Are The Sacramento Kings’ Jimmer Fredette And Tyreke Evans Wanting To Be Traded?

It’s been no secret that the Sacramento Kings have made efforts to explore trades involving two of their stars (at least by name) in Tyreke Evans and Jimmer Fredette for the past few months. That’s not to say the Kings actively pushed to trade either player or that they were even considering an actual move – it’s the job of a front office to improve the team and players like Evans and Fredette, who both played under expectations, held the most value of any players the Kings were open to moving. It’s a business, after all, and when one makes an offer – as a front office, you listen.

Unfortunately, in this day and age listening to offers means you, as a player, are essentially on the trade block and that’s when feelings get hurt. Take into account the report from Hoopsworld’s Steve Kyler this morning, in which he says that both Evans and Fredette would be welcome to a trade that would move them outside of Sacramento:

"The Sacramento Kings added Aaron Brooks in free agency and word is that both Tyreke Evans and Jimmer Fredette would like to see a trade."

Initially, it seems a bit baseless but Kyler explains himself further in the piece and he’s not exactly known to pull things out of the air. We’ve seen unhappiness from both camps (Jimmers and Reke’s) publicly before, which appear to be Kyler’s “sources” (for a lack of better terms) so it doesn’t come as a shock that either player could be deemed less than happy in their current roles. Though, there seems to be more speculation than fact in the report. That said….

Evans has made no qualms about his hesitance to play small forward, even coming out and stating he plays better with the ball in his hands (and he’s right), but with a full backcourt and two “true” points now on the roster in Isaiah Thomas and Aaron Brooks, you wonder how much time Evans will spend directing the offense as he prefers. Fredette on the other hand, appears to be the odd man out in the Kings current backcourt rotation, a move that certainly can’t sit well on the surface – nobody wants to ride the pine, especially with a pedigree (even though it’s collegiate) like Fredette’s. But keep in mind, the Kings brought in Brooks, not to take time away from Evans or Fredette, but to play with them and improve the team overall. The addition wasn’t a sign that either player had fallen out of favor, but rather a move to help both Evans and Fredette grow as NBA players and sometimes that means playing out of your comfort zone, tough as that might be for a period of time.

What do I make of the report? Neither player is asking to be traded nor do I believe they will. They’re professionals and they’re doing their jobs, however, that job could be a bit more ideal in their eyes – for Evans, playing his preferred style and for Fredette – playing 20+ minutes a night. If a trade happened to be out there that allowed either of them to find themselves in a more ideal situation, they certainly wouldn’t be upset with it – but they’re not asking to be traded nor are they unhappy playing in Sacramento.

That all said, hard not to be interested in making some offers if you’re one of 29 other NBA franchises.

But that doesn’t mean the Kings are interested in biting.