Sacramento Kings Are In Freefall, Setting Up A Needed Trade Deadline Fire Sale

After dropping their previous two games by a combined 70 points, the Kings found a much different tack in losing what is now their sixth straight on Satruday night in Philadelphia, a team with which the Kings had been in Ben Simmons trade discussions before backing off. They built up a rare 17-point lead and watched it erode over the course of the second half until they faded in the fourth quarter, briefly rallied, then missed a buzzer-beater that would have won the game.

It was not all bad news, though. In fact, bad news these days counts as a positive for the team’s long-suffering fan base because the farther down in the standings the Kings sink, the less likely the team is to embark on a quixotic chase for a spot in the play-in torunament, a chase that would only lead to a perpetuation of the team’s decade-and-a-half of sub-mediocrity. This team needs to stink, and it needs to stink emphatically. It needs to stink heading into the trading deadline, so that there is no doubt in the collective mind of the front office that a dumping of assets is necessary. It needs to stink in the second half of the year to get itself in the best possible draft position.

With that in mind, it’s worthwhile to check in on the team’s relevant assets to see what it might want to get for the players most likely to be trades—and what is more realistic to expect.

Marvin Bagley III

What the Kings want: A young player and a first-round pick.

What they’re likely to get: A mid-career role player.

Outlook: Thanks to injuries and bad blood, the Kings and Bagley never had a real chance to work together, and it might well be they don’t even get a chance to work out a trade together. Bagley is a free agent this summer, so the only real advantage in trading for him is to get his Bird Rights. If he is a guy your team truly wants to try to rehabilitate—he is only 22—it might be worth dumping a middling contract, perhaps with a second-rounder attached to take a crack at Bagley. But that’s aiming high.

Buddy Hield

What the Kings want: A young player or a first-round pick.

What they’re likely to get: A young player.

Outlook: There has been some chatter that the Lakers would like to take another run at a Hield trade, but the Kings would have to swallow some pride on that, having been left at the altar by the Lakers over the summer. They’d also have to swallow the notion that the only real return on Hield would be Talen Horton-Tucker. They intended to do better than that, but fact is, Hield is in the midst of an awful season punctuated by an awful stretch: He’s averaging 5.8 points on 21.3% shooting in his last five games.

Harrison Barnes

What the Kings want: A first-round pick.

What they’re likely to get: A first-round pick (protected).

Outlook: Of all the players the Kings have on the market, teams do see some value in Barnes, especially a contender looking for a veteran presence. He is predictable, and that is a bonus in a deadline deal. Barnes won’t warrant a high first-round pick so no matter where he lands, there will be some protection on the pick offered. But he is a crafty all-around scorer and an excellent 3-point shooter on a reasonable ($20 million this year and $18 million next year) contract.

Richaun Holmes

What the Kings want: A player and a first-round pick.

What they’re likely to get: A young player.

Outlook: Holmes is a good rim-protecting center who knows his offensive limitations. He is also on the books for three more years at $35 million—not an exorbitant price, but not cheap, either. They could get off his money by taking back a young player who has yet to blossom (Josh Green in Dallas, P.J. Washington in Charlotte) but they’re unlikely to garner a pick for Holmes.

De’Aaron Fox

What the Kings want: Multiple first-round picks and a young player.

What they’re likely to get: Multiple first-round picks and a young player.

Outlook: The Kings raised some eyebrows by signaling that they won’t be willing to trade away Fox at the deadline, despite the team’s wretched season and Fox’s regression after a breakout year in 2020-21. The feeling around the league is that the Kings simply do not want to sell low on Fox, and his value is at a low point now. That means no trade is likely, but not because the Kings are bullish on Fox—at this time next year, his name could be right back on the rumor mill. In the meantime, the Kings have to hope he can rebuild his value on some level.

Tyrese Haliburton

What the Kings want: A superstar package.

What they’re likely to get: No deal.

Outlook: Haliburton has been the lone bright spot for the Kings and rather than a complete teardown, it makes sense that Sacramento wants, at least, to hold onto Haliburton as a building block going forward. Should the Kings continue their freefall, they may get into the running for one of the Top 3 picks in the draft, all of which are likely to be big guys. Having Haliburton on the perimeter to pair with one of those would be a nice start to the rebuild.