Sacramento Kings Urged to 'Bottom-Out' by NBA Insider

On his podcast, Game Theory, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie later goes on to say that the Western Conference is “a joke,” meaning that the conference is far too talented and the Kings will be hard pressed to even make the playoffs. 

As tough as this is to hear for Kings fans, this is looking more and more like the best path forward. With a bunch of expensive players on the books, an exit in the Play-In Tournament each of the last two seasons, and no first-round draft pick, the Kings are sitting in basketball purgatory. 

“You want to go get as many high-end, high-leverage draft picks as possible, probably using the Sabonis asset," Vecenie continued.

Vecenie thinks the Kings should be looking to trade Domantas Sabonis this summer as they look to acquire as much draft capital as possible and rebuild the roster. Sam’s co-host, Bryce Simon, thinks that the team needs to look to trade Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan if they are going to cut their losses this season. 

While both Sam and Bryce think that this is the right direction for Sacramento, they bring up a good point that it may not be easy for General Manager Scott Perry and the Kings. 

Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine are all talented players, but they’re making around $115 million combined next season and aren’t necessarily seamless fits on every roster. 

The problem with pivoting to another star in the De’Aaron Fox trade is that it handcuffs Sacramento to another expensive star in LaVine, who needs certain players around him to be at his best, similar to Sabonis. DeMar DeRozan’s contract is much easier to swallow, but he’s turning 36 in August and is really best suited on a team that only needs him to score. 

Sam does admit that Sabonis does have value, but he’s not sure exactly what that will be if they look to trade him. The team likely won’t be able to get as much as they are hoping for the three stars, but sometimes you’re forced to pick a direction in the NBA, and it feels like that has been Sacramento’s biggest issue for a while now.

Sam goes on to say that the team absolutely needs to pick that direction this summer, while his co-host brings up another option that isn’t a complete rebuild that is worth diving into.

“Maybe you build around Sabonis and you make sure you go get two-way guys," Vecenie finished.

Personally, I believe the Kings should have done this at the last trade deadline instead of going to get LaVine, but hindsight is 20/20.  Bryce believes it might be worth moving LaVine and DeRozan while keeping Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis, Devin Carter, and more. 

Implementing a rule that you need to be a two-way guy to be on the Kings while building around Domas isn’t the worst idea if you aren’t going to steer into the skid and move all of your most valuable assets. I’ve brought up the fact that there are good fits next to Sabonis in the past, and I do think the Kings already have two perfect pieces in Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis. 

If the Kings are able to bring in two more two-way players at the one and four to pair with Sabonis, Ellis, and Murray, Sacramento would be in much better shape than they are now. This scenario should also allow the Kings to keep the draft capital they accumulated in the De’Aaron Fox trade while making a run at the playoffs. 

Whether the Kings decide to tank, trade only one star, or keep the same basic roster, they’ll face an uphill battle in the Western Conference. As always in Sacramento, it remains to be seen if the team will make the right decision, but here’s to hoping for a step towards a real identity this summer.