It's really hard for fans of the Sacramento Kings to look at the current state of the team and feel positive about this season. There is a lot of potential but no real sense of how that potential could manifest. But there is an opportunity coming to make things right and that's the trade deadline.
For the 2025-2026 season, the NBA trade deadline is 3:00 PM EST on February 5, 2026. It's a key moment in the season as it's the last point trades can be submitted to the league office. After that, the rosters are all but locked in through the NBA Finals.
What's interesting about this date is how many major trades start flying around the league. There's a weird sense of desperation at that time of year as team's stare into the back half of the season, the All-Star Game, and the Playoffs. The Kings need to plan to take advantage of that.
What happens at the NBA trade deadline
To be frank, anything can happen at the trade deadline. The Dallas Mavericks shocked the world in 2025 by sending generational star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. The shockwaves from that move are still reverberating throughout the league.
There were other trades around the same time that sent Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors and De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. Any other year, both of those moves would have been blockbusters. In 2025, they were footnotes compared to the Doncic/Davis trade.
By that point in the season, teams have a clear vision of how their rosters are progressing. The gaps have become quite apparent, as have the fixes. Front offices will have started conversations about what they're looking for and who they're willing to move.
The Kings in the mix
If Sacramento wants to make anything remotely positive out of this season, they'll need to hit the trade deadline hard. Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and possibly event Dennis Schroder are the only players who should be hard no-trades. Everyone else should be made available.
The Kings need to rebalance their roster. More playmakers. More elite defenders. More three-point shooting. They have a surprisingly long shopping list. The trade deadline is the time of year to take advantage of what other teams need so the Kings can get what they want.
Plus, there's always the chance that Mavericks' general manager Nico Harrison will call up Scott Perry and offer him Cooper Flagg in exchange for Malik Monk. Crazier things have happened at the trade deadline, often involving the Mavericks.