Over the last several weeks, the Sacramento Kings have played their favorite game with their fans: What if we pretend to improve while not really doing anything? And just like we do every year, Kings fans fell for it– and to be fair, what else are fans supposed to do at this point but hope and dream for better days?

After days of hoping Scott Perry wouldn’t embarrass himself and completely shit the bed at the trade deadline, Scott Perry embarrassed himself and completely shit the bed at the trade deadline. No veterans were moved, unless you count the marquee signing of Perry’s own tenure, who he was forced to dump to the Cavs by attaching Keon Ellis as a sweetener. Somehow, the Kings managed to get older, more expensive, and less interesting, all while giving up assets in a trade.

It was terrible, as per usual.

But, somehow, and almost impressively, the Kings have stumbled into a new era of incompetence. Never before have they assembled this level of overpaid veterans who cant win, paired with a bench full of mildly intriguing not clearly not blue-chip young players, and yet, still have nothing to trade. There’s no emergency trade level to pull – no DeMarcus Cousins or De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton.

The Kings are stuck.

This is hopeless.

The Owner

Let’s not waste too much time here. Vivek Ranadive is the worst, most toxic owner in sports. In his 13-year tyranny, the Kings have averaged a record of 34 wins and 48 losses. They haven’t won a single playoff series in that time. They’ve cycled through a zillion GMs, a few hundred coaches, and one daughter-turned-GM. The stories of backstabbing, enabling, and general hostility are too many to put in one article.

He’s terrible, and so are the Kings.

The GM

Scott Perry was always an odd hire. His eagerness to return to Sacramento should have always raised more eyebrows than it did. No one wants to work for Vivek Ranadive – certainly, not someone who’s already witnessed the shenanigans up close.

Certainly, there are some folks out there who would take the risk to try and build something here – folks who would not otherwise get that opportunity – but that isn’t the case with Perry. He’s been the assistant GM of the Orlando Magic and the GM of the Knicks. He’s not a young kid trying to break their way into the ranks. He’s a seasoned executive who has previously worked for this terrible owner who doles out power sparingly while sharing blame widely.

And beyond the red flags of his return, Perry just isn’t good at this.

Since joining the organization for the second time, Perry has replicated his first stint by bringing in a bunch of veterans that no one else really wants. He opened the offseason by signing Dennis Schroder to a $48 million deal, despite zero competing offers in the market, and then doubled-down by signing Russell Westbrook. He also refused to sign any inherited vets in pursuit of a winning season.

The Kings are 12-50 – the worst team in the NBA. Perry believed this was a play-in or playoff worthy roster.

An important detail in the Schroder signing was his decision to pass on a Keon Ellis extension, one of two young two-way players the Kings employed at the time. Keon actually represented Scott Perry’s fake pillars better than almost any other player on the team. At the deadline, Perry threw Ellis away to Cleveland, not for draft assets, but as compensation to the Cavs for taking on Schroder’s terrible contract. The irony would be sweet if it wasn’t so depressing.

Take a moment and look at the names Perry has chased: Dennis Schroder, Russell Westbrook, De’Andre Hunter, Jonathan Kuminga, and RJ Barrett – low efficiency, stat-padding players no one else has wanted.

It appeared Perry and the Kings thought he was building a playoff team, and he accidentally built a lottery contender. Perry thought Schroder was worth sacrificing a long-term contract for Ellis, but he ended up sacrificing Ellis to dump Schroder. He’s pursued players no one else wanted, and he’s failed to trade the current vets who he inherited.

The Kings have only moved backward under Perry’s watchful eye, and he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

The Coach

Doug Christie simply…exists. Not a single player, young, mid-career, or veteran, has shown a new wrinkle in their game or a new aspect of how they score, defend, or rebound under his watch. There is no innovation or trickery. The Kings roll the ball out and get killed on a nightly basis.

Of course, the roster is a disaster and even a good coach could only do so much, but Christie also hasn’t contributed to anything meaningful either.

The simplest way to evaluate Doug’s tenure is to ask a foundational question: would any other team even give the slightest amount of consideration to hiring Christie if he suddenly became available? The answer is a resounding no.

He’s bad and not getting better.

The Vets

When a team is comfortably hunkered down at the bottom of the NBA standings, there are often a few overpaid veterans lurking around the locker room, soaking up salary. The Kings took that and turned it into their own bizzarro art form, but they didn’t acquire these vets on bad contracts for assets – they voluntary acquired each and every one.

Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, De’Andre Hunter, and Malik Monk combine for 101.3% of the salary cap. Yes, you read that right, dear reader. In order to spend more than 100% of the salary cap on these non-winners, the Kings have surrendered the following over the years: Tyrese Haliburton, De’Aaron Fox, Keon Ellis, three second round draft picks, and a 2031 unprotected pick swap with the San Antonio Spurs.

And none of these guys are expiring.

Th only positive about the vets? Even when they play, they help the Kings lose.

The Kids

Most terrible teams have hope on their bench – some blue-chip prospect waiting to break out. The Kings don’t.

Keegan Murray was once that hope, but he’s regressed significantly in a season in which he’s played just 19 of 52 possible games: not what one hopes to see from a guy who will turn 26 prior to the start of next season. Even though his counting numbers look decent, 14.6 points and 6.1 boards, and his defense is better than average, Keegan’s inability to consistently knock down shots continues to be a glaring deficiency since his record-breaking rookie season.

Since that on-fire year, Keegan’s field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and effective field goal percentage have fallen each consecutive season. His defense and rebounding have certainly improved dramatically, but he’s not the player Kings fans hoped he would become – he’s a solid start at best.

The rest is even less encouraging.

Dylan Cardwell has been the biggest surprise of the bunch, and he just picked up a well-earned 4-year deal, but he’s 24 and not a future star. Maxime Raynaud started hot, cooled off, and looks like a future role player, and he’s 23.

Sacramento’s only first round pick in the 2025 draft, Nique Clifford, has been the worst rookie on the squad. Turning 24 in just a few days, Clifford’s defense has been solid, but his shooting splits of 40/31/69 make him nearly unplayable for a shooting guard, at least if the team was actively trying to win games.

The Pick

There is one faint sliver of hope: the glorious 2026 first round pick. The Kings are on track for a top-three pick, with one of Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, or AJ Dybansta waiting in the wings. Peterson looks like a superstar of superstars and Boozer and AJ could very well be better than Cooper Flagg.

But there’s a catch to any one of these guys, and it’s a big one. The Kings have to actually build a competent roster around them. Ownership couldn’t assemble a management team to build around DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, or even Keegan Murray. Why would they suddenly get it right now?

Perry wont’ build correctly, Doug won’t coach correctly, Vivek won’t fire them or hire replacement correctly.

So, what’s the takeaway? The call to action? The glimmer of hope?

There isn’t one.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. And this is a bad organization with a bad owner, a bad GM, a bad coach, and a bad roster.

Simply put, there is no hope.