It's tanking season for the Sacramento Kings. For as much flak as the franchise is getting for the roster's poor construction, the good news is that they own all of their future first-round picks, although they do owe the San Antonio Spurs a pick swap in 2031. This means that the Kings are pivoting to a full-blown youth movement — with players such as Maxime Raynaud set to get all the opportunities they can to produce.
And produce was exactly what Raynaud did on Monday night in the Kings' 120-94 blowout loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Starting in place of Domantas Sabonis, the rookie out of Stanford put up 21 points and 19 rebounds, with the latter being a career-best, and all that came out of it was a loss to another one of the worst teams in the NBA.
The Kings and Pelicans' Monday night tussle made for appointment viewing for some, with the two teams going viral on TikTok in such a hilarious manner. Alas, the rivalry did not deliver.
Sacramento employed the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards' strategy of limiting the minutes of their more established players to reduce their chances of winning, and suffice to say, this is the smart thing to do to boost their odds ahead of a stacked draft.
Kings' young players are finally getting opportunities
With the 2025-26 season long lost for the Kings, their young players are finally getting the opportunities they deserve. Raynaud played 38 minutes and Nique Clifford wasn't too far behind with 37 minutes of his own. Clifford, however, struggled to the tune of 4-16 shooting from the field on the night.
Devin Carter and Dylan Cardwell also played huge minutes off the bench, with both of them crossing the 30-minute mark. Carter recorded 12-3-4 with one steal, while Cardwell stuffed the stat sheet, tallying six points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
