National Basketball Association

Sacramento Kings: How And Why The Kings Need To Blow It Up

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:28 p.m. ET

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Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings have been stuck in proverbial mud over the last few seasons; here are a few reasons why and how they could blow it all up

Purple has long been associated with royalty, so it makes sense that that is the primary color of the Sacramento Kings’ uniforms.

In fact, the Kings rebranded their logo and uniforms this offseason in efforts of ushering in a new era of Kings basketball with the hiring of former Memphis head coach Dave Joerger.

The Kings have long been the laughingstock of the NBA as they can’t seem to find the right coaching combination to pair with their disgruntled superstar big man DeMarcus Cousins; and continue to make head scratching signings and draft picks.

While I definitely don’t understand why the Kings have Arron Afflalo, Garrett Temple, and Ben McLemore all on the same roster – that’s the issue I think that’s plagued the Kings for the past couple of seasons – redundancy. Instead of trying to establish a clear identity as a team, upper management has been stockpiling as much talent at one position in hopes that something will pan out and they’ll find gold to replenish their barren vault of talent.

Taking a look at their current roster, they have quite a few solid players and prospects. (No, I’m not kidding, I’m serious!)

DeMarcus Cousins is arguably the best big man in the league (that’s my opinion). Matt Barnes is a gritty, testy NBA vet who plays lockdown defense and still hits 3’s at a respectable rate. I still don’t understand why people hate on Rudy Gay, because he’s actually one of the more effective players the NBA employs (a career 50% eFG%, which if you don’t know, is an adjusted stat used to take into account hurried shots, things the player can’t control to give a clearer picture of how well the player is actually playing).

Malachi Richardson was electrifying for Syracuse this past season, and has all the tools and making to be what the Kings hoped Ben McLemore could have been. Omri Casspi is the best 3PT shooter you don’t know about (last season shot 40.9% from 3), and he can defend both 3’s and 4’s. Skal Labissiere has the potential to be one of the best stretch 4s the league has ever seen.

I could go on and on, but the point is this – the Kings have solid players; they all just have way too similar skill sets.

Garrett Temple played well during his time with the Wizards, playing the 1 at times. Arron Afflalo holds a 45 FG% clip and shoots 38.5% from 3 for his career as well. Both could win the Kings starting 2 position in wake of the Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay trade rumors, but both are being paid like starters.

Anthony Tolliver really should start for the Kings at the 4 if they want any space for their guards and wings to drive (has a career 35% from 3PT land, which is very good for someone who is 6’8″); but the Kings insisted last year on pairing Willie Cauley-Stein, a center with DeMarcus Cousins. If Joerger continues that pattern, he’s got to play Cousins at the 4, which isn’t his natural position and negates Cousins’ insane ability to blow by defenders with his underrated footwork.

Now, what I’m about to say may make you not want to read any further, but here it goes: the Kings need to trade everyone before the season starts.

Look, the Kings could play with their current roster as is and probably finish somewhere around a 35-47 record. That’d be an improvement (albeit slight) over their 33-49 finish last season, but I think I can speak for everyone (including Kings fans) that we’re tired of the Kings are mediocre and stuck in NBA purgatory. In other words, the bottom of the conference’s standings led by poor management.

Trading wouldn’t make them a contender suddenly, but it would help their long term future, which they haven’t prioritized.

What I’m going to attempt to do is provide a few trade possibilities through the use of the ESPN NBA Trade Machine and break down why it benefits the Sacramento Kings (and if applicable, the other team or teams involved).

Without further, ado…..

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Trade 1: Sacramento Brings the Payne

SAC gets: PG, Cameron Payne; PF, Ersan Ilyasova

OKC gets: SF, Rudy Gay

This is the trade rumor that came out recently that without a doubt needs to happen.

The Sacramento Kings signed Ty Lawson to a one-year deal this offseason with hopes similar to what the Rockets had – to regain his Denver-days-form.

That didn’t pan out, and now Lawson is under investigation by the NBA for missing a team practice  and partying after a preseason game. He could be missing some serious time, and the team’s other possible starting PG, Darren Collison, could not be playing in the NBA ever again if he gets charged with the domestic violence charges he’s facing.

All of a sudden the Kings may be left with either playing Garrett Temple at the 1 (not ideal), or thrusting 2016 draftee Isaiah Cousins (not as bad of an idea, but typically not ideal) into the starting 5.

While it’s way too soon to determine if Cousins is the Kings PG of the future (I seriously think it’s possible), Payne, despite being 22, brings in playoff experience and has shown he’s capable of running an NBA offense. He could be the answer.

Joerger plays much slower than Billy Donovan, but if Ilyasova is brought over then he may feel more comfortable with playing at a faster pace running-and-gunning 3s with shooters like Afflalo, Ilyasova, and say, Matt Barnes on the floor. (Yeah I know they’re older, but they can still run). Heck, Boogie hit 3s last season. The Kings suddenly become more interesting.

While OKC may be a little hesitant to bring over a SF on an expiring deal that may not stay with their team past the current season to bolt for a way better team in the short term and long term, they can’t just have Westbrook take every shot. Despite Roberson playing well in the postseason this year, are you really excited about Roberson or Kyle Singler starting for the Thunder?

Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

Trade 2: Minnesota Gets Wild

SAC gets: PG, Ricky Rubio, C, Gorgui Dieng 

MIN gets: SF, Rudy Gay, C, Willie Cauley-Stein

This trade makes no sense and all the sense in the world at first glance, so let me break it down.

Admittedly, the initial framework was ‘stolen’ from trade rumors again (via Yahoo), but I decided to take it a step further.

Rubio to Sacramento would line up more realistically with the Kings’ upper management’s philosophy – bring in established vets and negate the youth’s development. In this scenario, a vet is brought in, but they also get a building block that fits in with the more modern playing style of the NBA.

If Rubio gets moved to Sac-Town, it will have an eerily similar feel to the Rondo situation last year – a flashy passer who is offensively limited and is looking to boost his stock for future free agency periods. While the Kings are not title contenders, Rubio would appease Cousins’ desire for a speedy PG who actually has a high basketball IQ and would be fun to play with.

Dieng is acquired because he’s young and is more range-y than Cauley-Stein will ever be. What the Kings do with guys like Labissiere and Papagiannis is their headache, I’m just creating less of one.

Minnesota on the other hand seems to be getting the raw end of the deal here, but it actually makes a ton of sense as you break it down.

Towns has already shown he can shoot from anywhere on the floor, so he can definitely play the stretch 4 role despite logging a lot of minutes at the 5 his rookie season. If Cauley-Stein is added, the T-Wolves have a true center who is young and athletic and less injury prone than Pekovic. Jordan Hill and Cole Aldrich could start and the Wolves would be fine, but that’s not the best option for a team that should play at a high pace.

Cauley-Stein instead can post up down low and catch alley-oops from future perennial All-Star Kris Dun, and rebound and kick out to 3PT shooters like LaVine and Gay.

Does Gay start? I say yes because LaVine has shown he can come off the bench as a super-sub, and Wiggins can play the 2 even if it’s a little awkward. LaVine off the bench is almost as unfair as Kyrie Irving against Brandon Knight in the All-Star game a few years ago. Emphasis on almost. 

Suddenly, the Kings become rangier and the T-Wolves get richer.

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Trade 3: Atlanta Thinks Long Term…. ATLast

ATL gets: SF, Rudy Gay, C, Kosta Koufos

SAC gets: PF, Paul Millsap

Again reader, stick with me.

As of right now the Hawks’ projected starting 5 is Dennis Schroeder, Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, Paul Millsap, and Dwight Howard. Solid group. It would be even better if Korver came off the bench.

Atlanta has building blocks for the future in Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry, who have incredible stories by the way. They will be mainstays for Atlanta and become fan favorites very quickly. Atlanta however, has prioritized winning over long-term future for a long time with the core of Teague-Korver-Bazemore-Millsap-Horford.

Well, that’s over with.

Teague is Indiana, and Horford is in Boston. Bazemore was re-upped and is in for the long haul. Korver is getting older though, and is much better suited for a bench role as a super-sub. That’s where Gay comes in.

Bazemore has shown in the past he’s capable of playing and defending the 2, so suddenly you have a Schroeder-Bazemore-Gay-Mike Scott or Taurean Prince or Kris Humphries or Bud will figure it out-Howard starting 5. That’s formidable.

The Sacramento Kings acquire an aging veteran in Millsap, but he provides way more spacing than Tolliver, Casspi, Barnes, Labissiere, or Papagiannis can in the immediate. Millsap is also one of the smartest basketball players on the planet, so he would be consistently finding a cutting Cousins or McLemore (if the Kings don’t trade him) or Afflalo or Temple.

Sacramento would really benefit from his leadership in the locker room, and would bring some stability to a very shaky organization.

Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Conclusion

Look, the Sacramento Kings have been an eye-sore in the NBA for as long as I’ve been following the NBA. They add solid players, just not players that fit their play style; and then paired with a coach that doesn’t fit the roster construction. It’s just a hellish cycle.

The Kings ownership group probably isn’t going anywhere soon, much to the chagrin of many Kings fans, but it doesn’t mean they won’t have a change of heart.

If the Kings are serious about moving Rudy Gay, they need to capitalize on his high stock while they can and risk losing him for nothing in the offseason. (He gone, folks. I’m willing to put money on him leaving Sacramento no later than the end of the next offseason period, but more realistically by next week. I’m half-kidding).

If the Kings want to be as new and exciting as their new arena and uniforms, they need to pair it with a living, breathing roster. These trades provide those opportunities.

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