Sacramento Kings Receive Mixed Offseason Feedback With NBA Expert Grade

Golden State has gone quiet on sign-and-trade discussions, seemingly expecting Kuminga to play on the qualifying offer this season and hit unrestricted free agency next summer. 

For comparison, Amick actually did give the Warriors an Incomplete. He explained that Golden State must “get [Kuminga’s] restricted free agency right if they have any hope of adding another pivotal player down the line.”

It has been widely reported that the Kuminga situation has prevented them from signing their potential contracts because they may need to maneuver differently depending on where Kuminga’s 2025-26 salary lands. 

The Kings, meanwhile, have managed to make several notable transactions while negotiating with Kuminga and Golden State. So, their receiving a grade while this situation continues to play out makes sense. 

Amick goes on to address those notable moves, beginning with the Dennis Schroder signing, which was rumored for about a week prior to free agency starting, then dragged on after sign-and-trade possibilities arose. 

“Regardless of how you feel about Schroder - and he’s been a mixed bag in recent seasons - the point guard void had to be filled after the previous front office traded De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio.”

Amick’s reasoning is fair. Anyone with a working set of eyes saw how clunky Sacramento’s offense looked after the trade deadline last season. This could be a product of needing a point guard, adjusting to a new coach after firing Mike Brown, or some combination of both. However, most - including key players - acknowledge that point guard was Sacramento’s biggest need this offseason. 

The element of the Schroder signing that most people take issue with is the value. Schroder signed for the full NTMLE, or a first-year value of $14.1 million, which accounts for 9.12% of the salary cap. This puts Schroder in no-man's land relative to the rest of the free agent point guard class this summer. 

As you can see, there was nearly a 10% gap in cap percentage value between Fred Vanvleet, a former NBA Champion and one-time All Star who is integral to Houston’s locker room (and, as newly elected President of the NBA Players Association, the league as a whole), and Ty Jerome, coming off a 6th Man of the Year type season helping lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to one of their best non-LeBron seasons ever. Jerome represents the bar for lower-end starters or high-end reserves, which Schroder has been throughout his career. 

Detroit was active this offseason, signing Caris LeVert and acquiring Duncan Robinson via sign-and-trade. These moves, paired with Jaden Ivey’s return from injury, left the writing on the wall that they were probably not bending over backwards to retain Schroder. Brooklyn, the only team that legitimately had the money to bid up to the value Schroder received from the Kings, is one of two teams that traded him last season. 

Amick does not mention it in his piece, but the process of getting to offer that value was questionable as well. One benefit to exercising Keon Ellis’s team, the front office explained, was helping the Kings add some talent they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to obtain, which is almost certainly referring to Schroder. Ceding this sort of leverage and long-term savings with Ellis just to sign Schroder is questionable. 

So, while point guard was undoubtedly a need this summer, getting a point guard at the right price while using a solid process to acquire that point guard was what the true objective should have been. That price should probably be closer to the Jones brothers, which is likely reflected in Amick’s lukewarm grade.

Beyond the Schroder signing, Amick noted Sacramento’s trade up for Nique Clifford, which has looked promising so far. “All in all, it’s going to take [Scott] Perry a while to clean up this messy roster.” Patience is a virtue, and Kings fans would be wise to exercise some as Perry and his new staff shape this roster over the course of the next several months and into the regular season.