Matt Johnson
The Sacramento Kings needed lottery luck on their side in order to accelerate their rebuild. After falling to the seventh overall pick, it appears NBA free agency might now play a part in how the Kings’ front office goes about retooling the roster.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Post spoke to sources around the league who pointed to the Kings as a threat to poach center Mitchell Robinson away from the New York Knicks.
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Robinson, age 28, was drafted by the Knicks with the 36th overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft. That came when Kings general manager Scott Perry held that same title with New York. The 7-foot center immediately earned All-Rookie Second Team honors in his first season, and he’s remained a key bench player for the team in the last three years.
After eight seasons in New York, Robinson may be looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. He’s started just 19 games in the last two seasons and hasn’t averaged more than 20 minutes per contest since the 2023-24 campaign. Coming off a season where he earned $12.954 million, he could also be looking for better pay.
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However, Sacramento will need to shed payroll before it goes after Robinson. Zach LaVine ($48.967 million) and Domantas Sabonis ($45.472 million) are making more than $90 million combined next season, and that’s not even including the $45-plus million owed to De’Andre Hunter ($24.91 million) and Malik Monk ($20.19 million). Sacramento may also have to move on from DeMar DeRozan, paying him $10 million, before his $25.74 million salary for next season becomes fully guaranteed.
Robinson is an intriguing short-term fit for Sacramento if Perry is able to move Sabonis this summer. However, given the franchise is still widely perceived to be in a multi-year rebuild, owner Vivek Ranadive will likely be prioritizing methods of saving money this offseason.
