In 18 short days (October 24), the Sacramento Kings are kicking off their 2024-25 regular season in a home outing against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After 16 straight seasons finishing under .500 from 2006-07 to 2021-22, they have now finished with a winning record in the last two seasons. They ended their more than a decade and a half postseason drought in the 2022-23 season. Last season, Sacramento was unable to advance out of the Play-In Tournament.
Expectations remain high for Sacramento. In the offseason, they traded for six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan joins other high-level talent on the Kings in Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. Another newcomer on Sacramento has sustained an injury though that will keep him out for the start of the regular season.
Kings Big Man To Miss At Least 4 Weeks With MCL Sprain
Deal Doesn’t Become Fully Guaranteed Until January
Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee provided an update on center Orlando Robinson. The 24-year-old suffered a confirmed MCL sprain during Kings practice on Thursday. He will be re-evaluated in about four weeks.
Sacramento Kings center Orlando Robinson expected to miss at least four weeks with a sprained MCL. pic.twitter.com/YesMQx8jsp
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) October 5, 2024
It is a tough break for Robinson as he is not on a fully guaranteed deal. While Robinson signed a one-year deal for a little over $2 million in early August, only $500K of that is guaranteed. The full amount would become guaranteed if he remains signed on January 10, 2025.
Being out for four weeks would sideline Robinson for Sacramento’s first six outings of the regular season. The seven-footer could be out longer though, as that is just when he will be re-evaluated to see how his knee has healed. The Kings currently have Sabonis as their starting center with Alex Len and Trey Lyles as backups.
Sacramento has 12 players on guaranteed deals, so there is certainly room to keep Robinson around. Time will tell if the Kings decide to do so, or if they look elsewhere for a healthier option to begin the season.
Robinson Played Two Seasons For The Heat
Robinson spent three seasons playing collegiately for Fresno State. He would go undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft. He signed a two-way deal with the Miami Heat in November of 2022 (later released, but signed another two-way deal in December). As a rookie, Robinson would get into 31 games with the Heat in 2022-23. Playing 13.7 minutes per game, Robinson averaged 3.7 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Miami re-signed Robinson to a standard two-year deal in the 2023 offseason. The deal was partially guaranteed for both seasons. Robinson remained with the Heat for all of last season. He played in 36 games, albeit in less playing time than as a rookie (8.4 minutes per game). He posted averages of 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds. Robinson scored a career-high of 16 points on December 2, 2023 against the Indiana Pacers. After not making a three-pointer as a rookie (0-6), he went 8-15 from beyond the arc in 2023-24.
The Heat would release Robinson in July during the offseason. They selected center Kel’el Ware in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, lessening the need for Robinson. Sacramento became interested in the big man after he had a solid showing with the Houston Rockets in the Summer League.
