Sacramento Kings GM Scott Perry gets rave reviews for NBA draft moves
The Sacramento Kings might have come away from the 2025 NBA draft with two first-round talents for the price of none.
Just two months after taking over as the team’s general manager, Scott Perry is receiving rave reviews for the moves he made during the draft. The Kings went into the draft with only one pick — the 42nd overall selection in Round 2 — but they managed to get two players who were projected as first-round picks.
The Kings seem have found tremendous value in Colorado State swingman Nique Clifford and Stanford big man Maxime Raynaud. Both players were projected well ahead of where Sacramento selected them.
The Kings entered the draft without a first-round pick because they owed the No. 13 pick to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a 2022 trade that brought Kevin Huerter to Sacramento. Perry tapped into his relationships with Oklahoma City Thunder general manger Sam Presti and other NBA executives to set up a number of potential trades with multiple players in mind in the early 20s.
With Clifford available at No. 24, Perry pulled the trigger on a deal with Oklahoma City to acquire a player who was commonly projected as the No. 16 pick. On the second day of the draft, the Kings used the No. 42 pick to select Raynaud, who was widely projected in the early to late 20s.
In the deal with Oklahoma City, the Kings sent the Thunder a top 16 protected 2027 first-round pick, which they acquired from the San Antonio Spurs in the De’Aaron Fox trade. With the Spurs expected to ascend over the next season or two, that pick may very well be conveyed as two 2027 second-round picks.
Clifford, 23, is a 6-foot-6 ½, 202-pound shooting guard/small forward who averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals as a senior at Colorado State. He shot 49.6% from the field and 37.7% from 3-point range.
Clifford earned 2025 All-Mountain West Conference first-team and defensive team honors. He scored a career-high 36 points against Boise State in his final regular season game and went on to win the Mountain West tournament MVP award.
Clifford has drawn comparisons to New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, who is one of the best rebounders in the NBA at his position.
Bleacher Report noted that “Clifford was most known for crashing the glass at Colorado State, averaging 9.6 rebounds per game this past season, which ranked 13th in the country,” adding: “Few guards can match Clifford’s physicality and leaping ability, which he put to good use as a play-finisher, rebounder and defensive disruptor. He also improved his shotmaking profile, flashing mid-range pull-ups, three-point range and scoring versatility out of the post.”
Raynaud is a 7-foot-1 ½, 237-pound center from Paris. As a senior at Stanford, the 22-year-old Frenchman averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 0.9 steals while shooting 46.7% from the field and 34.7% from 3-point range on 5.5 attempts per game.
CBSSports.com wrote: “Raynaud quietly flourished on a floundering Stanford team last season as one of the best players in all of college basketball. The center has remarkable movement skills for his size and can not only space the floor with his shot, but can put the ball on the deck and create. A rare skill for a player his size.”
NBADraftRoom.com wrote: “Big and fundamentally sound, Raynaud has good handles and ball skills for a 7-footer and can really shoot the rock. Moves well and has some big wing skills. Looks like he could fill a role in the NBA early in his career.”
Following the draft, a league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings signed Spanish shooting guard Isaac Nogues Gonzalez to an Exhibit 10 contract and intended to sign Auburn center Dylan Cardwell to a two-way contract.
Cardwell put up modest numbers, averaging 5.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 20.3 minutes, but ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony described him as a “hyper-athletic big man (who) brought elite toughness, defensive intensity and finishing prowess to Auburn’s Final Four team.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
