Does this trade make sense for the Sacramento Kings?
In the offseason, the Sacramento Kings had a trade lined up to send Buddy Hield to the Lakers for Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell, but the trade fell through on draft night after the Lakers instead acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards.
It is no secret anymore that the Kings are interested in trading Buddy Hield, but the sharpshooting wing has not let these rumors bother him in terms of his on the court production.
Hield has been great for the Kings to this point in the new NBA season, as he currently ranks third on the team in scoring (16.9 PPG) and second in the league in made three-pointers (50).
Replacing Hield is definitely going to be a tough thing for Sacramento to do, especially if they look to move him at the trade deadline this season instead of next offseason. This trade with the Atlanta Hawks gives the Sacramento Kings some value in their frontcourt with Gallinari, but they are much better off keeping Hield in this deal.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Kings-Pelicans Trade Features Buddy Hield To New Orleans
Not only has he proven to be a key factor off the bench for them, but Sacramento would be losing offensive production by adding Gallinari to their team over Hield.
For a team looking to break a playoff curse, getting worse on one area of the floor is not a good recipe for success.
Believe it or not, the Kings have actually not looked terrible this season. They are currently 5-7 and have some key wins over the Hornets, Suns and Blazers this season, so they are definitely a team that could flirt with being .500 all season long, which could be good enough to make it to the play-in tournament.
Instead of “selling” talent at the trade deadline, it is much more likely that the Kings will look to be “buyers” and add some more difference-maker to their team. Leveraging Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III are still very believable possibilities for this team, but they need to be getting solid value in return for either of them.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Kings-Pelicans Trade Features Buddy Hield To New Orleans
Danilo Gallinari has been a consistent player throughout his career, but at 33-years-old and being owed $41.9M over the next two seasons, he is not the type of player the Kings should be targeting in a trade this year.
