The Sacramento Kings, as Bill Simmons would likely say, are a few pieces away from being a few pieces away. With Western Conference teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves not going anywhere, the Kings are barely treading water.
Add in that the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Pelicans should all be better next season, and things don't look great for the Kings.
In an effort to add some much-needed defense and boost their frontcourt, Sports Illustrated's Will Zimmerle proposed a trade.
The deal sees the Kings make a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, swapping Malik Monk for Jarrett Allen straight up.
While the Cavs could use an improved offense and the Kings desperately need better defense, the fit for both players is questionable at best. The Kings already have an All-Star center, and while the two could coexist, the Cavs could get a player who fits their roster better than Monk.
Both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell are already ball-dominant scorers, and Monk's not-elite shooting won't exactly help Cleveland's floor spacing.
After a second-round exit despite being the one seed, it's easy to see Cleveland making a move, and swapping Allen while allowing Evan Mobley to be the sole center makes sense, although there are better trades to be made out there.
If the Kings want to make a deal while not embracing a rebuild, Monk likely is the odd man out, although they could get a much better haul if they hit the reset button and move on from Sabonis while his value is high.
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