The Sacramento Kings entered this offseason with an imbalanced roster. After drafting Devin Carter, another guard, the Kings faced a glut of guards and a lack of size. Following the sign-and-trade acquisition of DeMar DeRozan, the Kings are pretty much in the same place as before. Harrison Barnes, one of the few forwards on the Kings, was sent to San Antonio in the deal. DeRozan can play small forward, and has even played power forward at times in his career, but looking at the roster as it currently stands the Kings are still lacking in size.
At center the Kings have Domantas Sabonis and Alex Len. At forward the Kings have DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Trey Lyles, and Jalen McDaniels. That’s 6 players of the current 13 players on the Kings roster, meaning the remaining 7 players are guards. Even if Carter misses most of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, that’s still too many guards and not enough wings and bigs. It seems logical that another move is still yet to come. James Ham reported after the DeRozan trade that the Kings are still looking at another move, and didn’t rule out continuing to pursue Brandon Ingram or Lauri Markkanen. But Ingram doesn’t make sense to me anymore, as his skill set overlaps with DeRozan, Ingram would still cost a lot in a trade, and cost even more next summer. Markkanen also seems unlikely to me. Even though the Kings maintained most of their trade assets even after acquiring DeRozan, I just don’t see Danny Ainge giving up Markkanen for anything less than a king’s ransom.
Who else is out there? Let’s discuss both free agents and trade targets.
Free Agents
Free agency is winding down and most of the notable names off the board. The Kings, assuming they are aiming to stay under the luxury tax, also do not have much to offer free agents above a minimum contract. But there are still some intriguing names out there who may join an expected playoff team on a minimum deal.
Davis Bertans: Bertans has been overpaid the last few years, but is still a solid shooter with size. On a cheap deal I think he’d be a solid add.
Robert Covington: RoCo is well past his prime, and may be past being a playable NBA player, but he’s still available.
Cedi Osman: Cedi is a useful bench wing that I wouldn’t be upset about at all.
Precious Achiuwa: One of the best free agents still out there, I’d be excited to get him for some big man depth.
Doug McDermott: Another guy who is just a solid bench player. Not a ton of upside, has his flaws, but is solid.
Jae Crowder: Crowder has had an odd couple of years and it seems like he is strictly title-chasing, but he’s yet to find a new home in free agency.
Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris: I’m not a big fan of either player, but both would bring size and attitude.
Aleksej Pokusevski: Although I don’t expect him to actually remain in the NBA, Will Griffith would hunt me down if I failed to mention him.
Harry Giles: Bring him home, Monte.
Trade Targets
Kyle Kuzma: Marc Stein reported that the Kings could still be chasing Kuzma, which isn’t a big surprise. Kuzma would give the Kings another legitimate forward, but his fit on the roster would be a little more unclear at this point. Would Kuzma, who has been perfectly happy racking up shots on a bad team, be happy as the 4th or 5th option on offense?
Corey Kispert: Kuzma’s Wizards teammate is another interesting target. Kispert is 25 years old and will become a restricted free agent next summer. If the Wizards don’t want to pay him to stick around, he could be cheap depth for Sacramento.
Bobby Portis: Portis is supposedly available, but trading for him is tricky since the Bucks are a second apron team. They can’t aggregate outgoing players, and can’t take back a penny more than the outgoing salary of the player they trade. That means that even if the Bucks wanted to, they couldn’t trade Portis for Kevin Huerter, because Huerter makes more.
Isaiah Stewart: Beef Stew is a common target for Kings fans, myself included. He would give the Kings added size and toughness, and Stewart is decent three-point shooter for a big man. The Pistons recently claimed Paul Reed off waivers, but aside from Reed and Stewart the only other center on the Pistons roster is Jalen Duren. The Pistons may not be as eager to move Stewart as they’ve been rumored to be in the past.
Clint Capela, DeAndre Hunter: I like Capela but he might be a longshot. Capela is an expiring contract, but is still an effective big man. Hunter is a solid wing who has never really put it all together. He also has missed time with injuries. But the Hawks never seem to know if they want to break up their team or not. Atlanta could bring back Kevin Huerter, and the teams could even negotiate to remove protections from the pick Sacramento owes to Atlanta.
Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith: With Brooklyn blowing things up, either of their wings would be a great add for Sacramento. Both are versatile wings.
Day’Ron Sharpe: Another Brooklyn Net, Sharpe would provide big man depth for the Kings. Sharpe will turn 23 years old this season, so he’d also give the Kings a young guy with upside. For those same reasons, I’m not sure how eager the Nets are to move Sharpe, even after paying Nic Claxton.
Matisse Thybulle, Jerami Grant: The Portland Trail Blazers will be among the teams tanking for Cooper Flagg, so they have incentive to unload their veterans. Grant’s contract is a tricky fit with DeRozan on Sacramento’s books, but would be a really nice add at the power forward spot. Thybulle would add wing depth and defense. I’d be happy with either one, but it’s tricky to find a trade package that Portland would want back. They’ll want draft assets, and they’re likely not looking to add any more guards to their roster.
Bruce Brown: Brown would be a fun addition for a bench wing, but the contract is tricky. Brown’s upcoming free agency would also make me reticent to meet Masai Ujiri’s presumably too-high asking price.
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While I’ve tried to cover as many targets as possible, I’m sure I’ve overlooked a few. Chime in below with your favorite remaining targets for free agents or trades.
