Featured Columnist IVJanuary 8, 2025
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Despite their recent run of success, the Sacramento Kings reportedly haven’t been major players on the trade market as of yet.
Speaking Wednesday on Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective (beginning at the 29:22 mark), ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst said the Kings have not been “super active” in terms of seeking trades prior to the Feb. 6 deadline.
Windhorst did note that the Kings have been “regarded as a possible buyer” when all is said and done, especially now that a five-game winning streak has gotten them to a more respectable 18-19 mark on the season.
In 2022-23, the Kings went 48-34 and reached the playoffs, ending what was the NBA’s longest active playoff drought at the time. Prior to that, the Kings had not reached the playoffs in 16 seasons.
That marked the first full season Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox spent together in Sacramento, so it was widely expected that more success was on the horizon for the Kings.
Sacramento took a step back last season, though, going 46-36 and losing in the postseason play-in tournament.
As a result, the Kings got aggressive in the offseason, acquiring veteran wing DeMar DeRozan in a trade with the Chicago Bulls to play alongside Sabonis and Fox.
Entering play Wednesday, the trio of Sabonis, Fox and DeRozan were all averaging over 20 points per game this season. Sacramento has also gotten some notable contributions out of Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, Keon Ellis and Trey Lyles.
It can be argued that the Kings have one of the deepest teams in the NBA, and while keeping that together could be beneficial, it could also behoove the Kings to use some of that depth to make a significant trade.
Lyles has the largest expiring contract on the team at $8 million, whereas Huerter is under contract for two more years before becoming an unrestricted free agent and Murray has two more years before restricted free agency.
The 24-year-old Murray, who was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft out of Iowa, is having a down year offensively.
Although he is averaging a career-high 7.4 rebounds per game, his 11.7 points and 1.7 three-pointers made per contest are career lows, and he is shooting a career-worst 41.4 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Murray shot a sizzling 41.1 percent from deep as a rookie and averaged a career-high 15.2 points per game last season, so expectations were high entering the 2024-25 campaign.
Although trading a player with the talent level of Murray is a move that could hurt the Kings over the long term, he is likely their biggest trade chip in terms of returning an instant impact player.
The Kings are 2.5 games out of a top-six seed in the Western Conference and they are still battling for a top-10 seed, but if they are able to continue their winning ways, they seem like a prime candidate to add by the deadline.
