Another year, another poor season for the Sacramento Kings. Their last decade and a half in the NBA can be described by a myriad of poor personnel decisions, overmatched coaches, terrible front offices, and mind-boggling trades.
However, the Kings are making some steps in the right direction. It is important for the franchise to continue those steps, so to take a few more in the right direction, they need to be active in the trade market. Thus, here is the biggest need the Kings must address at the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline.
This Kings roster has a problem with balance but has none with talent. As previous Kings rosters have shown, they could be a lot worse. This one has real superstar potential, but the issue is that it is mostly with guards. Right now, the Kings have De'Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Davion Mitchell, all sharing time on the court. All four are of similar height, weight, and with the exception of Hield, who is not much of a facilitator, three of them can play both guard spots. Harrison Barnes is also there, just as Tristan Thompson, Maurice Harkless, and Marvin Bagley Jr.
However, while most players are of NBA quality and some even have superstar potential, it does not look good on the court. Balancing the minutes of four guards that all believe they should be starting is incredibly difficult. Famously, the Phoenix Suns signed Isaiah Thomas to a team that already had Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe, and that experiment lasted for one season before two out of the three left the team. The Kings are in a different spot, as one is a rookie and still fighting for minutes, while Hield, as said already, does not play point guard.
While the situations are different, it is clear that there are certain parallels between the two squads. That experiment in Arizona lasted one year and was not successful, so the Kings should get some value out of their guards before they can leave for free. Thus, the absolute biggest need the Kings must address at the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline is trading one of their four guards.
Before going towards the two most likely to be traded, it is important to briefly mention why two of them are definitely not getting traded. Davion Mitchell is the rookie, so the Kings deliberately picked him with the 9th selection just a few months back. Rookies, especially those picked in the lottery, are rarely traded away, so unless it is a star going in the other direction, Mitchell is staying put. Haliburton is showing a ton of promise and upside, and already plays with a lot of maturity, so due to his potential, Haliburton is most likely not going anywhere.
The choice will be between Buddy Hield and De'Aaron Fox. Starting with Hield, he has had an interesting story. An underwhelming player in his brief stint playing for the Pelicans before being traded, Hield has been great for the Kings. He jumped to 20.7 points in his best season but is slowly dipping, resulting in this year being the worst season for the young guard. His playstyle fits the modern NBA very well but unless the Kings can convince a team in the league that Hield will be back to his old self with more shots and minutes, no one is breaking the bank for the former Oklahoma guard.
On the other hand, there is De'Aaron Fox, and many believe this guard has All-Star potential. Here we have a player that does not shoot from the outside, a rarity in the modern game. He had a breakout year for the Kings last season, jumping to 25.2 points and 7.2 assists, shooting 47.7% from the field, and even hitting 1.8 threes per game, albeit on a below-average 32.2% three-point success rate. This year, he had a significant fall in all mentioned parameters but is still considered a potential All-Star in the future.
Both of these players have valuable things other teams can be interested in. Hield's game is much better suited to the modern NBA and he has three years on his deal, with $61 million guaranteed. His contract is much more moveable and his numbers will likely spike as soon as he gets more opportunities to play. However, it is very hard to gauge what his worth will be on the market. He could bring a first-round pick with one or two veterans, but anything more would be hard to believe. The Kings might prefer to keep him as they would likely be unhappy with the haul he brings.
Fox, on the other hand, clearly has more potential. His season last year is proof that he might be right there, near that All-Star status. However, he has a massive contract for a very long time, as he signed an extension in 2020. Additionally, incorporating a non-shooting guard in a lineup is difficult, and while Fox does try to be a better shooter, it is still not materializing. The Kings could get multiple picks for Fox, simply due to his potential, but not much else.
As said above, the Kings' biggest need at the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline is dealing with their backcourt situation. How they choose to do it, however, is a whole different beast. It really depends on who they want to get rid of and how they want to approach their issue. It will probably be Fox on his way out of Sacramento, simply because of his trade worth. However, no one should be surprised if the Kings stand put or do something else completely.
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