Now that December 15th has come and gone, the NBA’s trade season has begun to move into full swing. While we have yet to see any moves made since the league’s trade restrictions have lifted, a fair share of whispers and rumors have arisen as a result.
With many teams looking to improve upon or break down their current roster depending on their prospective standing, a few franchises stand out as names to watch across these next two months.
One of the more intriguing candidates to make a trade during the year is the Sacramento Kings. They’re currently sitting fourth in the Western Conference with a few assets to make a potential deal and bolster their championship expectations.
However, one of this team’s assets thrown into previous trade rumors throughout this past summer and into this season might not be going anywhere. That player is sophomore forward Keegan Murray.
James Ham of The Kings Beat reported on Murray’s availability via trade moving forward, detailing that there looks to be no plans for him to be involved in a deal anytime soon:
"According to a league source, despite reports, the Kings are not putting Keegan Murray in any trade discussion. He is considered part of the franchise’s foundation moving forward."
Through his first 21 games of the 2023-24 NBA season, Keegan has averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on 44.7% from the field and 36.7% from deep. With expectations of developing into one of the key pieces of this team moving forward, he has been able to be exactly that in his second season pro.
Murray made his presence felt during Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz, where he posted a career-high 47 points, accompanied by a Sacramento franchise record of 12 threes. After a legendary performance like that, any trade rumors involving his name were effectively silenced.
With an established core of Murray and All-NBA members De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to contend for a title with, it gives Sacramento an extremely talented and explosive offense that can give opposing teams trouble on any given night.
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