The Sacramento Kings have started their 2024-25 season with a 12-13 record, sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference. A busy offseason had fans believing the Kings would be competing in a tough West, so sitting on the outside of the playoff picture is certainly disappointing.
The Kings have just one playoff appearance and two winning seasons in the past 18 years, as fans are fed up with sitting in mediocrity. The franchise has not won a playoff series since the 2003-04 season, so fans are calling for the front office to make bolder moves to try to compete.
Building around stars De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis is a good strategy, and picking up six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan in the offseason was a great move, but there is still room to improve. Since moving Malik Monk into the starting lineup, Sacramento has vastly improved, but a move might need to be made to truly become contenders.
Three of Sacramento's top potential trade targets have reportedly all hit the market ahead of a busy trade season. ESPN's Shams Charania reports that the Brooklyn Nets are shopping forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, while the New Orleans Pelicans are possibly looking to move defensive standout Herb Jones.
Johnson, 28, has become one of the league's premier three-point shooters. The 6-foot-8 forward is averaging 18.8 points per game with impressive 48.8/43.4/90.7 shooting splits. As a bottom-ten three-point shooting team in the NBA, the Kings could certainly use a sharpshooter like Johnson to bolster their weakened wing depth.
CAM JOHNSON DOES IT AGAIN?!?! 🤯#NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/C8yEWSatgY
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) December 8, 2024
Finney-Smith, 31, is averaging 10.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, shooting a career-best 43.2 percent from beyond the arc. His 6-foot-7 frame and 7-foot wingspan make him a valuable defender, and a great 3-and-D threat.
Jones, 26, was fifth in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting last season, The defensive star is having a down year offensively, but shot 41.8 percent from deep last year. Like much of the Pelicans roster, Jones has been dealing with injuries this season but is averaging 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in three games since returning to the court.
The Kings could certainly use the wing help that any three of these guys would bring, but the Pelicans and Nets asking price would likely be the only downside to making the call for any of them. The Kings should be busy ahead of February's trade deadline, and expect some of these names to be connected to any potential move from Sacramento.
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