The Kings won't have a 2025 first-round draft pick unless they acquire one later.
In the 2025 NBA draft lottery conducted on Monday in Chicago, the Kings landed at No. 13, meaning their pick conveys to the Atlanta Hawks to complete the 2022 Kevin Huerter trade.
Sacramento's only chance of keeping its first-round pick was if it jumped into the top four. But that scenario had a 3.8 percent chance of happening.
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SIGN UP HERE The Kings, who finished the 2024-25 NBA season with a 40-42 record, entered Monday with a 92.9 percent chance of remaining at No. 13 and a 3.3 percent chance of falling to No. 14.
The pick the Kings traded to the Hawks was top-12 protected, but Sacramento only had a chance at No. 1 through No. 4 and No. 13 or No. 14.
The Kings do have a second-round pick, slotted at No. 42.
Sacramento was the No. 9 seed and qualified for the Western Conference play-in tournament but saw its season end with a blowout home loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
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The franchise immediately shifted into offseason mode, parting ways with general manager Monte McNair and replacing him with Scott Perry. A short time later, Doug Christie's interim head coach tag was removed, making him the permanent coach heading into the 2025-26 season.
Perry and Christie now have to figure out how to get the Kings back to the playoffs, with plenty of roster decisions ahead of them.
A first-round draft pick would have been a valuable trade asset for a team hoping to compete, but Perry won't have that at his disposal this summer.