3 Rim Protecting bigs the Sacramento Kings can sign

The Sacramento Kings had a very quiet trade deadline compared to most of their Western Conference rivals. Monte McNair, the Kings GM, made one small move to acquire Kessler Edwards while most of the teams competing with the Kings in the west made much more significant changes to their rosters.

Despite sitting in the top half of the Western Conference playoff picture, the Kings had some glaring needs heading into the NBA trade deadline. Now that the deadline has passed and the Kings have left at least one of their weaknesses unaddressed it’s time to consider other options they have to address these areas.

While we wait to see how the buyout market looks across the league, we can at least consider the options already available to Sacramento. It’s clear this team would benefit by adding a rim-protecting big man to their rotation.

After they were unable to add one via trade, the Kings should be looking into current free agents. At worst, it could be a depth option they don’t currently have. At best, it could be a player who earns some consistent minutes in their rotation and helps improve their defense.

There are questions to be asked regarding the Kings 2023 NBA trade deadline. While we wait for those answers, Monte McNair should consider these options to bolster the teams’ rim protection for the final stretch of the season.

Honorable mention:

• Gorgui Dieng

Initially, Dieng was going to be mentioned as the fourth player on a four-person list. After he signed with the San Antonio Spurs for the remainder of the season, though, he obviously needed to get bumped from that spot.

Before agreeing with San Antonio, Dieng was certainly a player worth considering for Monte McNair and his staff. With the preference likely being to wait a little bit and see what kind of names become available via buyouts the Kings could see any of these options evaporate at any given moment. That’s what happened with Dieng.