The Kings move on from DeRozan and Westbrook and need Sabonis back on the floor

The Sacramento Kings spent last season with their biggest names in and out of the lineup and their busiest players about to leave. DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder are gone. Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray are still here, after playing 19, 39 and 23 games. The question for 2026-27 is whether that trio can finally stay on the floor, and whether it is enough if they do.

Last season was rough. Sacramento went 22-60, finished 14th in the West, missed the playoffs and was outscored by 9.8 points per 100 possessions. With Sabonis, LaVine and Murray missing so much time, the minutes went elsewhere, and the record shows where.

A lot of minutes walk out

The departures are not stars leaving, but they are a lot of minutes walking out the door. DeRozan, now with the Denver Nuggets, played 77 games at 31.3 minutes. Westbrook played 64 games at 28.9. Schroder, now with the Charlotte Hornets, gave Sacramento 40 games at 26.3 minutes. All three graded below average, between -0.5 and -0.71, so on our numbers the Kings lose volume more than quality.

Devin Carter, now with the Boston Celtics, also leaves after 38 games (-0.87), and DaQuan Jeffries played just three. Add it up and only 57% of last season's minutes return. That is a big reshuffle, and those minutes have to go somewhere.

The newcomers are modest. Leaky Black came over from the Washington Wizards after 15 games at 28.9 minutes (7.1 points, 5 rebounds, -1.22). Jonathan Mogbo, from the Toronto Raptors, played 40 games but only 6.3 minutes a night, and Tristen Newton, from the Houston Rockets, played a single game. Two familiar names return after a season away: Ben Simmons (5 points and 5.6 assists in 2024-25) and Elfrid Payton (7.1 assists in 21.4 minutes in 2024-25). Viktor Lakhin, Sean East II and Darius Acuff Jr. are the rookies.

Sabonis, LaVine and Murray

Everything depends on three players who were rarely available. Sabonis played only 19 games, but when he did he put up 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 29.7 minutes, the most rebounds on the roster. His rating sat a little below average (-0.65), not what you want from the centerpiece, but his rebounding and passing are still the closest thing this roster has to a hub.

LaVine was the scorer: 19.2 points in 31.4 minutes over 39 games, the most points per game on the team. But he graded below average (-1.01), so the scoring did not turn into winning minutes. Murray played just 23 games, yet at 34.6 minutes a night, more than anyone else in the core, with 14 points, 5.7 rebounds and a rating close to average (-0.2). If those three play most of the season, this is a different team from the one that went 22-60. Whether it is a good one is another matter.

The bigs who helped

The best numbers belong to role players. Dylan Cardwell played 20.7 minutes a night over 44 games, with 5.4 points and 7.5 rebounds, and our impact rating, which counts the points per 100 possessions a player adds over an average one, had him at 1.09, the highest in this core. He does not score much, but Sacramento was better with him out there.

Precious Achiuwa was the other clear plus: 73 games, 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 23.9 minutes, and a 0.68. Nique Clifford played 75 games at 25.1 minutes and sat right around average (-0.14), with 8.6 points. With minutes opening up, all three should play more, and on these numbers they have earned it.

The worries

The worry is the group that played big minutes and graded well below average. De'Andre Hunter scored 13.7 points in 26.2 minutes but finished at -2.43. Daeqwon Plowden (-2.3 in 26.4 minutes) and Maxime Raynaud (-1.85) were not far behind, and Raynaud played 74 games at 26.6 minutes, with 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. Malik Monk scored 12.5 points in 22 minutes at -0.56.

That is the catch in a 57% return: much of what comes back is the minutes that lost games. The one good sign is the injury report, which lists nobody. For a team whose three biggest names played so little last season, a clean start is worth a lot.

Bottom line

Our roster model ranks Sacramento 29th of 30 and projects about 27 wins, better than 22 but still near the bottom, outscored by 6.2 points per 100 possessions on paper. That is a judgment built from last season, when all three of the big names missed most of the year. If Sabonis, LaVine and Murray stay on the floor and Cardwell and Achiuwa get the minutes their numbers ask for, the Kings can beat it. If the minutes go back to Hunter, Plowden and Raynaud, they will not.

The season opens on Wednesday, October 21, at 10:30 PM ET, on the road against the LA Clippers.