The Sacramento Kings will enter the 2025-26 NBA season looking to compete for a playoff spot in the loaded Western Conference after coming up short last season.
Of course, many around the league expected the Kings to begin a rebuild this offseason after trading De’Aaron Fox last season, but that was not the case.
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Instead, Sacramento elected to keep their star trio of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine intact and they also made some key additions to their roster.
Sacramento Kings stars Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan© Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Sacramento selected both Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud in the 2025 draft and they also signed Dennis Schroder in free agency to fill their void at the point guard position.
By making these moves, the Kings are looking to fight for a playoff spot this season, though it may be difficult for them to do with the number of talented teams in the West.
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Kings Could Target Anfernee Simons to Upgrade Backcourt
While the Kings were able to upgrade their roster this offseason, they still lack backcourt depth, especially at the point guard position behind Schroder.
Former Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Anfernee Simons (1)
Because of this, they could look to add another guard to their roster ahead of the trade deadline and one player they could target is Anfernee Simons of the Boston Celtics.
Mock Trade Lands Kings Simons for DeRozan
In a potential trade, the Kings could send DeRozan and Drew Eubanks to the Celtics in exchange for Simons, Xavier Tillman and draft capital.
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Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Of course, moving on from DeRozan would be a tough decision for the Kings to make as he was arguably their second-best player last season, though swapping him for Simons could be a solid move for Sacramento, especially in the future.
For Simons, he has primarily been a shooting guard during his time in the NBA, though the Kings could use him as a point guard due to his improved playmaking skills over the past few seasons.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1)
Last season, the 26-year-old guard averaged 19.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 42.6% from the field and 36.3% from three.
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Simons is a great scorer and an improved playmaker, though he does struggle at times on the defensive end.
Despite this, adding the young guard to their roster would give Sacramento’s backcourt a major boost this season and for the future.
While that may be the case, the Celtics may not want to swap Simons for DeRozan due to his age and potential fit in their lineup which may cause them to turn down this deal.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Sep 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.