Should the Sacramento Kings make a play for Nicolas Batum?

It’s no secret the Sacramento Kings desperately need a small forward, could the newly available Nicolas Batum be an option?

The Sacramento Kings are in serious need of help at the small forward position and could take a serious look at Nicolas Batum, as he’s rumored to have been made available in trade talks on Thursday.

When discussing Batum, it’s important to get one thing out-of-the-way quick: his contract. After signing a five-year, $120 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets in 2016, Batum is still owed $52 million over two years, with the last year being a player option he’s sure to accept. With that said, there could be a potential deal to be made that’s beneficial for both sides.

The Hornets, who currently sit at 18-19 on the year, have signaled an extreme eagerness to trade Batum, with that said, however, they’ve also reportedly made 2015 first-round draft pick Frank Kaminsky available—if a team takes on Batum’s contract.

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Per Sean Deveney of Sporting News:

"“After bumping him from the rotation, the Hornets have been taking offers for Frank Kaminsky, sources told Sporting News. One team tried to acquire him, but Charlotte wanted to do a package with Nic Batum”"

There’s an extremely interesting trade scenario for the Sacramento Kings here, especially with Marvin Bagley III expected to remain sidelined for another week. A trade centered around Kaminsky and Batum coming from Charlotte and the Kings shipping out some expiring contracts (i.e. Zach Randolph, Ben McLemore and Kosta Koufos) could be solid for both sides. A move like this, of course, would also signal a desire for the Kings to chase the playoffs this season, which would be a big shot in the arm for fans hoping to see the Kings make the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

While Batum and Kaminsky are having down years, both could find themselves playing an important role for the Kings, should they wind up in California’s capital city.

Through 22 games, Frank Kaminsky is averaging just 11.6 minutes per night, 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists. Poor numbers for sure, but his per-36 numbers paint a different story. Per-36, Kaminsky is averaging 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor. Oh and he’s a competent three-point shooter, having hit 38 percent of his threes last season (33.3 percent this year).

Batum is in a similar boat, but his value for Sacramento doesn’t lie in offensive output or assist numbers. So far, Batum has posted averages of 8.8 points (10.4 per-36), 5.1 rebounds (6.1 per-36) and  3.4 assists (4.0 per-36) on 45.8/40.2/82.4 shooting. Defense, however, is what makes Batum an attractive buy-low trade candidate (plus the fact that Batum is an actual small forward). Thus far, Batum has posted a defensive box plus/minus of 0.7, while adding 0.9 defensive win shares while getting almost one steal per game. His 5.1 rebounds per game would also rank fourth on a team that is 21st in the NBA in total team rebounds per game.

For comparison, the Kings two main options at small forward—Iman Shumpert and Justin Jackson—have lower numbers in every category mentioned when compared to Batum, except for steals per game and free throw percentage in which Shump edges out Batum by 0.5 and 2.2 percent, respectively.

This isn’t to say Shumpert and Jackson can’t be a serviceable starting small forward—well, it kind of is, but that’s besides the point. Regardless of Jackson and Shumpert’s shortcomings on defense, Batum is a proven ‘3 & D’ guy who could immediately fill a big hole for the Sacramento Kings. That alone would make this an attractive move for a Kings team desperately needing some defense and a legitimate starting small forward, cap space be [REDACTED]. While we’re on the subject of cap space, though, this move would cost Sacramento *just* $1.8 million in cap space. Not a bad price for what could be the missing piece the Kings need to make a playoff run.

Whether the Sacramento Kings have even considered making a play for either Batum or Kaminsky remains to be seen as this is clearly just speculation, but it makes sense. Batum could immediately slot in as the Kings starting three and Kaminsky could be a valuable bench piece, especially with Bagley out. Regardless, the Sacramento Kings need to be hunting for a small forward and should kick the tires on any made available by their current teams.