Kings Open to Trading Surprise All-Star: Report

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 11:41 AM ET

The Sacramento Kings seemed to have truly broken their own franchise curse in 2022-23, when they won 48 games, discovered an offense-first identity under Coach of the Year Mike Brown and All-Stars De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, and secured the Western Conference's No. 3 seed.

Sacramento had made the playoffs for the first time since 2006, and pushed the reigning champion Golden State Warriors to seven games in the first round before suffering a noble defeat to a red-hot Stephen Curry.

But things have been somewhat unhinged in the intervening seasons.

In 2023-24, the Kings went 46-36 and notched the West's No. 9 seed, failing to emerge out of the play-in tournament.

Last year, the Kings stumbled to a 13-18 record under Brown, compelling owner Vivek Ranadive to fire him and replace him with interim head coach Doug Christie. The Kings finished out the year going 27-24 under Christie and 40-42 overall, after Fox forced a trade to the San Antonio Spurs and left the club with no traditional starting point guard.

Sacramento's Sabonis/Fox core gave way to a group of ill-fitting, offense-only pieces, in Sabonis, Malik Monk, and former Chicago Bulls All-Stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.

Now, things apparently have gotten so drastic that the Kings are open to trading even Sabonis, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

10 forwards the Sacramento Kings can target via trade or NBA free agency

What the Kings are looking for, who they could pursue and what that might mean for Keegan Murray ⬇️

Read more at: https://t.co/uCdrllxvyY
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) June 25, 2025

The 29-year-old, a three-time All-Star, put up an intriguing stat line of 19.1 points on .590/.417/.754 shooting splits, 13.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists, and is easily Sacramento's best player. He's owed $42.3 million for 2025-26, in the second year of a four-season, $146.8 million contract.

Anderson observes that the Kings, despite missing the playoffs, have already traded away their first round pick in Wednesday's draft. Sacramento does possess the No. 42 pick in Thursday's second round, although presumably whomever is selected there will be more of a long-term project player.

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

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