Why the Sacramento Kings are shopping for No. 13 after almost trading for Alex Caruso

The final, fateful night of a shorter-than-expected Sacramento Kings season had an added benefit over the heartache. This provided the Kings with additional valuable roster-building ammunition this week.

Had the Kings won their play-in game in New Orleans, and clinched the eighth seed to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, their lottery-protected first-rounder would have been sent to Atlanta as part of a 2022 Kevin Huerter deal. Would. But since they lost to the Pelicans, ending their season, the Kings retained the protected pick, which was 13th overall in Wednesday night’s draft.

The Kings have already tried to use it for a significant roster upgrade. According to league sources, they were close to a deal for defensive ace Alex Caruso last week, with Chicago offering the No. 13 pick as the main chip. The Bulls, surprising many within the league, opted to send Caruso to Oklahoma City in exchange for Josh Giddy.

League sources say the Kings have shuffled several late-round lottery-level prospects through their facility in recent weeks, including 7-foot-4-inch National Player of the Year Zach Eddy, who is a theoretical The Kings can offer a level of rim protection.

But it’s difficult to put any traditional center in the lineup next to Domantas Sabonis and — in the bigger picture — there’s more internal hunger to add veteran help in a win-now situation as opposed to a rookie. That’s why the 13th pick remains very much available in trade talks before the draft, according to league sources, along with needed cap filler and even additional picks for the right player.

Sacramento’s most pressing offseason business is already complete. Head coach Mike Brown agreed to an extension earlier this month, and Malik Monk turned down the chance to get a big-money raise per year on the open market, accepting the Kings’ four-year max offer, staying at $78 million. For, while maintaining the core of Sacramento. Monk, the Sixth Man of the Year runner-up, has expressed a desire to commit to a long-term deal but has signed a contract back with the Kings without giving any assurances about his exact role next season, league sources said.

The decision by Monk to commit so early brought a significant advantage, allowing the Kings to focus their full attention on the significant upgrade they were seeking. The vision, at its most optimistic, is to maximize the three- to six-year win window around De’Aaron Fox, Sabonis, Monk and Keegan Murray by landing a starting to mid-prime player. Corner.

Fox’s future is also in the background, as league sources say the All-Star guard has decided not to sign an extension this year because he wants to see how the roster shapes up for the long term. Fox, who has two seasons left on his current deal, wants to win at the highest level and could qualify for a significantly larger max if he makes All-NBA.

The Kings have been close to deals in the past but ultimately came up empty-handed. Caruso is the latest. Pascal Siakam may be the most important. The Kings were close to a Siakam deal at the last trade deadline, but they ultimately lost out to Indiana when the Pacers paired the two-time All-Star with former King Tyrese Haliburton en route to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The move was a calculated risk for the Kings, as there were strong indications at the time that Siakam would not have re-signed if he came to Sacramento. Still, league sources say there are some regrets internally about the move and questions about whether the Kings could convince Siakam to stay.

In July 2021, in his first year as general manager, Monte McNair attempted to trade Buddy Hield for Kyle Kuzma, in a deal that Kings executives believed was all done at the time . The Los Angeles Lakers made a last-minute change and sent Kuzma as part of a package to the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook.

Since then, McNair and the Kings have maintained varying levels of interest in trading for Kuzma, which ramped back up somewhat this summer. Kuzma has a lucrative contract. He’s under control at affordable and declining rates for the next three seasons: $23.5 million, $21.4 million, $19.4 million, attached to a trade kicker that will add $3 million each season unless Kuzma waives it.

He remains a name to watch for the Kings this week. Zach LaVine has been rumored, and league sources have confirmed that Sacramento has some interest, but he would come with a tricky contract situation. LaVine has three years and $137.8 left on his current deal, perhaps an uninteresting number given the Kings’ growing financial picture. Any deal on that front would need to encourage the Kings to take LaVine on a bigger deal, league sources said.

As the pressure to advance in the playoffs increases, everyone is becoming more expensive. Sabonis’ contract has increased from $29.3 million to more than $40 million for the next four years, Murray is one summer away from extension eligibility and Fox, desiring an aggressive win-now approach, ultimately makes a lucrative decision. The entire equation makes the Kings a team to watch entering the NBA’s transaction season.

(Photo of Kuzma and Monk: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)