The Sacramento Kings are in the midst of the worst playoff drought that the NBA has ever seen. They have missed the postseason for 15 consecutive years, tying the record held by the Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers/Los Angeles Clippers, who missed the playoffs every year from 1977-1991.
They haven’t been particularly close in any of those seasons either. They had a ninth place finish during the 2018-19 season, but were nine games out of a playoff spot in 2018-19. They were at the Orlando Bubble, but finished 12th in the conference. This season, they were two games out of a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
One area the Kings need to improve on if they want to get back into the playoff picture is on defense. They had the worst defensive rating in the history of the NBA last season, as they couldn’t stop anyone from scoring the ball.
They looked to rectify that problem by selecting Davion Mitchell out of Baylor. It is the second straight year they used a first-round pick on a point guard despite having De’Aaron Fox on the roster.
READ MORE: Predictions for Latest NBA Trade Rumors: Simmons, Siakam, Dragic, Lillard
The 23-year old Fox has been coming into his own, putting together a strong 2020-21 season — averaging 25.2 points, 7.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He started off slow in his 2021-22 campaign but is putting up solid numbers once again.
While the Kings are highly unlikely to trade Fox right now, that could change down the road if the team keeps losing. The team is barely in the mix for a play-in spot and their long-term trajectory remains bleak.
With two point guards selected the last two years, the Kings have depth should they decide to move on from the former Kentucky product. Here are three teams who should be keeping tabs on the availability of Fox.
