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5 former Kings the front office needs to bring back

A Royal Pain · Ian Goodwillie · 2026-08-16T18:18:07+00:00 · nguồn gốc

As anyone who follows Sactown basketball knows, the Sacramento Kings are prone to making a lot of bad decisions in any number of scenarios. For some reason, they seem to double down on the ill-advised choices at draft time. It often doesn't go well for them in the long run. That being said, there are opportunities to fix those mistakes by bringing former players back. Many of their releases and trades have been hard to understand. As current players turnover and free up cap space, bringing some of these names back might be incredibly helpful. 5. Keon Ellis After going undrafted in 2022, the Kings signed Ellis to a two-way contract and stayed in Sacramento until he was moved at the trade deadline in 2026. He connected with fans almost immediately, and had strong potential as a 3&D shooter. For some reason, the coaching staff never seemed to get him, particularly Doug Christie. Ellis could still be a solid bencher for the Kings if they use him right. 4. Buddy Hield Possibly the best part of Hield's NBA time was Jimmy Butler constantly mocking him when they were together on the Warriors last season. He's been traded a number of times over his 10-season career, with his longest run with one franchise happening in Sacramento. At this point, Hield is a tireless, high-volume perimeter shooter who could bolster the Kings' secondary. 3. Harrison Barnes After five seasons with the Kings, Barnes has found a home on the electric and energetic Spurs roster. They are in position to win a title in the next couple of years, so it's unlikely that Barnes would want to come back to Sacramento. Still, he could prove to be a key veteran influence on a young Kings' roster that will need that type of guidance. 2. Devin Carter There are few missed opportunities in the Kings' past bigger than Carter. They drafted him, then completely botched his development. And when he finally started to get some traction, Sacramento traded him to Atlanta as part of a cost-saving measure. The Kings could really use Carter right now as their rookie point guard, Darius Acuff Jr., has basically zero backup. 1. Davion Mitchell Giving up on Mitchell remains one of the more confusing choices the Kings have ever made that wasn't a bad draft pick. Another ball dropped in the player development department, Mitchell has found a new gear in Miami. If the Kings get him back on the roster, he's the perfect point guard partner for Acuff as an elite secondary. Then again, he may have had his fill of the Kings already.