A Royal Pain
Fansided

Should the Kings Trade David Stockton?

By Ti Windisch

facebooktwitterreddit

I really think David Stockton may have a future in the NBA as a point guard. I wrote as much just a few days ago. But I’m starting to fear that that future may not come if Stockton remains with the Sacramento Kings organization for this upcoming season.

More from Kings News

There’s two ways to look at the point guard situation in Sacramento as it is this season. The first, and obvious way to see things is that the Kings are fortunately stacked. Having two veteran players like Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison fighting for first team point guard minutes is a great problem.

But as with any story, there’s a flip side to things in Sacramento. Having those two both playing fairly heavy minutes means there won’t be much playing time left for the guards behind them–namely Stockton and Seth Curry.

Curry the younger will probably see more minutes than Stockton will, and will get a roster spot over him. Mostly because he can play both guard spots, making him easier to slot into the depth chart. There’s also the fact that Curry got himself guaranteed money from Sacramento this season–Stockton has no such guarantee.

So that leaves three options for David Stockton this season. The first (and worst, in my opinion) is to just leave him on the roster as an emergency fourth point guard. He’s too unproven to be depended on in clutch situations without getting reliable minutes, and plus it’s just not good for his development.

The second option is to have Stockton play out another season with the Reno Bighorns, where he lit it up last season. That’s not the worst thing to do in the world, but it still seems like a waste of Stockton’s time. He’s already proven he can dominate the D-League–give him a shot at the Association.

That brings me to the third option, and the thesis of this article–the Kings could also deal Stockton to another team with less point guard depth. I don’t know if he could start anywhere right away, but even just backup minutes would help him to grow as a player.

And the way a few depth charts are shaping up right now, there’d be more than a few suitors willing to take a flyer on the young prospect. Brooklyn, for example, has Jarrett Jack, Shane Larkin and Donald Sloan at point right now. Tell me Stockton couldn’t challenge all three of those guys for minutes if he played even close to the level he managed with Reno.

Even teams with one impressive point guard could certainly use a guy like Stockton as insurance and as a valuable backup. The Portland Trail Blazers are in a rebuild right now, and have just Tim Frazier and Phil Pressey behind star guard Damian Lillard.

Stockton could go to Portland, learn behind Dame and really develop into a solid NBA point guard. Of course there’s no guarantee he ever becomes a starter in this league, but I feel like teams would be willing to give up at least something to give him a shot.

This could end up generating one of those rare trades that’s good for every party. Stockton gets a chance to prove himself at the NBA level, the Kings get a draft pick or other important depth for a player they don’t have much use for at the moment, and another team gets a talented young point guard who may end up being something special.

I’m not saying the Kings need to deal David Stockton, or even necessarily that I want them to. But if it’s that or wasting another season in Reno or riding the end of the bench in Sacramento, then I can’t say I’d mind if he got dealt somewhere that actually wants to play him.

More from A Royal Pain

Next: Cousins and Karl: An Enigmatic Partnership

Home/Kings News