Blockbuster Trade Proposal to Reshape Sacramento Kings

That's extremely difficult to do with $54 million tied up in an injured Damian Lillard. While Lillard is one of the best players in NBA history, as proven by his selection in the 75th Anniversary Team, it's hard to know what his level of play would look like coming off a torn achilles.

But for a Kings team looking to find a foundational centerpiece after trading De'Aaron Fox, bringing in an NBA great would certainly help. They could either hope that Lillard comes back as the same player he was prior to the injury, use his contract to facilitate a follow up trade later down the line, or use his expiring contract to open up space for another signing.

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There's the chance that this all blows up in the Kings face, as Lillard has a $58.5 million player option next offseason. That's a lot of money to walk away from, but if Lillard is looking for one last long-term deal, and should he not want to play for Sacramento, he could opt out and the Kings would lose him for nothing.

But even in that scenario, they would open up a giant chunk of cap space for next summer.

For the Bucks, pairing LaVine with Antetokounmpo would give them a scoring punch that they lack without Lillard, and would give LaVine a defensive anchor that the Kings currently lack.

In the hypothetical, the Kings receive Tyler Smith, a 6-foot-11 forward with a 7-foot-1 wingspan who just completed his rookie season. Smith was the 33rd pick in last year's draft from the G League Ignite and shot a great 43.3% from three with the Bucks. At just 20 years old, he's the exact type of player the Kings need to collect to build out their wing depth.

And throw in a few picks with protections as needed to make up for Lillard being out for the season, and the Kings would get a nice haul to add to their future assets.

While Lillard wouldn't suit up any time soon, the move would allow for the Kings to lean into the duo of Malik Monk and Keon Ellis at shooting guard, and put focus on moving DeMar DeRozan for another point guard or wing option. It's not ideal for next season, but it's another intriguing option to consider in an offseason of change for the Kings.