Sacramento hosts the most prolific tankers in NBA history tonight – the Philadelphia 76ers. Let’s get to it.
Who: Sacramento Kings (18-52) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (37-32)
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
When: 7:00 PM PT / 10:00 PM ET
Watch: NBCSCA / League Pass
I don’t have much to say about this game, so allow me one moment to complain about something tangentially related to the 76ers: Jared McCain.
McCain was having a great rookie season with the 76ers before suffering an unfortunate series of injuries that both put him on the shelf, and tanked his value around the league. By the end of his run in Philadelphia, the 76ers had essentially given up on the 21-year old guard.
Back in February, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a handful of weakish draft selections. The best asset was Houston’s 2026 first round pick, currently slotted at 22nd overall. Well, it turns out McCain is still a very promising prospect. He’s putting up some excellent numbers with OKC right now. Sam Presti is too good at this.
I won’t tell you the Kings could have easily beat that offer, but they could have beat that offer. And these sorts of trading opportunities – distressed young assets – are exactly what the Kings should have been pursuing from the moment Monte McNair was out, and the new regime took over. Instead, Scott Perry has opted for veteran acquisitions. Dennis Schroder. DeAndre Hunter. Drew Eubanks. Russell Westbrook. Sick.
Anyway, good luck to the tank tonight.
Prediction: Kings 118, 76ers 108.