Making the Case: Sacramento Kings
As mentioned earlier, Sacramento would be pulling the trigger on this deal because they want to win now. Actually, they wanted to win yesterday, but it’s better late than never.
Pascal Siakam gives the Kings a bona fide third star, someone who can impact the game at a high level on both ends of the court. He’d give De’Aaron Fox an equally terrifying running mate in transition and Domantas Sabonis a high-low partner to terrorize defenses in the lane.
Siakam would be an instant boon to the Kings’ title chances, but he certainly wouldn’t make them a favorite, or even a popular pick, or even a dark-horse contender to be honest. Giving up Harrison Barnes and Justin Holiday means sacrificing two of the team’s better defenders for one plus defender. While Siakam would add another dimension to the Kings’ offense, their weakness was never on that end of the court — especially after acquiring Sabonis.
It’d be much more logical for the Kings to stay put and use the fourth-overall draft pick. Adding one of Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., Paolo Banchero, or Jaden Ivey will instantly upgrade Sacramento’s roster.
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The benefit to being so far away from true title contention is that the Kings can take the best player available without any qualms over team fit. Any of those top-four prospects should be able to slide right into Sacramento’s starting lineup and make an instant impact.
Getting to keep Harrison Barnes and Justin Holiday while developing their new prized prospect alongside their new star tandem will be the best path for the Kings moving forward.
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They’ll likely miss out on the postseason against next year, but there’s a pretty strong chance that they do so even with Pascal Siakam in tow. This way, they at least have a new franchise cornerstone to build around when the organization inevitably implodes soon.
