They will sit quietly and sometimes not so quietly, their roles relegated to a fraction of what they hoped for and the losing only making matters worse.
They are the forgotten Kings.
The recent stretch of 11 losses in 12 games has included many lineup changes, among them veteran forward Mikki Moore losing his starting job to Quincy Douby, who now finds himself at the end of the bench again.
But they are not alone in lack of playing time. Shelden Williams, Kenny Thomas and, at times, Bobby Jackson already know that territory.
The Kings have a proliferation of veterans with little reason for optimism and much to lose at this moment. And as the shift continues further toward the Kings' youth movement, the players who so clearly aren't part of the long-term picture will grow more restless because of it.
Moore – who played 12 minutes and three minutes, respectively, in the two games since he lost his starting job – has $2 million guaranteed in the final season of his contract in 2008-09 but will be paid $6.2 million if he can avoid being cut by June 20. Douby, Williams and Jackson (who was a major part of the rotation until he sat for all of Saturday's game) will be free agents this summer but with only minimal chances to showcase their talents. Thomas, whose career has been derailed in Sacramento after he played in 23 games last season, has played in two of 21 games.
"It's the same situation I've been in before, and it's always tough," said Williams, who was the No. 5 pick of the 2006 draft out of Duke.
Williams spent a season and a half in Atlanta before he was traded to Sacramento last season.
"It's a business," he said. "Unfortunately, I've got three years of practice of this."
Moore said he has already turned his focus to making an impact in practice. He proved it Monday, as a second unit that included Moore, Jackson, Williams, Douby, Greene and Thompson won 30-9 in a scrimmage against a first unit that included Bobby Brown, Francisco García, John Salmons, Spencer Hawes and Brad Miller.
"It's like (Kings lead assistant) Kenny Natt said, 'It starts with practice,'" Moore said afterward. "If I'm only getting three minutes a game, I'm going to come into practice and I'm going to play like it's my game time. That's my game time now. If I have to play like that to prepare the young guys, then that's what my role is."
Moore's adjustment has been the most drastic of late. And while he desires something different, he said he will stay professional.
"You don't know what direction (the organization is) going in," he said. "They might be doing this so they can have a higher draft pick for next season. You never know.
"I know that (coach) Reggie (Theus) doesn't make all the decisions … but if he comes to me and tells me he needs me to come off the bench, bring some energy and help out the young guys and show them exactly what they need to do, then that's my job now."
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