With the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline now past us, the transactional focus of the league has shifted to the buyout market.
For the Sacramento Kings, they did a lot of re-shuffling of the deck during the last week. In the span of five days, the Kings made three trades – saying goodbye to five players (including a franchise icon) while also bringing in three new faces. Still, this roster has some glaring issues on the defensive side of the ball that could be addressed with the right buyout market signing.
Sacramento Kings should make a push for Bruce Brown (if he becomes available)
After being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Brandon Ingram deal, many people have wondered whether the downtrodden Western Conference team would agree to a buyout with Bruce Brown. And while nothing official has happened yet, analysts have identified him as one of the best players on the market.
Brown isn't the only notable name on the buyout market this go-around, but he is the one that makes the most sense for the Kings. As we hinted at earlier, the Kings' roster, as currently constructed, leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive side of the ball.
The Kings desperately need to add more defense without also hemorrhaging too much value on the offensive side of the floor, making Brown the perfect player for them to target.
Brown has spent a good deal of this season rehabbing from injury, but when he has been healthy, he has returned to his defensive ace roots (82nd percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes).
His offense hasn't been anywhere nearly as good (15th percentile in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus). However, that could change if he plays on a better offensive team, particularly one that has a Nikola Jokic disciple on it in Domantas Sabonis (remember, Brown had a lot of success playing next to Jokic in 2022-23).
At the end of the day, Brown is the most realistic blend of defense and size that the Kings can acquire without hurting their offense.
Now, given the theoretical two-way value Brown can offer when healthy, his services will be in high demand if he does become available. Teams with more talent and bigger roles to offer (like the New York Knicks) will surely come calling, and it will be hard for the Kings to put together a more convincing sales pitch.
Still, if the Pelicans do decide to buyout Brown, the Kings should stage a full-scale campaign to bring the former NBA Champion to Northern California.