Kings Should Trade Their 2020 First Round Pick

The Sacramento Kings find themselves in a tough spot when it comes to the 2020 NBA Draft, but there may be a simple solution: trade the pick.

There are still plenty of questions to be answered about the NBA calendar including when exactly the 2020 NBA Draft will take place. The uncertainty is a serious strain on everyone involved in the process, and maybe even more so for teams that have been known to struggle with the draft process. That handful of teams certainly includes the Sacramento Kings.

After a late-season playoff push, the Kings find themselves in a position to likely obtain a late-lottery pick with their 28-36 record. When the NBA halted its operations on March 11th, Sacramento was tied with New Orleans and Portland for the 9th seed, though the Trail Blazers had played two more games than the others.

This situation would put the Kings in a position to have their draft slot subject to a coin flip with the Pelicans for which franchise gets the 12th pick and which gets the 13th.

There are a few options for Sacramento to explore if their pick falls in this range, and the smartest would probably be to trade it. And there are a few reasons why.

More from A Royal Pain

• 3 Ways Chris Duarte improves the Kings chances in 2023-24
• 5 Players the Sacramento Kings never should have signed
• Bleacher Report crazily lists Kings’ All-Star as “most overrated NBA player”
• Kings and Heat fans clash on Twitter to debate All-Star players
• Sacramento Kings’ Chris Duarte playing in 2023 FIBA World Cup

First is the projected depth of this year’s class of NCAA prospects. Experts are predicting the 2020 Draft to be on the weaker side, and there is seems to be a definitive drop off in talent past the first handful of picks. Any pick that is made in the range of 8-14 is essentially going to be a crapshoot unless a team has done some serious homework.

Speaking of which, don’t expect the Kings to be that team. Their draft history is below average, to say the least, and the few solid picks that they have made over the last 10 years they seem to have lucked in to. Sacramento’s inability to add franchise-altering talent via the draft has been lambasted for over a decade.

Another issue that could hamper the Kings ability to find their diamond in the rough is how the COVID-19 and coronavirus situation fill affect the draft process. According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, the NBA and everyone involved with the draft are bracing for a delay in the timing of the process including pre-draft meetings and workouts.

The lack of player availability will likely force teams to use only existing game tape and prior knowledge in their evaluation process, which will likely put the Kings even further behind the curve.

With factors working against the Kings and their draft process, dealing the pick makes the most sense at this point. Instead of taking a crapshoot, why not trade it for future assets, or package it with another piece to bring in an established veteran to fill a need?

What exactly the Kings would be able to get for the pick itself remains to be seen, as does its value in package trades. But it will certainly be one of the first decisions that the front office will have to make when the NBA begins operating again.