Sacramento Kings: Three trade ideas to address hole at small forward

The Sacramento Kings are 8-8 and still lack a reliable option small forward, who could they target on the trade market?

It’s no secret the Sacramento Kings lack a reliable option at small forward. They only have two true small forwards on the roster in Justin Jackson and Troy Williams, but you can’t rely on them as your best options at the three.

Troy Williams has been a solid reserve for the Kings, but that’s just what he is: a reserve. He’s best utilized off the bench playing around 10 minutes per game. Jackson, however, has been an unmitigated disaster for Sacramento this season.

Justin Jackson is playing over 22 minutes per game this season, yet he’s only scoring 6.5 points per game with 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists. That isn’t even mentioning his paltry 40.2 percent field goal percentage and his 27.7 three-point percentage.

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Having those two as your only small forwards isn’t a recipe for success and that’s proven itself continuously this season. The Kings could play Bogdan Bogdanovic at the three (and they absolutely should), but that leaves a massive, small forward-sized hole with the bench unit.

Without many options in free agency, the Sacramento Kings have one option: make a trade. Luckily for them, there are a few solid options the Kings could explore and potentially trade for at a reasonable price.

In the offseason, A Royal Pain looked at trade targets that could net the Kings a few a draft choices this year. The Kings have performed way above expectations thus far and as a result can make trades to help them make a push for a playoff spot, as unlikely as that may be.

This isn’t to say, however, that the Kings should try to trade for star players or anymore more than an average starter or role player. The Kings might be playing .500 ball, but they’re nowhere near competing and need to avoid trading major assets just to make a run at losing in the first-round of the playoffs.

With that said, let’s hop into it.

The Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks make a deal to help both teams in different ways.

"Sacramento Kings Receive SG/SF Kent Bazemore Atlanta Hawks Receive SG Iman Shumpert PF Skal Labissiere 2021 Lottery-Protected First-Round Pick (via Sac)"

Kent Bazemore, who’s in the third year of a four-year, $70 million deal, was the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason and while Bazemore’s top-two trade destinations are reportedly the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks, the Kings could be a good fit for him.

On the season, Bazemore is averaging 14.7 points, four rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals on .459/.324/.774 shooting. Overall, his shooting percentages are down, but his true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage are both up compared to last season.

Sacramento desperately needs a reliable option on the wing and Iman Shumpert and Justin Jackson just aren’t cutting it. Bazemore is a capable rebounder and scorer, something the Kings sorely need.

In the trade itself, the Sacramento Kings aren’t giving up much aside from that lottery-protected pick and have every reason to shoot for a playoff spot. Will Bazemore put them over the top? Probably not, but the Kings have played good basketball without a good option at the three and Bazemore can make them better by addressing that need.

Furthermore, Bazemore plays fast. His 108.74 pace on the season ranks 34th among all NBA players with at least seven games played on the season. The Kings as a team, play at a 106.25 pace, good enough for second in the NBA.

For the Hawks, this move gives them financial flexibility in the future and they get a future first as well as a young player in Skal Labissiere who could benefit from a change in scenery.

The Philadelphia 76ers declined Furkan Korkmaz’s option and in early November, he reportedly asked for a trade. Could the Sacramento Kings make a move for him?

"Sacramento Kings Receive G/F Furkan Korkmaz Philadelphia 76ers Receive  2019 2nd Round Pick (via Sac or Milwaukee [less favorable of the two]) 2020 2nd Round Pick (via Sac)"

Let’s get one thing out-of-the-way first, Furkan Korkmaz, for all intents and purposes, is a shooting guard. With that said, Korkmaz is 6-7, 185lbs and could easily slot into the Kings small forward spot.

Korkmaz, in his second season, had his third-year option declined by the 76ers, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2019. The Sixers have a logjam at the SG/SF position and as a result Korkmaz has played just 10.5 minutes per game this season. Over 11 games, he’s averaged 4.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists on .472/.381/.714 shooting.

Korkmaz hasn’t been great, ranking 179 out of 430 players in real-plus/minus and has posted just a -0.19 player-impact plus/minus. Still, the Kings other options at small forward lag far behind the numbers posted by the Sixers guard this season.

He’s also been trending up recently too. Over six games in November, Korkmaz has played 15 minutes per contest and added in 7.2 points, three rebounds and 1.2 assists on .484/.444/.714 shooting.

As The Step Back’s Jackson Frank points out, this expanded role could be due, in part, to players ahead of Korkmaz struggling.

Even if the Sixers asking price goals up, the Kings should still work to make a deal here.

For the Sixers, a pair of second round picks should be enough to get a trade done, as they’ve already declined his option and it seems unlikely Korkmaz would want to stay in Philly.

The Washington Wizards are reportedly looking to make some major changes, the Sacramento Kings should get involved if Otto Porter Jr. is on the table.

"Sacramento Kings Receive  SF Otto Porter Jr. C Ian Mahimi Washington Wizards Receive PF/C Willie Cauley-Stein PF Zach Randolph SG Ben McLemore SG Iman Shumpert 2020 2nd Round Pick (via Sac)"

This one is a doozy. As reports of the Washington Wizards’ desire to blow up their current team swirl, the Sacramento Kings would be wise to try to scoop up Otto Porter Jr. The Sacramento Kings did try to poach Porter Jr. away from the Wizards before, offering him a four-year max-contract in the summer of 2017.

On the season, Porter Jr. is averaging 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting .463/.364/.765. His numbers are down quite a bit from last year where he averaged 14.7/6.4/2.0/1.5 on .503/.441/.828, but that could be a direct result of the Wizards dysfunction on the season. A move out of Washington could help him get back on track and there’s no better place to do it than in Sacramento.

Snagging Otto Porter Jr. for, essentially, Willie Cauley-Stein and a 2020 second would be a big-win for the Sacramento Kings, but that elephant in the room in Ian Mahimi looms large. Mahimi is in the third-year of a four-year, $64 million contract, and is set to make over $31 million in the next two seasons.

While that’s a hard pill to swallow for the Kings, it’s also the only reason the Wizards would entertain a trade like this. Zach Randolph, Ben McLemore and Iman Shumpert aren’t part of the long-term plan in Sacramento and are just expiring contracts. Second-round picks are valuable, but that value is limited and it’s unclear whether Willie Cauley-Stein will become what many envisioned he’d be when he was selected in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft.

Besides, the Kings aren’t going to need that cap space for a while anyway. While they’ve played well and appear to have finally turned a corner, the Sacramento Kings are still the Sacramento Kings and it’ll take more than playing .500 ball for a season to make the Kings are free-agent destination.

For the Wizards, they get an absolute ton of cap-relief here. Not only do they get rid of Mahimi’s two-years, $31 million, but they also get out from under the three-years and $82 million remaining on Porter Jr.’s contract. All while adding a talented big in Willie Cauley-Stein who could thrive next to John Wall.

There’s plenty of incentive for both teams to make this trade, for the Wizards it represents the first-step in a full-scale rebuild and for Sacramento it represents a further shift in the team’s culture.

Sitting at 8-8, the Kings could force themselves into the playoff picture by making a few moves early in the season. Adding Otto Porter Jr. gives the Sacramento Kings, not only an above-average small forward who can start immediately, but it gives them a legitimate chance at being a future contender.

A starting-five of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica and Marvin Bagley could very well contend for the playoffs this season and in the future.