When De’Aaron Fox plays, the Sacramento Kings are a force to be reckoned with. If last season was not enough proof, the Kings are currently 6-1 in games this season where Fox has been on the court and have a +13.7 point differential per 100 possessions.
Despite their impressive record with Fox on the court, the Kings still need one more player to truly compete in the West. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who spoke on Fanduel’s Run it Back, the Kings are going to be aggressive at the deadline to acquire that player.
Lou Williams quickly shot down any ideas of Sacramento as a destination for top free agents when he said that it’s been a long time since the city could be considered a trade destination, and that players likely wouldn’t be willing to leave their current teams for Sacramento. However, Williams did acknowledge that there is good basketball talent in Sacramento and that it would take winning to change perceptions about the city.
Charania believes that trade is key for the Kings to acquire a star player like Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby before they become unrestricted free agents after this season or Zach Lavine who has three seasons left on his contract. However, depending on who becomes available closer to the trade deadline, any of these players could potentially end up in Sacramento.
Sacramento can make a trade and bet that once a player gets there and experiences the vibe around the team, they will want to stay. It just has to be the right swing (and maybe not LaVine on a team that needs defense). The Kings are not going to get multiple hacks at this.