{"id":339669,"date":"2026-05-31T01:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T01:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/339669\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T01:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T01:03:15","slug":"kings-have-one-position-they-dont-have-to-worry-about-this-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/339669\/","title":{"rendered":"Kings Have One Position They Don&#8217;t Have to Worry About This Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6v\">Coming off a disappointing 22-60 season, it is no secret that the Sacramento Kings have plenty of work to do to get back to relevancy. New general manager Scott Perry seems committed to a rebuild, trying to retool a veteran-led roster, but there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/kings\/onsi\/could-sacramento-kings-be-better-next-season-than-expected\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">some good news in Sacramento<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6y\">While it seems like the Kings are lacking young talent everywhere on the roster, there is actually one position that they will not have to worry about this offseason. The Kings are expected to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/kings\/onsi\/buy-or-sell-kings-reportedly-interested-in-darius-acuff-jr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">find their franchise point guard<\/a> with the No. 7 pick in the draft and should be searching to add wing depth as well, but they do not have to focus on the center position.<\/p>\n<p>Kings have a standout center trio<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01ksx2pfsh2bxjda5xqw.jpg\" alt=\"Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie talks with center Dylan Cardwell\" title=\"Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie talks with center Dylan Cardwell\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Feb 6, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie talks with center Dylan Cardwell (32) and center Maxime Raynaud (42) during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Golden 1 Center. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">The Kings lucked out in the 2025 draft when they selected Maxime Raynaud with the No. 42 overall pick. He ended up being the only non-lottery selection named to an All-Rookie Team, and there is already plenty of discussion of whether he is ready to become Sacramento&#8217;s new franchise big man.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7i\">On top of adding Raynaud in the second round of last year&#8217;s draft, the Kings found a gem in Dylan Cardwell as an undrafted free agent. That rookie center duo alone was enough to save the Kings&#8217; center position, and that was without three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis at the helm.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">DYLAN CARDWELL WITH 2 HUGE BLOCKS IN THE FINAL SECONDS TO WIN IT FOR SAC \ud83d\udeab\ud83d\udeab<\/p>\n<p>Russ was HYPED. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1pz0UatqDG\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/1pz0UatqDG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NBA\/status\/2040288847108407456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">April 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7o\">Sabonis appeared in just 19 games this season as he dealt with various injuries, giving Raynaud and Cardwell a chance to prove themselves. Now, heading into next season, the Kings have a three-headed monster at the center position. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7r\">Of course, that is assuming that Sabonis does not get traded, but even if the Kings ultimately decide to move on from their star center, the young tandem of Raynaud and Cardwell gives the franchise plenty of assurance in the frontcourt.<\/p>\n<p>Why they need guard and forward help<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7x\">Sure, it is great that they do not need to focus on improving the center position this offseason, but that does not mean they have an easy summer ahead of them. The Kings will be frantically searching for ways to get younger while improving their guards and forwards. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"80\">Fortunately for the Kings, they are practically guaranteed to find their starting point guard with the No. 7 pick in this year&#8217;s draft, with one of Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings, Mikel Brown Jr., and Keaton Wagler expected to land in Sacramento.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"83\">READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/kings\/onsi\/sacramento-kings-big-board-top-draft-options-at-no-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Sacramento Kings Big Board: Top Draft Options at No. 7<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"86\">Then, they will be searching for ways to improve their wing depth while adding more length and defensive prowess. Whether that be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/kings\/onsi\/kings-host-two-ideal-second-round-targets-for-pre-draft-workout\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">in the second round of the draft<\/a> or through trades and free agency, the Kings will certainly have some focus on improving their backup wings, with Keegan Murray and De&#8217;Andre Hunter expected to have the starting spots to themselves.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"89\">The Kings likely have a very busy offseason ahead of them, but they are in a great position with Sabonis, Raynaud, and Cardwell as their centers.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8c\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/InsideTheKings\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow us on Facebook<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KingsOn_SI\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">\u00a0and X for the latest Sacramento Kings news.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coming off a disappointing 22-60 season, it is no secret that the Sacramento Kings have plenty of work&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-339669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}