The most painful part of a rebuild is upon us: the teardown.
The first domino falls
Scott Perry has made his first official move of the latest and greatest Sacramento Kings rebuild and it’s a bit of a head scratcher. The Kings moved Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder to Cleveland for De’Andre Hunter, while also sending a 2029 second-round pick to Chicago to take Dario Saric off our hands. For weeks now, we had been told the Kings had been seeking a first-round pick for Ellis and that half the teams in the NBA were interested in him, so it was interesting that in the end, Ellis was instead used as a sweetener to get off a bad contract.
I would have preferred to see the Kings get draft capital in return for Ellis given this team’s future trajectory (what I really would have preferred was keeping Ellis long term, but that seemed out of the cards since last summer), but I do think this trade has helped the Kings do a couple of things. For one, it has finally cleared some space up in the backcourt, which should open up time for young guys like Nique Clifford and even Devin Carter. The Kings also got a wing in De’Andre Hunter to help give them depth at their weakest position (Keegan Murray is the only other real wing on the roster).
Clearly, the Kings viewed Hunter and the opportunity to remove Schröder’s contract off the books as more valuable than a late first round pick or couple of seconds they were being offered. I would have agreed a couple of years ago when a player like Hunter actually seemed to fit the Kings timeline and would have been a welcome addition. Now it’s more of just a salary dump, as Hunter is 28 years old with one more year and $24.9 million remaining on his contract after this one. There’s also the scary thought that Perry and the Kings view Hunter as someone who will actually be helping the team win at some point in the next year or two, which again, points to a short-term mindset that has plagued this franchise for two decades.
Is it possible that Sacramento is just hoping that Hunter could recoup some of his value as a 3-and-D wing with the Kings and they could move him next year? Sure, and that would make this more reasonable. But more likely than not, this was just another classic case of the Kings having to use an asset (Keon) to get off a self-inflicted mistake (Schröder). To recap, the Kings traded Jonas Valanciunas to Denver for Dario Saric this summer in order to clear up the cap space needed to be able to offer Schröder a 3 year, $44 million contract. In his introduction press conference, Perry called Schröder a “building block” and “the number one guy” that they were after in the offseason. The Kings had needed a Point Guard this summer, but they could have just signed Russell Westbrook to a minimum contract and called it a day, which they did anyway. It only took the Kings about three weeks into the season to know they had made a mistake and move Shcröder to the bench in favor of Westbrook, and now Schröder has been traded mid-season for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
All this is not even to mention how badly the Kings screwed up the Keon Ellis situation itself. Ellis was a rare diamond in the rough for the Kings, an undrafted prospect that had worked himself into one of the team’s top defenders and shooters and should have been poised to be the team’s starting shooting guard for a while. Instead, his minutes and role were constantly in flux, even dating back to last year. The Kings had the opportunity to make Ellis a restricted free agent this summer and re-sign him long term, but instead picked up his cheap team option and faced losing him in free agency for nothing, as it was hard to see Ellis agreeing to sign an extension to remain in this shit show. Right now, the biggest winner of this trade is Ellis himself, who now gets to go to a very good team in Cleveland and hopefully establish himself as a key contributor to a good team.
The NBA’s trade deadline is this Thursday, so hopefully this trade is just the start because if this is it, call me underwhelmed.
The greatest tank battle of our time
The Kings currently hold the worst record in the NBA thanks to a season-long nine-game losing streak, the latest of which was an absolute masterclass in tanking as the Kings lost 116 to 112 against the Washington Wizards. The craziest part is that the Kings were quite clearly trying to win this game. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan both played 30+ minutes and each scored 30+ points. The Wizards meanwhile, saw their starters doing too well and basically benched them at halftime. Washington ran out a fourth-quarter lineup featuring AJ Johnson (averaging 2.3 points per game this year), Anthony Gill (1.8 points), Will Riley (5.9 points), Sharife Cooper (1.4 points), and SKAL LABISSIERE (6.5 points on a 10 day contract where he hasn’t played meaningful NBA minutes since 2020) and the Kings STILL couldn’t manage to come out on top. This team is absolutely putrid, but in the end, it might be worth it if it secures the keys to the future in one of these top draft prospects. Also, for those wondering, the longest losing streak in the Sacramento-era is 12 games, so the Kings are just three away from tying that.
Darryn Peterson is incredible
Like many of you I suspect, the biggest Kings game of the week for me was not one in which the Kings actually played, but rather the Saturday matchup between BYU and Kansas which pitted AJ Dybantsa against Darryn Peterson. Up until this point, I had not actually watched Peterson play aside from highlights. Now I have to say I’m a believer. He was absolutely electric in the first half against BYU, making shot after shot and looking so smooth as he did so. My favorite play, aside from his driving poster dunk, was this steal where he then calmly pulled up into a quick midrange jumper against the taller Dybantsa. College players almost never look this refined, and the scary thing is that Peterson probably isn’t even 100% yet. Peterson did most of his work in the first half (18 points, 3 steals on 6 of 8 shooting) as he sat much of the second resting his hamstring that has been giving him trouble all season.
Dybantsa looked much more like an actual college player, with great physical tools and some nice flashes, but still with lots to learn on both ends of the court. I’d still love to have the opportunity to draft him, as I think he has star potential, but Peterson (and Cameron Boozer) are clearly in their own tier and look ready to dominate starting day 1.
Check out the highlights from the game yourself if you didn’t get a chance to watch it live:
A well-deserved promotion
One positive note from the Ellis trade was the news that Dylan Cardwell is set to be converted from a two-way player to a standard NBA contract. Cardwell has become a fan favorite this year with his defensive effort and hustle, and it’s actually having a real impact rather than just being a feel-good story. Cardwell is the only Kings player with a positive net rating this season, meaning the Kings (the current worst team in the league) have actually been better than their opponent in the time he’s been on the floor. The Kings defensive rating with Cardwell on the floor is 107.7. For reference, the Thunder have the best defensive rating in the league at 105.8 and the Pistons are second at 108.3. Cardwell is already one of the best shot blockers in the entire league, ranking 9th in blocks per game despite playing just 19.8 minutes per game. If you look at block rate for players who have played at least 200 minutes this season, Cardwell is 4th, right behind Victor Wembanyama. Not bad for an undrafted rookie. Hopefully the Kings can keep Cardwell around and actually have a true rim protector for once.
Now’s your time to shine Devin Carter
If there’s anyone who benefits most from the most recent Kings trade, it’s likely Devin Carter, who might actually get some rotation minutes now that both Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder have left. Carter has played double digit minutes in both of the last two games and hopefully that continues to be the case. The Kings need to see what they have in Carter, and the only way to do that is by giving him actual meaningful playing time. From what I’ve seen these last two games, he’s still a bit passive for my liking, as he’s passed up too many open looks and deferred to the veterans, but as he gets more comfortable I’d like to see some of that fire he showed at Providence. This is his opportunity to try to make a name for himself in the NBA, whether it’s here or elsewhere.
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Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, February 4th vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Friday, February 6th vs. L.A. Clippers
Saturday, February 7th vs. Cleveland Cavaliers