The Sacramento Kings were rumored in recent days to be pursuing a trade to secure a first-round pick in the NBA draft.
With Colorado State star Nique Clifford still on the board at No. 24, Kings general manager Scott Perry made his move.
The Kings acquired the rights to Clifford in exchange for a top-16 protected 2027 first-round pick that originally belonged to the San Antonio Spurs. If the pick does not convey, it will become two second-round picks in 2027.
Clifford, 23, is a 6-foot-6 ½, 202-pound shooting guard/small forward who averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals as a senior at Colorado State. He shot 49.6% from the field and 37.7% from 3-point range.
Clifford was aptly attired in a purple jacket as he made his way to the stage when the pick was announced.
Sacramento entered the draft without a first-round pick for the first time since 2019. The Kings would have had the 13th overall pick, but that pick was conveyed to the Atlanta Hawks to complete the 2022 trade that brought Kevin Huerter to Sacramento.
The Hawks ended up trading the No. 13 pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 23 pick and what could be a very valuable unprotected 2026 first-round pick. In addition to their own pick, the Pelicans also have a pick from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Hawks will receive the most favorable of those two picks.
The top of the draft unfolded as expected. The Dallas Mavericks, who vaulted 10 spots in the draft lottery, selected Duke forward Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick. The San Antonio Spurs took Rutgers combo guard Dylan Harper at No. 2. The Philadelphia 76ers picked Baylor shooting guard V.J. Edgecombe at No. 3 and the Charlotte Hornets selected Duke swingman Kon Knueppel at No. 4.
Rutgers small forward Ace Bailey went to the Utah Jazz at No. 5. Texas guard Tre Johnson went to the Washington Wizards at No. 6. Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears went to the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 7. BYU combo guard Egor Demin went to the Brooklyn Nets at No. 8. South Carolina power forward Collin Murray-Boyles went to the Toronto Raptors at No. 9 and Duke center Khaman Maluach went to the Phoenix Suns at No. 10.
That’s when teams started wheeling and dealing.
The Portland Trail Blazers selected Washington State swingman Cedric Coward at No. 11 and traded his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a deal to be finalized later. The Hawks then traded the rights to Maryland center Derik Queen to the Pelicans at No. 13.
The later Wizards sent the rights to Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. to the Jazz at No. 18. The Jazz traded the rights to Illinois guard Will Riley to the Wizards at No. 21. The Thunder then traded the rights to Clifford to the Kings at No. 24 and the Suns traded the rights to UConn guard Liam McNeeley to the Hornets at No. 29 in a deal that will send Mark Williams to Phoenix.