The Sacramento Kings may have an untouchable on their roster not named De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis or even Kevin Huerter.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype is reporting this week that the Kings are “reluctant” to move young forward Keegan Murray in trade talks as they view him as a part of their core moving forward. However, the Kings are open to moving future first-round picks, Scotto adds, and guard Davion Mitchell may be an alternate trade candidate.
Murray, 23, is clearly the best player under 25 on the Kings’ roster. He can play both forward positions and is a seamless fit in the starting five alongside Fox, Huerter, Harrison Barnes and Sabonis. The former No. 4 overall pick Murray is a tenacious defender at 6-foot-8 and is emerging as one of the NBA’s premier corner three-point shooters.
That said, the Kings' stance may preclude them from acquiring a big fish at the trade deadline like a Pascal Siakam, a Zach LaVine or even a Jerami Grant. Mitchell is a role player averaging barely five points per game this season, and plenty of other teams will be able to match or beat an offer centered around future first-rounders.
Still, there is a strong case to be made for keeping Murray around and building full continuity with Sacramento’s up-and-coming core. After all, Murray (fourth on the team this season with 13.2 points and third on the team with 6.2 rebounds per game) has already proved wrong some of the doubters he had on draft day.
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