The Sacramento Kings fell short of reaching the playoffs for the second straight season, losing in their second Play-In game to the New Orleans Pelicans. After a successful 2022-23 season, the Kings were hopeful to move even further in the postseason this year but they now enter the offseason looking for ways to improve.
They believe that they have a solid core of players together and want to continue building off the continuity. However, the Sacramento front office also likely realizes that they need to find ways to improve if they want to be taken seriously. And it seems that they may be going after an upgrade at the guard spot this summer.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Kings may be the most likely landing spot for Chicago Bulls All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine. LaVine has been in trade talks for years but with the Bulls finally looking to rebuild, a trade of LaVine makes more sense.
“If there’s any suitor for LaVine that seems most likely at this juncture, it would be the Kings,” Fischer writes. “Sacramento remains active in exploring trade opportunities for Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, league sources told Yahoo Sports, with Huerter receiving a healthy amount of external interest.”
The Bulls will want a decent amount back in return for LaVine, even if those around the league don’t see him as possessing tremendous value. Sacramento makes a lot of sense for LaVine as the team looks to place itself among the elite contenders in the Western Conference. The Kings previously had real interest in bringing LaVine to town. They presented him with a four-year, $80 million offer sheet during the 2018 offseason when he was a restricted free agent. Chicago matched the offer sheet, forcing LaVine to return to the Bulls.
This could be a chance for the Kings to bring LaVine to town after all these years, especially given their recent success. He could be a nice pairing with point guard DeAaron Fox, giving Sacramento one of the best offensive backcourts in the entire league. LaVine would create a three-headed monster of himself, Fox, and center Domantas Sabonis, giving the Kings a lethal scoring attack.
They also have guard Malik Monk coming off the bench to provide some scoring punch as well. This move would be about the Kings trying to take advantage of this winning window that they see themselves in, especially with the NBA being as wide open as ever.
While LaVine isn’t the perfect player, he could provide this team with an extra scoring punch and a go-to scorer on a nightly basis along with Fox. It remains to be seen if the two teams will pull the trigger, but a move for LaVine could come as early as the 2024 NBA Draft that is scheduled to take place next week.
Uncommon Knowledge
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