According to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento Kings are looking into the trade market to improve their playoff chances.
Those efforts to net new players begin with Kings general manager Monte McNair reportedly seeking trade partners that’ll take on the contracts of Marvin Bagley III and Buddy Hield.
Bagley, whose name has been in trade rumors, has failed to live up to his reputation as the second overall pick during his tenure in Sacramento. Since joining the Kings via the 2018 NBA Draft, Bagley has dealt with a string of injuries and was rumored to have a bevy of issues with former Kings head coach, Luke Walton. His minutes were reduced last season, even receiving some DNP’s this season.
In Hield’s case, his shooting makes him a more valuable trade asset. Though he is having a down year shooting 35.0 percent from the three-point line, he can still prove to be a lethal floor spacer on any NBA team as a career 40.1 percent shooter from distance.
The Kings could still possibly be interested in trading for 76ers star Ben Simmons and Pascal Siakam, per The Sacramento Bee. On Monday, Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that Sacramento was among the rumored teams interested in trading for Simmons and the Pacers, Knicks, Lakers, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, and Cavaliers.
Trade talks are heating up around the League this week as most players who signed new contracts over the summer will be trade-eligible beginning Wednesday, increasing the pool of trade-eligible players from 65% to 84%, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The official trade deadline is February 10.
Much of the renewed impetus surrounds Wednesday, when 84 percent of the league’s 446 players become eligible to be traded. Right now, 65 percent are eligible to be moved. https://t.co/f2nYMp353z
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 10, 2021
