The Kings signaled throughout the offseason that they wanted to create an opening in their backcourt before signing a veteran point guard, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
However, as Fischer details, Sacramento’s front office was seemingly underwhelmed with the team’s point guard depth during training camp and preseason, and decided to sign Russell Westbrook without making another roster move. Westbrook’s minimum-salary contract is non-guaranteed.
According to Fischer, head coach Doug Christie is a fan of Westbrook’s toughness and all-out playing style. The nine-time All-Star was also praised by new GM Scott Perry when the signing was announced on Thursday.
The Kings will formally introduce Westbrook as a member of the team at a press conference on Sunday, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
Here are a few more notes and rumors on the Kings:
- Star center Domantas Sabonis has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in one week, the team announced today (Twitter link via James Ham of The Kings Beat). The injury means Sabonis will miss — at minimum — Sacramento’s first two regular season games. The Lithuanian big man suffered the hamstring injury on Wednesday.
- Despite being a lottery pick (No. 13 overall) a year ago, second-year guard Devin Carter seems likely to be moved at some point in the future, according to Fischer, who points out that the former Providence star was involved in trade rumors through the summer and was drafted by the previous front office regime. Carter, whose rookie season was delayed after he underwent shoulder surgery last summer, struggled in four preseason games this fall, averaging 5.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 15.1 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .375/.100/.500. The Kings picked up his third-year option a few days ago, locking in Carter’s $5.16MM salary for ’26/27.
- Several rival teams were surprised that Sacramento made such a lucrative long-term commitment to Keegan Murray, Fischer adds. The Kings formally signed Murray on Thursday to a five-year rookie scale extension that is reportedly worth $140MM. According to Fischer, many players — both free agents and extension candidates — have been struggling to land contracts north of $25MM per year; Murray’s new deal, which begins in 2026/27, will pay him $28MM annually. The 25-year-old forward will likely be out until at least mid-November after undergoing thumb surgery earlier this week.