Kings Holding Up Free Agent Market with Unfinished Business

We eventually learned that Malik Monk would likely be part of the deal, but no trade was finalized by the time everyone went to bed, with the Kings reportedly holding up the deal on their end.

And now it seems like the Kings are not only holding up the deal between them and the Pistons, but are part of what is holding up free agency as a whole. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported the Kings unfinished point guard business, Al Horford, and Guerschon Yabusele were pivot points this morning for free agency.

Yabusele has since signed with the New York Knicks, but there haven't been any updates on the Kings or Horford.

It's not just the Kings and Pistons talks centered around Schröder and Monk, but the Kings' ties to other point guards in Russell Westbrook and Malcolm Brogdon. While Westbrook isn't the MVP caliber player he used to be, he's still a valuable basketball player that has garnered interest around the league leading up to free agency.

Other teams are likely monitoring the situation and waiting to make their move until everything shakes out with the Kings. We knew the Kings were putting all of their focus on finding a new point guard after trading De'Aaron Fox last season, but we didn't know that they would slow down free agency like this.

The Kings being the team to hold up free agency is definitely new. Usually it's teams like the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks, or big names like Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo. But it shows the state of the NBA and how tight money is with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement and the tax aprons.

Simple salary dump trades appear to be a thing of the past, and teams are being extremely cautious with the money they hand out, which is likely what's lowered Monk's trade value.

It still seems likely that the Kings and Pistons make a deal, but for now, the NBA world will wait to see what happens with Al Horford and the Kings. What a weird start to NBA free agency, indeed.