A recent report revealed that many teams around the NBA are "befuddled" by the Sacramento Kings' strategy after trading De'Aaron Fox last season.
Rival Teams 'Befuddled' by Kings’ Strategy After De’Aaron Fox Trade originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Sacramento Kings entered the offseason looking to upgrade their roster and compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference next season.
Of course, the Kings finished ninth in the West last season and failed to make the playoffs after being eliminated in the Play-In Tournament by the Dallas Mavericks.
This came after the franchise made some major decisions during the season as they fired head coach Mike Brown in December and then traded star point guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs at the trade deadline.
Despite trading Fox last season, it appears that the Kings are all-in on competing for a playoff spot next season, which is a surprise to many around the NBA according to a recent report.
According to Forbes’ Evan Sidery, rial teams are befuddled by Sacramento’s strategy to stay in win-now mode after trading Fox last season.
The Kings’ current projected starting lineup next season:
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 8, 2025
Dennis Schröder
Zach LaVine
DeMar DeRozan
Keegan Murray
Domantas Sabonis
Rival teams are befuddled by Sacramento’s strategy to seemingly stay in win-now mode after trading De’Aaron Fox in February. pic.twitter.com/2Brde4fmtF
It is clear that many teams around the NBA believed that the Kings would begin a rebuild this offseason after trading Fox, especially with Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk and DeMar DeRozan in trade rumors.
Despite this, it appears as though the Kings are set on competing for a playoff spot next season, especially after they agreed to a sign-and-trade deal with the Detroit Pistons to sign Dennis Schroder in free agency to fill their vacancy at the point guard position.
While the Kings may be looking to make a push for the playoffs next season, it is still possible that they could make more moves this summer with Monk and DeRozan continuing to be thrown around in trade rumors.
If that ends up not happening, the Kings will enter next season with a projected starting lineup of Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Sabonis, which could help them compete for a playoff spot.
While this is a surprising move by Sacramento, if things do not work out next season they could end up beginning a rebuild next summer.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
