The Sacramento Kings are having a season so bad it will be the stuff of legends. As such, they are finally planning a long-overdue rebuild. With so many superstars available on the market right now, the Kings need to stay focused on building a well-balanced team and not on name recognition.
There's a certain allure that superstars have in the NBA. Every team wants the next Nikola Jokic. The problem is that you don't always see them coming, such as Jokic who was famously drafted 41st during a Taco Bell commercial in 2014. A lot of teams are still kicking themselves over that.
It's even more difficult when it's an existing superstar who is in a rough place. A prime example of this is Ja Morant. He entered the league with a lot of heat. A few seasons later, his career has all but fizzled out because of bad personal decisions and incessant injury absences at critical times.
Teams like the Kings who are looking to rebuild see a star like Morant and think he might be a player to build around. The problems might just be with his current franchise, and a change of scenery will put him back on the path to superstardom. That's a pretty big gamble to take.
The Kings need to stay focused on the goal
Sacramento has already gone down this route with players like Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. The duo was unable to find success in Chicago, yet the Kings still brought them to the West Coast and tried to make it work. As anyone who watches basketball knows, it hasn't.
The Kings have good, young players like Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud, and Nique Clifford to build their next chapter around. On top of that, they have reliable veterans in Russell Westbrook and Malik Monk to help mold the new Kings' lineup on the court.
What Sacramento doesn't need are more expensive superstars with too much baggage. Players like LaMelo Ball, Ja Morant, and Trae Young will eat up the salary cap, leaving the Kings unable to rebalance the roster towards defense, playmaking, and a more consistent offense.
Sactown's biggest problem right now is their inability to make moves because of big-money contracts for stars. Moving one such contract/player to a team in exchange for a similar contract/player just keeps the Kings where they are, at the bottom of the Western Conference.