Sacramento Kings Trade Rumors: Latest on Jimmy Butler

Another day has brought us a fresh batch of trade rumors surrounding Jimmy Butler, with the Sacramento Kings smack in the middle of it all.

As was mentioned here on Tuesday, the Sacramento Kings have found themselves in the middle of the Minnesota Timberwolves and any potential suitors for T-Wolves star Jimmy Butler.

Cap space is the number one reason Sacramento is in these conversations, as the $11 million in space the Kings currently own is almost $12 million than the next highest team (L.A. Lakers). Sacramento has signaled that they are willing to take on other teams bad contracts in exchange for draft assets (Kings do not own their 2019 draft picks).

Here’s What We Know

The Sacramento Kings are smack in the middle of these trade negotiations. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned this late night on Tuesday and it has been corroborated by others.

In any trade involving Sacramento they would likely take back Minnesota center Georgi Deing, who is due $48 million over the next three seasons. Taking back salary is a necessary evil for the Kings to accrue some draft capital in any deal.

Other players could be in play, but Deing is on arguably Minny’s worst contract (depending on how you feel about Andrew Wiggins), and is the one the T-Wolves seem most eager to move on from.

It’s also been reported that the Kings would be receiving a 2019 first in any deal, though it’s unclear just how much protections would be slapped onto that pick, as well as whether it would come from. There’s been hypothetical deals sending Sacramento a first from Phoenix, Miami and Minnesota so it’s safe to say it’s still a bit up in the air.

The Phoenix Suns have managed to insert themselves into the rumors in their quest to find a starting point guard. The Suns could force the Kings out of the picture but there’s a small possibility this could turn into a four-team trade so this is certainly something to monitor for Kings fans.

The biggest revelation of the day was Willie Cauley-Stein’s name was floated out by Miami’s 5 Reasons Sports Network. According to Ethan Skolnick of 5 Reasons Sports, the Miami HEAT have long-held the Kings’ Willie Cauley-Stein in high regard.

This is something that could give the Kings pause and certainly something to think about. Whether or not the Kings want to move on from WCS could depend on how highly they think of Harry Giles and Skal Labissiere.

Of course, Cauley-Stein’ s comments about wanting to get paid could tempt the Kings to make a move if they don’t feel he’s worth a large contract.

Whether or not the Kings make a move here is still up in the air. Things change quickly in the NBA, especially when it comes to trades.

While the Miami HEAT appear to currently be the front-runners but that could change in an instant. So too could the Kings involvement, as painful as it is both fans and teams around the league will just have to wait and see how this plays out.