Sacramento Kings to listen to offers for No. 4 pick
With the two-week mark nearing for the 2022 NBA Draft, smoke continues surround the Sacramento Kings with their potential decision regarding the No. 4 overall pick.
The presumptive top-3 players in the 2022 class are Auburn’s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and Duke’s Poalo Banchero.
After that? There’s Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, Iowa’s Keegan Murray, Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, G-League Ignite’s Dyson Daniels, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis and Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe, among others.
But the Kings — who recently hired former Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers head coach and current Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown with budding general manager Monte McNair at the helm — might move out of its selection. It’s worth nothing Sacramento also owns two second-round picks: No. 37 (own) and No. 49 (via CHI).
“League sources have confirmed that the Kings will listen to trade the pick for the right price. The cost will be steep, but that is expected when you are talking about a No. 4 overall pick.”
This isn’t necessarily new news.
Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported in late May that Sacramento could explore deal the pick depending on who falls to them:
“There’s a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection, either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process. The expectation of Smith, Holmgren and Banchero representing the top three puts the Kings front office in a strong trade position, where the uncertainty of the fourth selection could prompt eager teams to leap up to secure their prized prospect. The draft, in one sense, could begin in earnest after the perceived top three are off the board.”
You can do whatever you want with this information. Personally, I don’t necessarily buy the “trade pick” smoke until the pick is officially dealt. That’s how I naturally view Draft Day trades, but I digress. The aforementioned reports indicate there’s at least some interest moving out of the pick unless one of Banchero, Smith and Holmgren fall to them — though it (presumably) remains unlikely that occurs.
And even if Sacramento was >99% locked in on a bouquet of prospects, weighing all possibilities is smart. If they don’t want to, they can stand pat; Sacramento could also move a few spots back and grab the extra asset to pair with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis while drafting a player they already liked but wouldn’t take at No. 4. It could also relocate to the back-end or out of the first-round in its entirety, likely granting a kings ransom (pun intended) in return.
All options should — and will (per these reports) — will be on the table. Though I’d be remiss to add there is a layer of risk to trading back.
The Kings, to put it lightly, have had a difficult time nailing most of their top-10 picks over the last decade. Here’s who they selected (that weren’t traded on draft night):
- 2021: Davion Mitchell (No. 9)
- 2018: Marvin Bagley (No. 2)
- 2017: De’Aaron Fox (No. 5)
- 2015: Willie Cauley-Stein (No. 6)
- 2014: Nik Stauskas (No. 8)
- 2013: Ben McLemore (No. 7)
- 2012: Thomas Robinson (No. 5)
While teams operate circumstantially each offseason, Fox was the only player Sacramento retained past his rookie contract amongst this crop; Mitchell, entering his second season, could get there too. They selected Tyrese Haliburton at No. 12 last year but shockingly dealt him to Indiana for Sabonis.
To add insult to injury, the Kings selected Bagley — who’s now formed a semi-fun duo with Cade Cunningham in Detroit after being stashed on the Kings’ bench — over all-wordly talent Luka Doncic. Not looking great for Sacramento! It’s been a continuous history of 1.) Bad luck and 2.) Poor draft valuation. Teams miss on picks all the time. It’s apart of the gig; nobody can knock 100 percent of them out-of-the-park. But for Sacramento, it’s been a near-regular occurrence.
But if they were to trade out, they need to find a team to trade with for the right package. Who could that be?
What could put together a package?
The most-realistic options are from teams in ranges No. 5-10. Those read as follow: The Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards, respectively.
The Pacers, Blazers and Spurs immediately stand out.
Full disclosure: I’m not good at assessing trade value. It’s disingenuous for me to believe that my respective value to a player is perhaps better than someone much smarter than me (i.e. Monty McNair). But nevertheless, let’s hit the trade machine anyways!
Indiana owns the No. 31 (first 2nd round pick) and No. 6 picks; could that be a potential package to move up two spots to No. 4? Could Sacramento also poach Malcolm Brogdon or TJ Warren (in a sign-and-trade, thus hard-capping SAC) instead of the No. 31 pick for a Harrison Barnes-esque asset? It might work!
The Spurs possess three first-round picks: No. 9, No. 20 and No. 25. Would they dare wield at least two — if not all — of those picks to move up five spots? Even though the draft is a crap shoot and nailing a pick beyond the lottery — let alone No. 20 or No. 25 — is difficult, getting at least one chance at No. 9 or at any of the two aforementioned selections might be better than trying to nab the fourth-best prospect?
Portland could put together a package of Josh Hart and the No. 7 pick for Richaun Holmes — who’s value is considerably lower after last season — and No. 4.
Holmes, who’s making $11.2 million in 2022-23 with two additional years ($12.0M in ’23-24; $12.9M PO in ’24-25) on his contract, fits into Portland’s $20.8 million trade exception created from the C.J. McCollum trade and gives them a center amid Jusuf Nurkic’s impending free agency.
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