The Sacramento Kings didn't come into the season with many expectations, but sitting at 1-8 with seven double-digit losses, it feels even worse than expected to start the season. Darius Acuff Jr. has been as expected and looks like a future star, but other than a breakout performance from Leaky Black and the strong play at times from Emanuel Sharp, it's been another disappointing season for the Kings.

The hard part about this exercise, sadly, is picking just three disappointments. With that in mind, let's take a look at the three that are at the top of the list.

Nique Clifford's Disappearance

Nique Clifford was one of the biggest X-Factors coming into the season, with the hope being that he would take a jump in his sophomore season and cement himself as the future shooting guard next to Acuff.

But instead, Clifford is nearly out of the rotation, averaging just 6.3 minutes per game, and he's not doing much with the limited minutes, with 1.6 points, 1.0 assist, and 0.9 rebounds on 35.3% shooting from three and 12.5% from three.

Last season, Clifford showed the ability to affect the game in multiple ways and do all the little things to help the Kings, but it's almost like he disappears on the court this season. It could be that he just isn't a fit next to Acuff, or the combination of Acuff, Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, and Malik Monk doesn't work.

We saw a similar trend last season with Clifford. He struggled to do anything when he was on the court with the veterans, but stood out when he was running with the other young guys. He didn't necessarily need the ball in his hands, but he was better in a prominent role than when he was mixing in with the stars.

It's not unheard of for a late first-round pick to fade into the background, but for a player that looked like he could be part of the Kings' core going forward, it's a frustrating development that sets Sacramento's rebuild back and puts a blemish on Scott Perry's drafting resume.

Alex Karaban's Lack of Time

Well, you can pretty much lather, rinse, and repeat the section above from Clifford to cover Alex Karaban. Both are late first-round picks that Perry traded to get, and neither look like they belong as part of the Kings future going forward.

It's way too early to make the call on either of them, really, but there was excitement for Karaban coming into the season that he could be the stretch four of the future for the Kings. Through the first nine games, though, Karaban is averaging 1.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.4 assists on 33.3% from the field and 40% from three across five appearances.

To be fair to Karaban, he hasn't really had an opportunity to show what he can do on the court, but therein lies the problem for the Kings. Karaban's minutes will likely go up as the season goes on, but the early returns for the rookie leave a lot to be desired to start the year.

Lack of Competitiveness

Once again, the record isn't necessarily the problem for the Kings, but it's how they are losing. And even more than that, it's the combination of last year's 22-win season with the early struggles this year. Last season felt like a lost year while the Kings waited out their veteran contracts, and so far, this year is more of the same.

Even with Acuff doing well, fans are starting to voice their frustration more and more. Not only on social media, but in attendance as well. Kings fans have always supported their team, but this season has felt like the tipping point for what they will put up with.

Acuff setting rookie records and showing out is great, but blowout loss after blowout loss is going to overshadow anything he does individually. There's still 73 games left with no end in sight for Sacramento. If that doesn't scream 'early season disappointment,' I don't know what does.