The Kings weren’t as content to run back the same group in the 2024 offseason, making an aggressive three-team sign-and-trade to acquire DeMar DeRozan<\/a>. It was a suspect move at the time, considering they gave up Harrison Barnes<\/a> and a 2031 first-round pick swap (to San Antonio), plus Chris Duarte<\/a> and a pair of second-round picks (to Chicago), in order to sign DeRozan to a three-year contract worth nearly $75MM.<\/p>\n Perhaps unsurprisingly, owner Vivek Ranadive reportedly<\/a> pushed the former front office regime to acquire both DeRozan and LaVine, who had proven to be a ill-fitting pair together in Chicago for multiple seasons leading up to the deals.<\/p>\n Sacramento played a little better under Christie, going 27-24 and finishing the season as the ninth seed. The team lost its first play-in contest against Dallas though, marking another early postseason exit.<\/p>\n The Kings parted ways with former general manager Monte McNair after the ’24\/25 season and quickly replaced him with Scott Perry, a former Pistons and Knicks executive who previously had a brief stint in Sacramento. Perry’s first roster moves were draft-focused. He sent a protected 2027 first-rounder to Oklahoma City to land the 24th pick (Nique Clifford<\/a>) in last year’s draft, then added Maxime Raynaud<\/a> with the 42nd pick and signed Dylan Cardwell<\/a> to a two-way contract after the former Auburn big man went undrafted.<\/p>\n Although the Kings were reportedly open to trying to acquire Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> in a sign-and-trade with the Warriors, nothing came to fruition on that front. Their main free agency move was acquiring Dennis Schr\u00f6der<\/a> in a sign-and-trade deal with Detroit, and they eventually signed Russell Westbrook<\/a> and Precious Achiuwa<\/a> to round out their roster.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for fans in Sacramento, the 2025\/26 campaign was pretty close to a worst-case scenario for the Kings, who entered the season with playoff aspirations and finished just 22-60, tied for the fourth-worst record in the NBA. Their two highest-paid players — LaVine and Sabonis — combined to play just 58 games due to injuries, while a third starter — Keegan Murray<\/a> — was limited to a career-low 23 appearances because of his own ailments.<\/p>\n The Schr\u00f6der acquisition didn’t work out, as the Kings ended up trading him in February to acquire De’Andre Hunter<\/a> from Cleveland. Sacramento also sent out Keon Ellis<\/a> (to the Cavs), plus Dario Saric<\/a> and a 2028 second-round pick (to the Bulls) in that three-team deal. There were rumors the Kings could’ve gotten second-round picks for Ellis, but they instead prioritized adding Hunter, who provides a different skill set and a much pricier contract. Hunter was forced to undergo season-ending surgery after he was inadvertently poked in the eye in his second game as a King.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Zach-LaVine-vert-197x300.jpg\")
After a 13-18 start to 2024\/25, the Kings fired Brown and named Doug Christie — an ex-Kings guard and then-assistant on Brown’s staff — his interim replacement. They also traded Fox after the star point guard indicated he wouldn’t sign an extension in Sacramento, once again making a controversial three-team deal involving the Bulls and Spurs that saw Sacramento receive two first-round picks, four second-rounders, and the maximum-salary contract of Zach LaVine<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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