Maxime Raynaud Knee Update: Kings Re-Evaluate in 2 Weeks

Maxime Raynaud screamed and crumpled to the floor, and for a night the Kings feared the worst. The diagnosis is a lot better than it looked. Raynaud has a right patellar subluxation and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, and his MRI ruled out any serious ligament damage, per ESPN's Anthony Slater.

That is a huge exhale in Sacramento. Raynaud is still expected to miss the start of the regular season, per ESPN, but nobody in that building was thinking about a few weeks on Saturday night. They were thinking about a lost year for one of the best draft finds in the league.

Maxime Raynaud injury: what happened

Raynaud went down late in the first half of Saturday's preseason game at Chase Center, a 111-106 Warriors win. He was setting a screen for rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr. with Stephen Curry nearby, took contact to the outside of his right knee as bodies collided, and the knee gave out, per ESPN.

Coach Doug Christie called timeout and walked to the middle of the floor to check on him while Raynaud covered his face with his hands. Trainers brought out a wheelchair, and he was taken to the locker room. He got X-rays at halftime, was visited by general manager Scott Perry and owner Vivek Ranadive, and eventually left on crutches without putting weight on the leg.

A patellar subluxation means the kneecap partially slipped out of place. Scary, painful, and a long way from the torn ligament everyone was bracing for after watching the replay.

Why Raynaud matters so much to Sacramento

Raynaud was the 42nd pick and made the All-Rookie second team last season after averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 74 games, per ESPN. He was penciled in for a key frontcourt role behind starting center Domantas Sabonis this year.

Without him, the backup minutes should go to Precious Achiuwa and Dylan Cardwell, per RotoWire via CBS Sports. Neither one gives Sacramento the same mix of size and touch, and Sabonis now has less of a cushion when he needs a breather or gets into foul trouble.

For fantasy folks, Raynaud drops to a stash in deeper leagues. He showed last year he can produce right away once he is healthy.

What the next two weeks look like

The Kings will check him again in about two weeks, and the timeline should get clearer from there. The important part is that the MRI did not show the kind of damage that wipes out a season.

Saturday night felt like a gut punch for a young team trying to build something. Sunday's news turned it into a setback. Sacramento will take that trade every time and hope its second-year big is back banging bodies under the rim soon.