Raynaud's Knee Puts Sacramento's Center Position in Dylan Cardwell's Hands

Maxime Raynaud went down in Saturday's preseason loss to Golden State with what appeared to be a serious right knee injury, and the Kings now head into the regular season without the one player at center who gave their reset any structural credibility. Raynaud averaged 12.1 points and 7.3 rebounds last season on nearly 57 percent shooting — he was efficient, young, and cheap, exactly what a rebuilding team needs at the five. Now that's gone, at least for the foreseeable future.

Dylan Cardwell slides into the starting role by default. He's a capable rebounder — 7.3 boards per game last season in limited minutes — but his offensive footprint is modest, and the depth chart behind him is thin. Sacramento is essentially a two-man center rotation that just lost its top man before the season tipped off.

The timing is brutal because it fits a pattern. This offseason was supposed to be a clean break from the fragility that defined 2026, but the injury designations never really stopped — they just moved from July into training camp and now into the preseason itself. LaVine is still day-to-day. Simmons and Monk were managing things as recently as early October. The Kings built this roster on upside and reclamation; they need bodies on the floor to find out if any of it works.

My read: Cardwell will be fine for stretches, but Sacramento cannot afford another significant injury anywhere on this roster right now. The Raynaud news is bad on its own. As a continuation of a months-long pattern, it's the part of this reset that should worry Kings fans most heading into opening night.