Why Kings Might Be Avoiding Potential Trae Young Trade

In an earlier article, I wrote about why the Kings staying out of the race for one of the star lead guards on the market is the right move, with a caveat. That caveat was that swapping Young for Zach LaVine (likely in a multi-team trade) made some sense for a Kings team that desperately needs an organizer on offense to help the younger players develop. While I still believe the Kings need that type of player, there are legitimate reasons why they are staying away. 

To Extend, Or Not To Extend

When I made the point that Young joining the Kings had some benefits, there was admittedly one big factor that I didn’t write about. Most superstars who have been put on the trade block lately have been given the luxury of input on their next destination. In the case of Young, who is going into the last year of his contract next season, that input often ends with them being sent to a team interested in a long-term deal. 

The Kings are all too familiar with this phenomenon after sending De’Aaron Fox to his preferred destination of San Antonio, where he signed a max contract extension. 

When it comes to Trae, an extension should be a non-starter for a Sacramento team that is trying to pivot into a defensive identity. It’s possible to insulate Young with a bunch of good defenders around him, but he would need to significantly increase his shooting efficiency to even consider going down that path. 

None of this is to say that Young is a bad player; however, the Kings have a lot of work to do before they even consider making a big commitment to another offensive-minded player. 

The Lottery

As things stand, the Kings are the third-worst team in the league and have a great shot at ending up with a high draft pick next June. There are a ton of forwards and bigs in the draft that many have their eyes on, including Cam Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, Caleb Wilson, and others, but the guard class is one of the best we’ve seen in years. 

Between Darryn Peterson, Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings, Mikel Brown Jr., and the other elite guards in the class, the Kings should have a great chance at finding their point guard of the future next summer. 

Not only will one of the guards entering the draft in 2026 be much younger than Trae, but many of them are more fit to the modern NBA than he is. Running the risk of eating these words, I will even guarantee that Peterson, Flemings, and Acuff will be better defenders than Young, with a good chance that Brown Jr, Christian Anderson, and Labaron Philon would be as well. 

There’s no promise that any of the guards, even Peterson, will hit the scoring numbers Trae has in his career, but that’s a worthwhile risk for a team that needs more than just an elite offensive talent. 

Switch! 

The best defenses in the NBA are filled with defenders who can guard multiple positions, and this is one of the biggest reasons why small guards like Trae might be a dying breed in the league. 

No matter the action, you’ll see the majority of teams try to switch instead of praying the player that gets hit by a screen can recover in time to contest a shot, which has given rise to bigger and bigger guards. Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Haliburton, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Jalen Suggs, LaMelo Ball, Stephon Castle, Dyson Daniels, Anthony Black, and Josh Giddey are all 6-foot-5 and above, which makes it much easier for their teams to defend (even if the guard themself isn’t a great defender). 

Even if a guard isn’t quite as big as the guys I listed, they’re usually not as small as Young, who was measured just barely above six feet without shoes and under 180 pounds. Other shorter guards like Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell make up for their height with strength that Young also doesn’t have, and even then, they often struggle when matched up with bigger players. The Golden State Warriors have made it work with Steph Curry, but he’s in another universe when it comes to offense (and still a better team defender). 

I wouldn’t have minded watching Trae run the Kings’ offense for a while, but bringing him in with the expectation that he’s the point guard of the future just doesn’t make sense for Sacramento. I feel for fans that just want some excitement, I do as well, but that isn’t worth running into the same issues the Hawks are right now. As painful as it is to watch one of the league’s worst offenses, passing on Young is the right move for Sacramento.

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