Kings Have No Interest in Trading Young Duo This Offseason: Report

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zachary Rainey | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 3:43 PM ET

The Sacramento Kings are in a curious, but not unfamiliar, position. They stand at a crossroads with no clear plan for their future. They shocked many by trading De'Aaron Fox, who was the face of the franchise, to the San Antonio Spurs as part of a three-team deal with the Chicago Bulls that ultimately landed them Zach LaVine.

By bringing in LaVine, they reunited him with DeMar DeRozan, whom LaVine played with in Chicago for three seasons. Fans of the Bulls will be the first to tell Kings fans about the limits and frustrations of a LaVine and DeRozan duo, particularly due to their lack of defense.

Kings have no interest in trading young duo in offseason

The Kings managed to sneak into the NBA Play-In Tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference but fell to the No. 10-seeded Dallas Mavericks. Now, they face tough decisions. They're not a bad enough team to bottom out and rebuild, but not good enough to contend for a top spot in the conference.

According to Forbes NBA writer Evan Sidery, the Kings have no intention of trading this young duo.

"The Kings have no interest in trading Keegan Murray or Keon Ellis, who are both generating strong interest around the NBA, per [Sacramento Bee reporter Jason Anderson]."

The Kings have no interest in trading Keegan Murray or Keon Ellis, who are both generating strong interest around the NBA, per @JandersonSacBee (https://t.co/rJkeU8ycjV).

Sacramento’s two primary young building blocks are staying put. pic.twitter.com/UoVjGwSp1x
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 24, 2025

The Kings selected Murray with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. After averaging 15.2 points per game in his sophomore campaign, Murray's scoring numbers dipped to 12.4 per game. He's also seen his 3-point percentage fall from 41.1% as a rookie to 35.8% in his second season to 34.3% this past season.

As for Ellis, his role has increased each year. He saw a jump from 1.5 points per game his rookie year to 5.4 his second year to 8.3 this past season. The young duo would likely fetch more in a trade than someone of LaVine or DeRozan's age, but if the Kings truly aren't willing to part ways with Ellis or Murray, it'll likely be more of the same from Sacramento next season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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