One of the few trades the Sacramento Kings got done in the offseason saw Jonas Valanciunas head to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Dario Saric. It looked bad then, and it's even worse now as Valanciunas is riding high in Denver and Saric rides the bench in Sacramento.
When it comes to making trades, the Kings have limited options. They have several big-money contracts eating up cap space, which in turn makes it hard to bring in new, high-value stars. The front office has been left making the few moves they can seem to get done.
That being said, the Kings shouldn't just go through with trades because they can. A prime example is the Valanciunas/Saric trade. In Valancinas, the Kings had arguably one of the best backup big men in the league. They traded him to the Nuggets for Saric, who looked a lot better in the preseason.
The Valanciunas trade keeps getting worse
Six games into the 2025-2026 season, it has become increasingly obvious that the trade was bad for the Kings. Valanciunas is averaging 8.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. That's all while playing backup for the best big man in the business, Nikola Jokic.
Dario Saric has not been anywhere near as productive for the Kings. Sacramento also has a great center in Domantas Sabonis, but Saric is not really backing him up. He's averaging 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game. Even worse, he's been on the bench for the last three games.
The Kings have found a better veteran backup center in Drew Eubanks. On top of that, rookie centers Dylan Cardwell and Maxime Raynaud proved they have incredible potential for the Kings. They could become a solid duo in Sacramento's front court once they've got some experience.
Saric was not a good investment for the Kings
The only reason the trade made sense for the Kings is the salary cap. Saric's contract is worth a lot less money than what Valanciunas' is getting. That made room for the Kings to sign Russell Westbrook on an NBA veteran minimum contract. If that's the reason they did it, of course.
From a roster perspective, the Kings got fleeced. It was literally a straight swap for the two veteran centers, meaning there were no draft picks or money involved. The Nuggets got the better center, and the Kings got the worse one.
Watching Saric not play at all for the last three games has been disappointing to say the least. Making it even worse is watching Valanciunas excel on a Nuggets team with a much better record than the Kings. Hopefully, the front office makes future trades with a bit more consideration and strategy.