Grade the trade: Mock trade has Kings acquire Anunoby

The NBA trade deadline is February 9th but we have already seen somewhat significant moves made ahead of the deadline. The Sacramento Kings, currently holding down a top-four spot in the western conference, could be active on the trade market ahead of the deadline.

The Kings are in the middle of a surprising season (at least to the rest of the league), and could look to capitalize on their hot start and make a legit playoff push in the west. If they add the right piece or two, the Kings could make a deep playoff run this year.

Sacramento already bolsters an elite offense behind their two stars, Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. They have versatility and flexibility with wings like Harrison Barnes and Keegan Murray, not to mention players such as Trey Lyles and dynamic guard Malik Monk coming off the bench.

Still, there are some big holes on the roster that will be exposed against very good teams in a playoff series. If the Kings want to make themselves more capable of a big upset or two, though, they could aggressively pursue another wing to mix into their rotation that already features Murray and Barnes.

Would it be the perfect team structure? No, but the current structure isn’t perfect either and look where they stand. Plus, Barnes is set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season so a wing might help Sacramento as an insurance policy.

That’s some of the logic that got us to this mock trade from NBA Analysis Network. First, let’s look at the groundwork of this theoretical trade deadline deal.

Kings – Raptors Mock Trade

The trade has the Kings adding OG Anunoby while they sent Richaun Holmes and Davion Mitchell back to the Toronto Raptors. The Kings are also giving up multiple first-round draft picks.

First and foremost, a few notes on the layout of the trade. If the Kings wanted to make such a trade, they’d first need to agree with the Atlanta Hawks on a way to open up their 2026 first-round draft pick for trading.

As of now, the Kings can’t trade that pick due to the off-season trade they made for Kevin Huerter. In that deal they agreed to lock up their upcoming first-round draft picks in terms of trading. That is because the Kings have protections on the first-rounder they owe Atlanta that could cause the pick to not convey until 2026.

Either way, if the Kings were desperate or even hungry to open up the pick they would be able to find a way. So, if the picks could be traded would the rest of this mock trade make sense for both parties? We’re going to make the case in support of the deal first before a final determination.