interested in continuing their tenure with the team. This should be especially worrying when it comes to players who are going to be looking for extensions soon, such as Keegan Murray.

The Kings need to figure things out quickly, or the team may open up another playoff drought and lose fans who just want to watch good basketball, whether the team wins or not.

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