New Offseason Targets Emerge For Sacramento Kings Amid Uncertain Future
New Offseason Targets Emerge For Sacramento Kings Amid Uncertain Future originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
A 40-42 record in the 2024-25 NBA season has left the Sacramento Kings in the worst spot to be for a team: the middle. The Kings are not quite bad enough to bottom out. However, they are not nearly good enough to compete for anything of substance.
Advertisement
A shakeup to the Kings front office is expected to get some movement in one direction of the other. Scott Perry will look to make his mark on the team after taking over as the new general manager.
The question Kings fans are asking is which direction will the new executive pick. NBA insider Jake Fischer offered some clues.
Mar 7, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (10) reacts to a call during the fourth quarter of the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center.© Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
One obvious hole that is abundantly clear to everyone would be the point guard position. Fischer reported that Sacramento will be looking to address that concern.
The NBA insider wrote, "At the opposite end of the lineup spectrum, Sacramento has continued to evaluate its point guard options, according to league sources."
Advertisement
Fischer continued: "New general manager Scott Perry, remember, immediately highlighted the Kings' need for improved playmaking during his introductory press conference and sources have duly linked Sacramento to various guards known to be available this summer."
The NBA reporter revealed, "That list includes [Jrue] Holiday in Boston and Marcus Smart in Washington ... and stretches to more affordable free agent ballhandlers like Malcolm Brogdon."
The Kings have done themselves no favors of late at the lead guard position. It is tremendously ironic considering they once had more than what they knew to do with at that spot.
After landing an absolute steal with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Sacramento infamously traded Tyrese Haliburton away to the Indiana Pacers. Haliburton has led his team to a 2-1 NBA Finals lead.
Advertisement
The Kings chose to prioritize De'Aaron Fox over Haliburton. However, Fox is gone now too, having been traded to the San Antonio Spurs this past season.
If the goal is attempting to be competitive, a move for one of the targeted names would help. However, none of those guards come close to rivaling either former Kings point guard.
Related: 3 Sacramento Kings Player Headline 'Favorites' to be Traded to Eastern Conference Team
Related: Sacramento Kings Set to Pursue 2 All-Star Guards as 'Long-Term Solution'
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
17 minutes ago
- CBS News
Sam Bennett says he's staying in Florida with hopes Panthers turn into a dynasty
Sam Bennett could have gone to free agency and picked his landing spot, plus probably could have signed for much more money than the Florida Panthers were able to offer. Instead, he chose winning. Bennett, the reigning Conn Smythe Award winner as playoff MVP of Florida's most recent run to the Stanley Cup, spoke out Saturday about his decision to sign an eight-year, $64 million deal with the Panthers. His reasoning was actually quite simple. "I think we have a lot more success in our future," Bennett said. It's not hard to envision that, given how the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions now have eight core players — Bennett, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Gustav Forsling, Anton Lundell and Seth Jones — under contract through at least 2030. Bennett's status, especially after winning the Conn Smythe following a 15-goal performance in the playoffs, might have seemed to be in some question a couple weeks ago. He announced at a Miami nightclub last week that he was staying — there was no deal at the time, and his agent wasn't happy that he did that — but it was clear that Bennett was hoping something would get done in Florida. Teammates were evidently thrilled when the news broke Friday night. "I got like three FaceTimes right away from the boys," Bennett said. "A couple of them were together and they were so fired up. The group chat was going nuts. I've said it a million times, this group is so tight. So many guys that really care about each other. I was definitely feeling the love last night." Bennett is critical to the Panthers at both ends. He was one of three players in the NHL this season — Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk's brother, and Washington's Tom Wilson were the other two — with at least 50 points and 90 penalty minutes. He said his decision came down to not seeing a need to take risks. He loves playing in Florida, loves being part of the Panthers, loves who he goes to work with every day. More money or a new role wasn't going to outweigh all of that. "I think we really have the chance to truly make this team a dynasty," Bennett said. "I'm really just grateful that I get the chance to be a part of it. There are so many pieces in this puzzle that create this team and the success that this team has. And just to be a small piece of that is an honor. Looking forward to growing this legacy for the next eight years, for sure."
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cubs' Craig Counsell Delivers Stern Message to Cade Horton After Rough Start
Cubs' Craig Counsell Delivers Stern Message to Cade Horton After Rough Start originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Chicago Cubs rookie pitcher Cade Horton took the mound Friday night for his eighth start of the season, kicking off a three-game series with the Houston Astros. Advertisement Horton has been one of the young starting pitchers the Cubs have leaned on during the absence of Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga, and he's performed quite well. Coming into Friday night, Horton held a 3.73 ERA, which was good for third among the Cubs starters, behind just Imanaga and Matthew Boyd. However, Friday night was a rough outing for the young pitcher. After working through traffic in the first two innings, Horton couldn't get out of the third inning without the Astros getting on the board. Horton allowed three base runners in each of the first two innings, but escaped unscathed. In the third, he loaded the bases with no outs and surrendered his first run on a sacrifice fly. After striking out Christian Walker to create a path out of the inning, Astros catcher Yainer Diaz hit a three-run home run to put Houston up 4-0. Advertisement In the fourth inning, Horton allowed back-to-back singles followed by a second three-run home run. This time by outfielder Cam Smith, who the Cubs traded to the Astros this offseason. Horton's night was done after four innings. He gave up seven runs on eight hits and four walks. "I thought we had a good game plan going into it. I just never really caught my footing - let up too many walks, hit a guy up 0-2 - just a recipe for disaster," Horton said after the game. "I got my (expletive) kicked today." Horton's ERA rose to 4.80 after last night's outing. Manager Craig Counsell had a stern message for the rookie pitcher postgame, but also saw the performance as a learning experience. Advertisement "This was a really good regular season environment. The fans do a great job. This place is loud always. I just told Cade that this is a good example of what the playoffs are going to look like," Counsell said postgame. "Turn it up a couple notches, but of a road game we've that played this year, this is probably the best example that Cade's had of what it turns into against a tough lineup. So, that's the lesson you kind of take from it, and he'll be better next time." The Cubs' skipper showed confidence in his young starter at the end of his quote. After all, it was only Horton's eighth start in the major leagues, and he did so in a pretty electric environment. Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton (22) delivers a pitch against the New York Mets during the second inning at Citi Fisher-Imagn Images As if two of the top teams in MLB meeting midway through the season with the same record wouldn't be enough to get the Astros' crowd riled up. Horton was also pitching on the night of the return of two former World Series champions in Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly, who joined the Cubs this offseason from the Astros. Advertisement It was an emotional night all around, and Horton happened to be the guy on the bump for the Cubs. However, Counsell seems confident his young pitcher will bounce back and be better next time out. The only other time Horton gave up four or more runs in an outing this season, the following start, he bounced back, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings. The Cubs and Astros will play the second game of their weekend series Saturday in Houston at 6:15 p.m. on FOX. Related: Cubs Might Find Shocking Trade Candidate in Orioles' Two-Time All-Star This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Paulinho scores in extra time to give Palmeiras a 1-0 win over Botafogo at the Club World Cup
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Paulinho worked his way between a pair of defenders and rolled a shot into the back of the net in extra time Saturday to put Palmeiras into the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Brazilian league rival Botafogo. Paulinho, who has made one appearance for Brazil's national team, dribbled through the defense with an inside cut from the right wing in the 100th minute. He then sent a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of John's net. Advertisement Botafogo created multiple chances for an equalizer in the final minutes but couldn't get a goal. The match at Lincoln Financial Field was full of attacking soccer with a combined 35 shot attempts. Palmeiras, however, ended the match with 10 men after defender Gustavo Gómez was given a red card. Gómez received a second yellow card in the 116th minute after tackling Igor Jesus in midfield to prevent Botafogo from starting a counterattack. The 33,657 fans in attendance helped set the tone for the match with incessant cheering, bringing the flavor of a South American game to the United States. Key moment Advertisement Paulinho's goal in extra time broke the scoreless draw and gave Palmeiras the win and a spot in the quarterfinals against either Benfica or Chelsea. Takeaways Palmeiras is the first team to reach the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup. They will return to Philadelphia to face the winner of Friday's match between Benfica and Chelsea. Botafogo, the current Copa Libertadores champion, has been eliminated from the tournament. ___ AP soccer: Mario Rodriguez Canuto, The Associated Press
