Nov 24, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) dribbles the ball while being defended by Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
Nov 24, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) dribbles the ball while being defended by Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
Since the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade, it was pretty clear something bigger was coming after they reached the second round of the playoffs in 2025-26. The offseason didn’t disappoint, as the Wolves acquired LaMelo Ball in a blockbuster trade, sending Naz Reid and a bunch of draft capital to the Charlotte Hornets in the process.
There is no doubt Ball and Anthony Edwards now form one of the best backcourts in the entire league. Ball averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists last season while shooting 40.7% from the field and 36.8% from three, leading the Hornets to a 44-38 record and the East Play-In once again after they had already reached that stage twice before. Charlotte still decided to change directions and give the keys of the team to Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller.
Edwards, now clearly a superstar, exploded again with 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 48.9% from the field and 39.9% from three. He is already one of the faces of the NBA and should stay there for the next decade, but the Wolves still have one pretty clear problem around their new superstar backcourt: who exactly is the starting four on this team?
Maybe Jaden McDaniels moves up one position, maybe they give the spot to Joan Beringer, or maybe they trust Trey Lyles a lot more than I do. But with the Wolves clearly going all-in to compete after finishing 49-33 and sixth in the West last season, they should probably look for a more proven piece in one final trade.
The Mock Trade
Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: Keegan Murray
Sacramento Kings Receive: Josh Green, Donte DiVincenzo, 2030 second-round pick (via Grizzlies, 2032 second-round pick (via Suns/Rockets)
Maybe one would expect Keegan Murray to command a bigger market, but with a $24.1 million salary for 2026-27 on a Kings team that went 22-60 and finished 14th in the West last season, getting off his deal for two expirings isn’t a terrible idea. Josh Green will make around $14.7 million, while Donte DiVincenzo will make around $12.5 million, so the salaries work almost perfectly. Minnesota cuts around $3.1 million from its payroll, while the Kings only take back a little over $3.0 million more.
The Wolves don’t have many picks left after the Ball trade, but these are two of the few pieces they can still work with. They have Memphis’ 2030 second-round pick, protected for selections 31-50, and still have a complicated 2032 second-round asset coming through the Phoenix/Houston structure. It isn’t a crazy draft package, but Minnesota already emptied most of the chest for Ball anyway.
Why The Trade Is Great For The Wolves
The reality is that Murray is pretty far from the best level he has shown so far, which came in 2023-24 when he averaged 15.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field and 35.8% from three. In an injury-riddled 2025-26 season where he played only 23 games, the numbers weren’t terrible at 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, but he shot only 42.0% from the field and 27.7% from three.
The Kings gave a lot of money to a player who really hasn’t become the two-way stretching four they expected when they thought they could remain competitive. Murray signed a five-year, $140.0 million extension last year, and after Sacramento completely retooled the roster this summer, he could easily become another piece they eventually look to move.
For Minnesota, Murray obviously isn’t some superstar addition, but he makes a ton of sense next to McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, two guys who aren’t exactly known as shooters. Even with McDaniels slowly improving his outside shot, Murray is still a career 36.5% shooter from deep, and the spacing for Edwards and Ball could be spectacular if he gets back to his previous 41.1% level from his rookie year.
That would also be completely different from what Randle gave them. Randle was physical and could create his own offense, but he also needed the ball, operated in the same areas Edwards likes to attack, and could clog the lane next to Gobert. Murray plays without the ball, knows how to stay in the corner and use his gravity as a shooter to affect help defense, and can simply punish teams when they send extra bodies toward Edwards or Ball.
Most importantly, Murray is also a pretty solid defender. I think Sacramento probably expected more from him on that end too, but the Kings have spent years building teams with DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Domantas Sabonis, meaning a ridiculous amount of perimeter responsibility has fallen on Murray. For what they have asked him to do, he has played a pretty good defensive role.
Murray obviously isn’t going to become the lockdown defender McDaniels is, but that is the whole point because they already have that defender on the roster. Murray can slide over and guard the other forward while McDaniels takes the most dangerous wing, and he still averaged 1.0 steals and 1.6 blocks last season. His 4.2% block rate was easily the best of his career, while his defensive rating was 113.4 in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 before jumping to 118.4 on a terrible Kings defense last year.
The only real problem the Wolves would have with Murray is adding another big contract when basically their whole starting lineup is already on huge deals. Murray isn’t that expensive at $24.1 million next season, but there are five seasons and $140.0 million left through 2030-31, when he will be 30 years old and making $31.9 million in the final year of the contract.
Outside of that, given the assets the Timberwolves have left, Murray is probably one of the best underrated targets they could realistically chase. He doesn’t need the ball, he gives Edwards and Ball another shooter, he has enough size to play the four full-time, and McDaniels and Gobert can cover the areas where Murray isn’t elite defensively.
Why The Kings Should Take The Deal
Obviously, Sacramento probably isn’t going to love moving one of its most prized assets after only 23 games last season, especially with Darius Acuff Jr. now in town after the Draft. Murray just turned 26 years old and is one of the few younger pieces the Kings still have, but with such a huge contract compared to his production over the last couple of seasons, it might be time to move on if a contender comes calling.
Two expirings and a couple of second-round picks aren’t the greatest return ever, of course, but we have literally seen players like Trae Young and Ja Morant move without a single first-round pick attached to the return. Maybe this is the moment to accept that this era is finished and at least get something positive while opening the books for the future.
Green and DiVincenzo combine for around $27.2 million in expiring salary, meaning all of that money comes off the books in 2027. For example, if Jalen Duren eventually accepts his qualifying offer and becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Kings could go all-in after him after already holding sign-and-trade talks with his camp this offseason. Duren met with Sacramento at the start of free agency, and his qualifying offer remains a real possibility after contract talks with the Pistons turned ugly.
It isn’t really about the players coming back, of course. Josh Green is barely an NBA rotation player right now after averaging only 4.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 15.7 minutes last season, even if he did shoot 42.0% from three. DiVincenzo, meanwhile, is coming off a ruptured right Achilles tendon suffered during the playoffs, underwent surgery in April, and remains out indefinitely, so nobody really knows exactly when he will be back or what he will look like when he returns.
But that flexibility could be huge in 2027, and at least gives the Kings the chance to start building the team around Acuff from zero. They really don’t have much to lose anyway, and after winning only 22 games last season, they could easily end up as the worst team in the West in 2026-27.
I also doubt another team is going to offer a huge package for Murray right now. He played only 23 games last season, shot 27.7% from three, and is beginning a five-year, $140.0 million contract, so even if he has a really good 2026-27 season, it isn’t clear that another team will suddenly throw first-round draft capital at Sacramento for him.
Maybe this is simply the time to throw in the towel and accept the change of era if an offer like this arrives at their door.