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Trade Rumor: Sacramento Kings very interested in Goran Dragic

By Kyle Robert

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Goran Dragic has informed the Phoenix Suns that he does not intend on resigning with them after this season, according to media reports including ESPN’s Marc Stein. This has put the Suns in a position where they are likely to see if they can move him before Thursday’s trade deadline.

Word surfaced earlier this week that it was former Sacramento King Isaiah Thomas, not Dragic, that the Suns were likely to move. Without a trade, Phoenix would have a large portion of their salary cap tied up in three players that share two positions. Going forward, it would not make sense to have this much cap space tied up in players that cannot share the floor during crunch time.

While Thomas would be easier to move, and likely to get more in return due to the team friendly deal he signed this summer that runs through the 2017-2018 season, shifting focus to Dragic may be the only course of action after this news. There is potential for the Suns to move Thomas and hope they can convince Dragic to stay, but that seems unlikely at this time.

While the Kings are not among the most likely teams to land the Suns point guard, there is a ton of interest from Sacramento in Dragic.

A trade for Dragic would likely require Nik Stauskas and salary filler. Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports mentioned the Kings would need to move Jason Thompson if they intended on keeping Dragic beyond this season. It is still unclear whether or not the Suns would want Thompson or prefer Derrick Williams as his contract expires this summer and would provide more flexibility moving forward. The Suns could also package Miles Plumlee, who the Kings have previously expressed interest in.

As for a future that involves Dragic in Sacramento, he does make sense in a George Karl based offense, and the system the front office envisions. He would also allow Darren Collision to run the second unit, adding much needed depth to the rotation. While Collision has been much better than many expected thus far, as Jared Stone pointed out in his mid-season point guard grades column this week, a role that has him in the 20 minutes per game range may increase his efficiency. Collision and Dragic could share the floor at times, depending on the situation and match up, and would allow the Kings to have improved ball handling late in games.

The trade deadline is Thursday, February 19th, at 12 PM Pacific, 3PM Eastern.

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