Over the past few weeks, we’ve been holding daily votes to determine your big board for prospects heading into the 2026 NBA Draft. Without further ado here is the 2026 Community Draft Board as voted on by you, the fans:
- AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU
- Cameron Boozer, F/C, Duke
- Caleb Wilson, F/C, North Carolina
- Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas
- Darius Acuff Jr., G, Arkansas
- Kingston Flemings, G, Houston
- Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois
- Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville
- Brayden Burries, G, Arizona
- Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan
- Aday Mara, C, Michigan
- Labaron Philon, G, Alabama
- Cameron Carr, G/F, Baylor
- Nate Ament, F, Tennessee
- Morez Johnson Jr., F, Michigan
- Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford
- Jayden Quaintance, F/C, Kentucky
- Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara
It should be noted that in years past (particularly from 2010-2018) had the Kings just drafted according to the Sactown Royalty/Kings Herald draft board, they would have either chosen the same person or someone better. I’m not sure if that’s a credit to us or simply an indictment of past front offices (probably moreso the latter given this team’s historical incompetence).
Let us know in the comments if you would have voted for anyone lower or higher now based on the last few weeks of research and draft prep. Is there anyone not on the list that you personally think should have been on there? And is there anyone you’re hoping for in the second round that might not have appeared here? We’ll find out if any of these players are future Sacramento Kings soon enough, as the draft is just over a week away.
So I read this morning that Peterson is only meeting with the Wiz and is not going to talk to any other teams before the draft. I wonder how that’s gonna play out.
Obligatory gif:
He’s talkin’ the talk (first in Kansas, now in the NBA Draft)
Let’s see if he can walk the walk
He has the talent to fit in anywhere. Washington choosing him is great for Utah and AJ – who seem to want to be together. Boozer in Memphis – nice fit (I want him for Sacramento). If D(N)P can be on the court and fulfill the promise we’ve all seen him display in the 29 minutes a game he was on the court. I can’t think of a worse fit for a team and a player than Sacramento and Peterson. Washington is Sacramento East – I have concerns for them as well. To me, Wizards should chose AJ (finagle a deal with Utah) and chose Booze. Leave Peterson to the Grizz and their Ja problem or have Memphis chose Caleb (a better fit). Peterson with LA Clippers might be sugar or might be sweet justice.
Draft is 8 days away.
Still insane to me the Clippers haven’t had any real justice from the league yet. Soft.
The Ballmer effect. They may not want to punish the richest owner in league. He strikes me as someone you don’t want to be on the bad side of.
Integrity always has a price it seems.
Especially in today’s America.
According to Sean Cunningham, Kings worked out Acuff last week. https://x.com/SeanCunningham/status/2066562061388431807?s=20
Fascinating!
According to Sean Cunningham, Kings worked out Acuff last week. https://x.com/SeanCunningham/status/2066562061388431807?s=20
Boring!
Old news.
Crandell’d
Jeremy Woo released his latest mock draft with the Kings picking Mikel Brown, Jr. He says the Kings don’t seem interested in trading up.
“Though Acuff is widely believed to be Sacramento’s preferred target, the Kings haven’t appeared interested in trading up from No. 7. They are in the early stages of reshuffling the roster under Scott Perry and aren’t replete with extra trade assets. They have done plenty of work on the other guards in this range, including Brown and Kingston Flemings, and they appear to be comfortable waiting to see which player falls.”
Excerpt From
“2026 NBA mock draft: Projecting all 60 picks in Rounds 1 and 2”
ESPN
https://apple.news/AUCB4LglpRMq_13G4-4yDjQ
I also wouldn’t be moving up for any of these players. I like Acuff more than Wagler/Brown/Flemings, but not enough to give up assets. All of these guys have question marks but I’m willing to just take the best one that falls to us.
I am confident that the player taken before the Kings and the one taken after the Kings will each be better than the Sacramento choice, based on history.
I would be delighted with Acuff, but I am a Wagler first fan. As we mentioned on a different thread; the NBA Finals probably strengthened Acuff (the Jalen Brunson factor) and Keaton Wagler (the Dylan Harper performance) as both will be fresh in the minds of GMs (and fans).
I’m starting to get the feeling that there are going to be some twists and turns before the Kings even pick.
Acuff working out for the Kings tells me he and his agent haven’t received any promises from the top 6 teams. Couple that with Brown Jr being rumored to be going top 5 and Utah being “blown away” with Acuff’s workout, and I don’t know what to think.
Of course the “blown away” report comes from Kendrick Perkins, but he hinted at Utah even trading down to get Acuff later. If true, I think Peterson becomes the falling knife.
It is officially smoke season.
The better Zach, if we are being blunt.
He had a few injuries. His size made it hard on his joints.
Some of those injuries were chronic.
You should write a puff piece on him.
It was hard for him to score but he went for twenty
Thanks, I enjoyed all of these. It gave me a buzz.
Weed be lying if we didn’t acknowledge that the grass was always greener elsewhere.
Yeah, Kings are in no position to be giving up future assets.
I like Brown Jr. Then Flemings, Acuff, Wagler. Be fine with any of them at 7.
Moving up would be a bad move because of the cost.
I like Flemings then Acuff. I’ll take either one.
Heard that the Hawks were the team that Sabonis could be traded to. Would anyone think we could get Kuminga in the trade? Just asking.
PS Not just Kuminga but also Risacher and their 23rd. pick.
I mean I guess, that could work. Hawks could use his playmaking as they are currently without a PG. I suppose they could start Sabonis next to Okongwu with a super big lineup and Daniels is the de facto PG. Seems risky.
I dunno, I think ATL is going to be in the market for a PG before a guy like Sabonis.
Hypothetically, I wouldn’t mind kicking the tires on Risacher, but I’m total meh on Kuminga. Truth is, I think the Risacher ship has sailed, much like when the Kings acquired Derrick “Coke Machine” Williams. Same vibes.
Thanks Adamsie. My thoughts also. Another question. I understand Perry with a trade with the Hornets wanting to include a 14th or 18 pick but if that doesn’t work out what about a 2027 first instead. The Hornets have I believe 3 firsts in 2027. The one I would prefer would be the Mavericks pick which would be the best of the 3. We still get a great amount of cap space plus a young player Saluan and now 2 first round picks next year. Is this a good fit?
If I had to guess – I am still expecting Toronto and RJ Barrett.
What about Poelti?
He has to be a part of whatever package that Toronto opts for. Whether that involves other teams (Boston Celtics? Golden State Warriors?) remains to be seen
Oh wow, I didn’t realize the Hornets had all those picks in 2027.
I too think Sabonis makes sense for the Hornets, but I want nothing to do with Bridges. If Perry can swing a trade with them for some of those picks and not bring back that kind of baggage then I’m all ears.
How about Sabonis to the Hornets for Williams, Green, Saluan and their 2027 Dalles first rounder. Williams and Green are on expiring contracts. And the difference between contracts is around 8 mil on the Kings side. Add that when wavering Derozan And the expiring contracts of McDermott, Eubanks Westbrook and letting Hayes go brings a total of over 60 mil. You now have your MLE of over 15mil. I would think Perry could work with that.
Also I have Monk and our 2031 first to the Pacers for Jarance Walker and Ben Sheppard. Walker starts between Murray and Raynaud. Perfect fit and Sheppard backup Clifford at shooting guard.
I would like Okongwu, Risacher (since we can’t get Daniels), at least 1 first-rounder from this year, That’s likely too much to ask for, but the first, Risacher, and Gueye (Newell seems like a decent project).
I’m happy with Acuff, Wagler or Brown Jr. at 7 If two of those players are available, that would be a difficult decision … in a good way.
Agreed– that order of Brown first and Wagler last make sense to me. I think Flemings could be more complete than Acuff.
I think Acuff is going to be the most challenging to build a winning team around. It will take the perfect compliment of players, and that’s not an easy thing, especially with the cap and aprons in the current NBA.
Actually, he should be the easiest since he has the most talent .
I keep seeing the Acuff to Brunson comps, and I think that may be what Hobby is alluding to. No one is denying Acuff’s ability to score, but his defense is statistically bad. Brunson’s not an elite defender either, but he shares the floor with 4 dudes who are above average to elite at defense. Even the Knicks bench comes in with a defensive mindset.
Point being, with Vivek’s infatuation with offense only players, Acuff fits the bill, but the Kings will continue to struggle to put the right pieces around him unless there is a seismic shift in philosophy and culture from the top down.
I seriously have my doubts, especially with the Kings recent history of discarding defensively sound players in favor of offense only black holes.
Bingo. That’s what I meant. Any team needs to build the correct roster focused around Acuff’s deficiencies defensively. Can it be done? Sure. Is it eat? Nope.
One could squint and Nique, Keegan, Hunter being those defensive pieces, but they are like the bargain basement version of Hart, OG, Bridges. Also, Brunson might not be a statistically good defender, but he at least tries. He is tough, knows how to take charges, and won’t just give up on plays. Way different than what we saw with Acuff in his lone season in college.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/spurs-aaron-fox-unfollows-team-171327040.html
Well, here we go. Didn’t he also pull this stunt before he got traded?
I honestly don’t know why pro athletes would be on social media. Trolls just get amplified and negativity spreads like wildfire. Maybe he’s just trying to tune out the noise, and who could blame him. The season is over. Let him clear his head.
I don’t know why anyone is on social media. It’s generally an awful place where keyboard warriors and trolls reside.
Exactly. Fox says he doesn’t read that stuff, and it doesn’t matter what people say (so true), so it’s reasonable to believe he’s just shutting out the noise. I think he’s generally a thoughtful guy and a good citizen, and whatever criticism he got for leaving Sacramento is just flat out stupid, given the track record of the organization. The NFT thing is a bad look, noting that the entire two minute NFT craze was absurd.
The Spurs made that trade because Fox was generally steady, could create his own shot, had become a better shooter, and was absolutely performing in the clutch. He was never a good three point shooter, and was prone to shaky decision-making, but it was reasonable to believe the Spurs were getting the guy from the last season and a half on the Kings.
In this playoffs, all of that completely fell apart. Fox couldn’t create his own shot, couldn’t shoot from anywhere, rarely looked to get to the basket, and was no better in the fourth quarter. He was generally getting open looks, and basically did nothing the Spurs traded for and extended him to do. The Spurs paid Fox to be a lesser Jalen Brunson, but his lack of shooting and clutch play had him hurting the team more than he was helping in 80% of his games.
I don’t know know why Fox fell apart in the playoffs, but I don’t think it was the ankle. That’s not going to break your ability to hit 10 foot jumpers in the paint. That being said, it’s certainly not Fox’s fault that the Spurs lost. They threw one game away with late game mistakes and threw another one away by choking away an enormous lead. That’s a team-wide and coaching problem. Fox was a symptom, but he absolutely was not the problem.
That being said, I think the Spurs would be out of their minds to bring him back. Fox did nothing they paid him to do. He wasn’t even close, and he’s in the way of Dylan Harper, who is already a better player.
They need size and skill at the forward positions. Fox is going to be very difficult to offload. You’re going to have to attach assets to move him, but I think they should be looking at three team deals for OK bigs with bad contracts. Think Jakob Poeltl, Julius Randle and Myles Turner, while attaching at least two first round picks to get Fox off the books. The Kings 2031 pick is an almost guaranteed lottery pick. Your concern as the receiving team has to be whether it’s bottom three.
If the Spurs can’t swing one of the forwards, they no BS should be looking at Zach LaVine. LaVine is awful. Can’t/won’t play defense and doesn’t make anyone better. But the one thing has can do is shoot. He’s a nice candidate to come off the bench as a sixth man and do one thing, and the only thing he does well – hit shots, especially if you’re moving say, Devin Vassell to get off of Fox.
Obviously, Fox isn’t coming back to the Kings, but the Kings are suckers to offload name players on bad contracts. It’s reasonable to believe you could get the Kings to take on Jordan Poole or Ja Morant, and they’d probably attach multiple unprotected firsts for Zion Williamson, while moving LaVine to the Spurs. That doesn’t solve the Spurs primary issue, but if they can offload $229 million over four seasons of declining play for $50 million for one, they’re a huge winner.
Rec’d Bill Murray’s post (I actually read it in Bill’s voice).
I have noticed that Fox has been more hesitant to drive to the basked the last couple of years and has fallen in love with the jumper and 3 pt shot. During the Beam Team season, he was still driving to the hoop and taking advantage of his speed, and dare I say, reckless abandon. The later years, he has said on record that he doesn’t dunk anymore because that can get hard on the knees. So the one advantage he has over others, his speed, gets negated when he opts for shooting jumpers instead of driving and getting to the foul line (Check the box scores and see how many times he has had zero FT attempts).
And yes, he won’t get traded back to the Kings (a la Tyreke)…that bridge has been burned already. HB has a better chance of coming back than him. Time to move on and get a new PG, build around that PG, and then trade him for a worse contract. Wash, rinse, and repeat.
P.S. Saric signed with Euroleague today. One less contract, but come on, own up your fuck up Perry!
1) After more homework I should have voted/lobbied for Philon and Christian Anderson to go higher.
2) I think Dailyn Swain should have made the list.
3) My 2nd round/undrafted list:
Keyshawn Hall
Cade Tyson
Donovan Atwell
Oscar Cluff
Graham Ike
Badge Legend