Sacramento Kings News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Mar 22, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie gestures during the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Kings Future First-Round Draft Picks: Enough to Get a Star?

Originally posted on Sacramento Kings on SI
By Will Zimmerle | Last updated May 30, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The Sacramento Kings continued their offseason overhaul with the announcement of three new assistant coaches. While coaching and front office changes have already taken place for the Kings, from a player perspective, we're left to wonder and speculate what moves Scott Perry may make.

But taking a break from trade proposals and free agent options, let's take a look at the Kings' first-round draft picks over the next seven years, which is surprisingly better than any offseason in recent memory.

The Kings may not have their first-round pick this season, as it's finally headed to the Atlanta Hawks to finish the Kevin Huerter to Sacramento trade, but with that pick conveying to the Hawks, the Kings future picks are (mostly) all in their own posession.

Sacramento doesn't have a single outgoing first-round pick until the 2031 season, when San Antonio will have the option to swap picks for the better of the two selections. But until then, Sacramento has all of their own picks, which is a growing rarity in today's NBA.

And while they don't have a treasure trove like other teams in the Houston Rockets or Oklahoma City Thunder, they do have two extra picks at their disposal.

The Kings own San Antonio's 2027 pick and the Minnesota Timberwolves' 2031 pick, both of which are unprotected. This isn't to say that both of those picks will end up being great picks or even in the lottery, but having additional assets is something that is so rare in Sacramento.

It gives the Kings flexibility this offseason if they want to go star hunting on the trade market. It's ironic that Perry has the flexibility with the picks when that was something Monte McNair constantly stressed during his tenure as GM. (After almost immediately hamstringing himself with the Huerter trade).

But the Kings can send out up to five picks this offseason as they see fit, and that's not including the additional two pick swaps they can include. So, depending on whether you'd like to count the pick swaps, the Kings could get up to seven picks to send out.

Will Z.

It helps immensely that two of those seven are from the Spurs and Timberwolves, as it gives Perry and any GM that wants to trade with the Kings a multitude of options. From sending out their own picks and keeping the Spurs and Timberwolves, to sending out picks further in the future while maintaining control of closer picks, the Kings have options.

While it's more than they've had in the past, the Kings' picks aren't likely going to be able to net the biggest stars of the offseason, a la Giannis Antetokounmpo. But even in the biggest possible trade scenarios, it's the Kings' player assets that hold them back them their picks.

The combination of the Kings players under contract and up to seven picks should be more than enough to bring back a star around the likes of Ja Morant, Trae Young, or LaMelo Ball, all three of whom are popular ideas in Sacramento.

This isn't to say that the Kings should squander their small treasure trove of picks just to get back to the playoffs, but they have firepower they haven't had in years. Time will tell if Perry chooses to go into the vault of picks this offseason or hold off to maintain future flexibility while he reshapes the roster.

This article first appeared on Sacramento Kings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: