Entering the 2025-26 NBA season, most people didn’t project the Sacramento Kings to be among the top teams in the West. 16 games into the year, and it’s somehow worse than they thought. The Kings currently have a 3-13 record and are just one game away from boasting the worst record in the conference. The time may be coming to blow up this roster. The only problem is, NBA analyst Tim Bontemps doesn’t have optimism that it will be possible.
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In 2023, the Kings seemed to have finally exited mediocrity after securing the third seed in the Western Conference. Although they suffered a first-round loss to the Golden State Warriors, there was optimism that they would only build on this success.
Instead, they have failed to reach the postseason since. Their franchise cornerstone, De’Aaron Fox, is no longer on the team, which has impacted the franchise’s overall sense of direction. They have a core of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, who are all great players individually. However, as a collective, they don’t fit at all.
The clock is ticking for the Kings to make a move, or else this will be another wasted year. The change can start by offloading their stars, but that is going to be easier said than done.
“I’m just not sure if any of these guys are tradable,” Bontemps said on the Stock Report. “I think there’s a very limited market.”
That’s not quite the words the Kings fan base would like to hear. The issue is that Sacramento’s main core isn’t quite plug-and-play players aside from Zach LaVine. Sabonis may be their most important player, but he might also be the most untradable of them all.
“I think there’s no market for Domantas Sabonis. Even if he comes back from his knee injury and he’s healthy, I don’t really see anybody rushing to trade for him,” Bontemps declared.
LaVine undoubtedly has the most sought-after out of the three. However, his contract is a deterrent for most trade suitors. The 30-year-old is making $47 million this season and has a player option for $48 million next year, which he will most likely opt into. Teams simply don’t have that type of money lying around to devote to a second option at best.
“I don’t see anybody rushing to trade for Zach LaVine,” Bontemps said. The same sentiment follows down the line of the rest of the roster.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of suitors for Malik Monk. He’s basically $60 million over the next three years. Dennis Schroeder’s $30 million for the next two years, I’m just not sure what’s going to happen there,” Bontemps said.
After Bontemps hashed out the harsh reality for the Kings, Anthony Slater joined in to reveal what Sacramento should do to rectify this situation.
“Over the next three years, can you be patient with it?” Slated said. “A bottom-five record, a potential top-five pick would be the best reward.”
The 2026 NBA Draft is looking like a goldmine for future stars. Sacramento’s savior could be in that class. However, there’s no guarantee they will land one of the top prospects. For the sake of Kings fans, hopefully that’s the case. Nobody wants the Sacramento to go through another 20 years of mediocrity.
