What is the Kings Biggest Long-Term Roster Problem

The safest bet on the team right now is easily Acuff at the point guard spot. He's the type of player you build a whole system around and should be the focal point of everything Sacramento does for at least the next four years.

Behind him, there's Raynaud and Cardwell manning the center position, Nique Clifford and Emanuel Sharp filling out the guard spots, and Keegan Murray hopefully stepping into the lead role on the wings, with Alex Karaban helping bring shooting to the mix. All seven players make up a decent rotation from top to bottom and are actually pretty balanced.

There are still questions among those seven players, like whether Clifford can step into a more prominent role and if Murray will ever regain his shooting touch from beyond the arc, but it feels safe to say that's the Kings' core going forward.

What's Missing

The problem with that group of players is that there's only one true shot creator and 'bucket-getter.' It's always possible that Clifford or Murray step into the role, or someone else surprises out of the group, but Acuff is the only player in the Kings' current long-term plans who can go out and get a bucket any time they need one.

For this year, that's where the luxury of having Sabonis, LaVine, and Monk still on the roster comes in handy. Sabonis and LaVine are still the Kings two best players by far, but taking them out of the picture shows just how much work there is to be done going forward.

It's easier said than done, but it feels like Sacramento will still need to find a number two behind Acuff. That's where being bad and hoping for the best with the new lottery odds wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for another season. With the new odds, they'll have less control, but just giving themselves a chance to draft a co-star for Acuff could be the best way to find their secondary scorer.

In an ideal world, it would be a wing player to slot right into the role De'Andre Hunter should fill this season, but a top-tier scoring wing is something every team in the league is trying to collect at the same time. But the edges of the roster are slowly taking shape; now, as we look to the future, we'll have to wait and see if Perry can get the meat and bones of the stars figured out around his rotational core.