Suggested Kings trade ignores key piece

Recently, Bleacher Report wrote a piece about one trade that every NBA team should already be plotting. An interesting concept, the piece naturally had some very interesting points and ideas that could be plausible in the coming months. The trade suggestion for the Sacramento Kings, though, completely missed the mark.

While the Kings should be plotting some trade targets or concepts right now, nothing along the lines of what BR suggested would be a smart move for the Kings organization. Not only does it make very little sense, but it also misses the one and only key point of any hypothetical Kings trade.

Suggested Kings trade ignores key piece

Somehow, the suggested Kings trade missed the one thing it can’t miss. The existence of Keegan Murray was flat out ignored. Murray, selected fifth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, has only shined on the court for the Kings early in his NBA career. From Summer League to preseason, and now in limited NBA action Murray has been one of the Kings best players every time he has taken the court.

Sacramento Kings Receive: F Jerami Grant

Portland Trail Blazers: G/F Kevin Huerter, C Alex Len, 2023 second-round pick

Let’s overlook a few things and get to the biggest and most obvious flaw in this hypothetical deal. We’ll overlook that Portland looks pretty good right now and will likely have no interest in bailing on the Grant and Damian Lillard experiment. We’ll also overlook that the Kings would be oddly motivated if the deal they desired was for a player who could soon walk in free agency.

What stands head and shoulders above all other issues is the fact that the Sacramento Kings would be creating a wing depth chart that had multiple veterans cutting into the minute’s rookie Keegan Murray could earn.

He already needs more playing time, and that necessity is only going to hold truer as the season goes on. Would Head Coach Mike Brown bench Harrison Barnes? Seems fairly unlikely. Would he play Murray at the shooting guard spot so he could start alongside De’Aaron Fox, Barnes, Grant and Domantas Sabonis? Seems like a long shot that starting group would be the desired unit.

Instead, the Kings are best off inserting Murray into the starting five at one of his more natural wing positions. They just announced he will be starting moving forward. That shouldn’t ever change the remainder of this season.

While winning games is important this year in Sacramento, nothing can be more important than maximizing the development of Murray, who looks like he could be a face of the franchise type player moving forward.

Moves need to be made and avoided based off of how it may or may not impact him. Grant takes opportunity from him, opportunity that the Kings need the young forward to learn through and grow from.

Simply put, this trade idea is awful on the Kings side. Especially when you consider the starting point of the article, which was trade ideas teams should already be developing behind the scenes. On the Kings idea, BR simply missed the mark.