Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Sacramento Kings

After going 3-5 in their seeding games down in the Orlando Bubble, the Sacramento Kings came up short of making the NBA playoffs for the 14th straight season, the longest active playoff drought in the NBA and are now just one season away from tying the longest playoff drought in NBA history. Sacramento finished 31-41 last season, also extending their streak of consecutive losing seasons to 14 seasons.

Over the years, there have not been many positive things to talk about with the Kings organization as a whole. Luke Walton is the organization’s 10th head coach since 2006 and they have seen plenty of talent leave over the years. Isaiah Thomas, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay all left the Kings during this 14-year skid and as a result, has been a main factor in this team’s lack of success over the years.

They just have not been able to find sustainability from within, but have been putting together a young core that has shown a lot of promise. De’Aaron Fox is entering his fourth season in the NBA and has shown a lot of All-Star potential as he continues to get better each and every season. The Kings locked him up for the foreseeable future, signing him to a five-year, $163M max-extension this offseason.

Tyrese Haliburton, the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft has gotten off to a great start to his rookie campaign and looks like a player Sacramento can build around with De’Aaron Fox for the foreseeable future. The only thing this team is missing to be a playoff team is talent on the wing. 

Harrison Barnes is a reliable forward and in his 9th season in the NBA, a veteran and experienced player for a younger group of guys. Adding Kelly Oubre Jr. to this team gives them another scoring option on the wing and a young player they can opt to sign long-term in the offseason. 

Kevon Looney can also have an impact for this team off-the-bench because of his versatility as a strong defender. He is not the biggest center and he is not much of a shot-blocker, but he has been a great defensive floor general for the Warriors for years now and could definitely help make a difference for a weak bench in Sacramento. 

The future is definitely bright for the Sacramento Kings, but they are still a few building blocks away from finally making it back to the playoffs. De’Aaron Fox is a proven, young leader of this team, but with the question marks surrounding Buddy Hield and his future, it is much better for them to trade him now while his value is high.