The Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings are on opposite sides of the NBA spectrum. While the Jazz continue to be a solid contender, the Kings have become the laughingstock of the league. It is where careers go to waste, as the squad has missed the NBA Playoffs for 16 straight seasons—the record for longest drought ever.
The Kings have had many chances to ignite the team, but terrible roster decisions have been aplenty as well. Aside from the ill-fated drafting of Marvin Bagley III over Luka Doncic and Trae Young in 2018, the Kings also had cold feet in a deal in 2019 that would've sent them Jordan Clarkson, who was then playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to a report by the Sacramento Bee, a former Kings staff member, who decided to stay anonymous, said team owner Vivek Ranadive pulled out from the trade.
The source said the Kings nearly acquired Jordan Clarkson from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade involving Yogi Ferrell, but they didn’t act fast enough due to Ranadive’s involvement. Instead, the Cavaliers traded Clarkson to the Utah Jazz, where he would become the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, in exchange for Dante Exum and two future second-round draft picks.
The unnamed source added that the Kings couldn't get things done because of Ranadive's wishy-washy leadership.
“Getting decisions made was crazy. I remember it took a number of hours. Vivek would have to go, ‘OK, let me talk to (Oklahoma City Thunder general manager) Sam Presti. Let me talk to a variety of rival executives and agents.’ When a deal is on the table, it can very quickly be gone, so it’s one thing to do all the work and have the conversations and have a deal ready, but it’s another thing to convince your owner.”
The Kings, ladies and gentlemen.
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