The Sacramento Kings recently fired their head coach Mike Brown, and now teams are looking at the franchise to see whether someone else might be out of the door. Even before Mike was fired, the Sacramento Kings were one of the most intriguing teams going into the trade deadline. Whether they make a trade or not, there will be plenty of Sacramento Kings trade rumors. But they are not the only team, let’s dive into the Kings and the other swing teams.
Sacramento Kings 1 of 3 Teams to Swing the Trade Deadline
Every year, there are clear trade deadline buyers and trade deadline sellers. And then, some teams surprise everyone. While there have been several Sacramento Kings trade rumors surrounding De’Aaron Fox, other teams might surprise us as well. Let’s take a look.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings are officially the team to watch looking into the trade deadline. They have yet to give Fox a contract extension. He is now under contract for this and the following year, and there were rumblings that he might ask out.
The Kings have had a similar roster for two and a half years now, and they might be going into the worst situation in the NBA. That is no man’s land, stuck in the middle of the ground, without clear options for improvement. They look like the Chicago Bulls, a team that had a great run and has been stuck in mediocrity since then. The Bulls waited for too long to get out of the middle ground, and the Kings seem to have inherited their DeMar DeRozan problem. New interim coach, former Kings player Doug Christie will have several weeks to show the team can improve. If things do not look better, there might be some movement.
The big challenge for the Kings is that eight out of their next 10 games are against playoff teams. The two exceptions are the games in Chicago against the Bulls and at home vs. the Sixers. If they choose to trade Fox, everyone else aside from Keegan Murray might also be available. Even DeRozan is on a team-friendly contract, and they have Trey Lyles on an expiring contract.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks should look at the Chicago Bulls’ history and think twice whether to trade Trae Young or not. They have Jalen Johnson on a contract for the foreseeable future and should try and lock Dyson Daniels as well. They are 21 and 23 years old and look like amazing building blocks for the future. Trae is playing great, but the Hawks are in the play-in seeds, a spot teams close to the luxury tax threshold do not want to be. This might be the best time to move from Young and let the young guys, alongside rookie Zaccharie Risacher, develop.
The Hawks have two expiring contracts in Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr. Even with those contracts expiring, they will not have cap space this summer because Johnson’s contract kicks in. They also have Bogdan Bogdanovic on a team-friendly contract. In a year, the Hawks might look like the Chicago Bulls, a team with high-salary players that cannot make it higher than the play-in. Trae’s value is high because of his amazing season, leading the NBA in assists.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers can go in two directions at the trade deadline. If things look good, they can try to make a final push and trade for a third star alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. This is why we are hearing plenty of Sacramento Kings trade rumors involving Fox to the Lakers. The Lakers have also been linked to Trae Young previously. D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura are two names to watch if the Lakers trade for a star.
If things look bad after the next stretch of games, the Lakers might look to build for the future. They are one of the most interesting teams at the deadline. Having LeBron on your team always puts pressure, and the Lakers are stuck between trying to maximize his last year or two and looking for the future. At that point, the Golden State Warriors rumors involving LeBron James might resurface, and fans will get their dream pairing of Steph Curry and LeBron. The Lakers have signaled they are willing to trade future picks, but only if a difference-maker is available on the market.
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