The Sacramento Kings are expected to be without both Dylan Cardwell and Maxime Raynaud when the 2026-27 season gets underway next Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Cardwell and Raynaud's injuries leave the Kings with just one center on the roster to start the upcoming season: Domantas Sabonis which creates a major issue. Sabonis was sidelined for the majority of the 2025-26 season, appearing in just 19 games and has only played a single game in preseason to this point.
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Sabonis's Health is Key
Sabonis has been out for the majority of preseason with an undisclosed injury. As a result, even calling him healthy at this stage is a stretch, but he seems like he should be good to go by next Wednesday. He was a game-time decision for Tuesday night's preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers but ended up sitting out.
This undisclosed injury comes after Sabonis had to have surgery on his meniscus in February, which shut him down for the season.
As one of the Kings' star players, having Sabonis in the lineup on a regular basis is beneficial in its own right, but currently it's a requirement. If he's not ready to go against the Clippers, it could be disastrous for the Kings. On the flip side, they don't want to rush him back either, considering Sabonis has been in trade rumors consistently throughout the summer.
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Cardwell and Raynaud's Timelines
As things currently stand, the Kings have revealed
that Raynaud has a right patellar subluxation which occurred against the Golden State Warriors
. When he attempted to screen Steph Curry, Raynaud was seemingly clipped by the ball carrier, Darius Acuff Jr, and immediately went down to the ground. He had to be wheelchaired off of the court and missed the remainder of the game. The Kings then announced that he'll be re-evaluated in two weeks on Sunday afternoon.
Cardwell's injury happened a bit earlier on in preseason, as according to the Kings
, he was dealing with soreness in his left calf after the Kings played the Los Angeles Lakers
last Thursday. After further evaluation, they ruled that he is suffering from a calf strain and like Raynaud, he'll be evaluated further in two weeks.
As pointed out by Frankie Cartoscelli of SacTown Sports
, Raynaud and Cardwell played important minutes for the Kings last year and without them, the Kings will undoubtedly need a healthy Sabonis to start the season.
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Raynaud appeared in 74 games for Sacramento last season and averaged 12.5 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game and shot 57.1% from the field. Cardwell played significantly less basketball in his rookie season, appearing in just 44 games where he averaged 5.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
The Kings are in dire straits when it comes to their center position heading into the season. They'll likely have to move a power forward behind Sabonis, which is certainly less than ideal considering Sabonis is a natural power forward himself. Given their lack of center depth, we could even see Ben Simmons play some minutes there at the start of the season simply because of his height.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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