Trading De’Aaron Fox Is a Matter of When, Not If, for Kings
The Case to Trade De’Aaron Fox Later
The very concept of trading away another talented player is likely one that doesn’t sit too well in the stomach of the Kings’ fanbase nor their front office. However, the fact of the matter is that this team seems significantly closer to a rebuild than a playoff berth.
While there are certain players the team would likely make an exception for, by and large, Monte McNair is, or at least was, looking to do all he could to hold onto Fox, and it’s easy to understand why.
After everything that happened with DeMarcus Cousins, you can’t blame the franchise for wanting to be careful about trading away another talented player, especially since it doesn’t look possible to get equal value in return.
Aside from the lack of value the Kings received in return for Cousins, the biggest mistake made was the team’s lack of self-awareness in terms of their contention status. Trading for a then-24-year-old rookie and a single first-round pick is a pitiful return for a team that fooled themselves into thinking they could turn things around. This cannot be the case with De’Aaron Fox.
The Kings should lean into a modest rebuild, not one to the degree of OKC but enough to provide them with enough future assets to at least give them a chance. With this current roster, the team’s ceiling is so low; they’re only delaying the inevitable until they’re forced to move on from these players anyway.
It would be wise of Sacramento to look to trade Fox to a team like Houston or New Orleans who can provide them with the necessary draft capital and salary in return to rebuild this team through the draft, Monte McNair’s lone strength, apparently.
Even if the Kings decide to wait and still target proven players, they can like make that work as Simmons, Ingram, and Sabonis all have a large chance of remaining available, and it only seems like more players are becoming available by the day.
The Kings can’t go wrong by waiting unless, of course, they wait too long.