Ranking the Sacramento Kings Players' Trade Values

While the NBA's final four teams battle it out in the playoffs, the Sacramento Kings are fully emerged in hypothetical trade season.

While many trades have been thrown out by Kings fans and media, let's take a step back and look at the bigger picture once again of who Scotty Perry can trade this offseason, and rank them on the return that Sacramento could receive.

The ranks will consider the player's contract, age, skill, and need around the league. To start, the table below lists the Kings' ten players currently under contract.

1. Keegan Murray

The Kings have rumors swirling that have involved almost everyone on the roster, but one player remains at the top of Sacramento trade asset list that rarely gets brought up in trade scenarios.

And that's because Murray remains one of the only young(ish) players that the Kings could choose to build around should they tear it all down. But he also remains the only high-level young player they can dangle in a trade for another star.

The odds of trading Murray are low, but should Perry want to push all of his chips into a star, expect Murray to be involved. Not only for his skillset, but also his $11.1 million contract being a bargain for what he brings on the court before his future extension kicks in.

2. Malik Monk

I wrote previously on how Monk might be Sacramento's best trade asset, and outside of Murray, I still believe that to be true.

Monk is a proven veteran at this point of his career with a clear ability to both score and facilitate, either off the bench or as a starter. That's a skillset every single team in the league would like to add to their roster. Add on that Monk is on a great contract with just $18.8 million this year and $20.2 million next year before his player option in the 2027-28 season, and he could net a great wing or point guard should Perry look to rebalance the talent on the roster.

3. Keon Ellis

If there's anyone who gets close to topping Monk as the second-best trade chip, it's Keon Ellis. It's not only that Ellis has established himself as one of the best three-and-D players in the league, bringing elite defense and a 42.9% career 3P%, but also his small-scale $2.3 million deal for next season.

That deal includes a team option that the Kings could decline and resign Ellis to a longer, more lucrative deal, but they could also opt in and trade Ellis for a more established star. By no means is this advocating for the Kings to do so, but Ellis brings such unique value at his money level that teams fighting tax aprons would surely love to bring on. He could be the secret trade chip of the offseason for a splashy move (that would also upset every single person in Sacramento).

4. Domantas Sabonis

Sabonis is one of the most difficult players to rank on this list. In one aspect, he is one of the best centers in the league with a unique skillset of scoring, playmaking, and rebounding. But at the same time, he's a player who's difficult to build around and needs unique offensive and defensive schemes to be the most effective.

Throw in his high-money contract over the next three years, and moving Sabonis may be harder than expected. Sacramento could likely get another high-level player or protected pick or two, but it seems unlikely that they would get a typical All-NBA player trade haul, even though Sabonis has those credentials and fits that bill.

5. DeMar DeRozan

While DeRozan is the most proven player on the Kings, he's also the oldest. And much like Sabonis, he fits best in a specific type of offense.

With his patented mid-range jumper and tendency to slow the ball down, DeRozan would fit best on a team looking for a final piece and someone who can go get them a bucket when needed. On the plus side, though, DeRozan's contract is very reasonable, and it being only partially guaranteed for next season makes him even easier to trade.

6. Devin Carter

Carter gets the nod for the sixth spot mainly because of his untapped potential and contract. With three more years left on his rookie deal, Carter could be an add on to any trade to help even out talent and money.

When he was drafted, Carter was compared to Derrick White, one of the best role players in the game. While Carter didn't have a rookie season that lived up to that comparison, he did show flashes of being a pesky defender and was never shy about getting his shot up on offense. It likely wouldn't be difficult to get a team to buy in on Carter's potential as he gets more NBA experience.

7. Zach LaVine

LaVine's biggest knock has always and will always be his contract, and that's the case here as well. The new CBA makes it so difficult to build a competitive roster, and having a player at $47.5 and $49.0 million makes it very difficult to fill out an entire roster.

That's even more so the case when that high-money player may not be the best player on the team or the person to build around. Next offseason, LaVine's value will go up exponentially as he transitions to an expiring contract, but for now, he remains one of the more challenging players in the league to trade.

8. Jonas Valanciunas

The Kings were able to bring in Valanciunas relatively easily for Sidy Cissoko and two second-round picks. Perry should just as easily be able to move on from the backup center should they go another direction for their bench.

Talented bigs on reasonable contracts are always in demand from a few teams in the league, and while Valanciunas may not be the starting caliber big he once was, he's a more than serviceable starter in the right system or one of the best backup big options. I was tempted to put him above LaVine, but ultimately, gave the nod to LaVine with the tie breaker being shear talent.

9. Terence Davis

At the bottom of the list, it's a toss-up between Terence Davis and Isaac Jones. Davis gets the edge as a more established player in the league. A sneaky move would be trading Davis with a plan for the other team to save a few million dollars.

Davis can't be traded until July 9th, 2025, but has a fully guaranteed date on his contract for January 10th, 2026. With how close teams are getting to the tax aprons, every dollar could matter in the right circumstance.

10. Isaac Jones

The same write-up for Davis can alomst be pasted word for word here. The only difference is that Jones is a little less proven, and has different dates for his trade restriction and team option.

He can't be traded until June 22, 2025, and has a club option with a deadline of June 29th, 2025. It's a tight window, but again, a team could theoretically look to trade a guaranteed deal for the non-guaranteed money of Jones.