Change is afoot for the Sacramento Kings. Former General Manager Monte McNair and the organization mutually agreed to part ways shortly after the Kings' play-in loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and his replacement was quickly on the way.
That replacement became tenured NBA executive Scott Perry, who previously worked with the New York Knicks. Team owner Vivek Ranadive had a lot of enthusiasm for the hire. "Scott brings a wealth of experience, a sharp basketball mind, and a strong track record of building talented rosters," Ranadive said. "He shares our commitment to developing and sustaining a winning culture & I am excited to welcome him back to Sacramento."
It remains to be seen whether the Sacramento fanbase will share in his excitement. Perry recently spoke about his ambitions for the Kings' roster as his tenure with the organization begins. He expressed a need to address the point guard position, as well as to add length and athleticism to support some of the players that are already more well-established.
This is a fine concept from an overall perspective, but we should be wary of where the discussion takes us. For example, when it comes to addressing the point guard position, there's already been plenty of Trae Young trade rumors among the fans of teams who have been eliminated. Let's be very clear about this: The Kings should keep as far away from number 11 for the Atlanta Hawks as possible.
Trae Young would not work with this Kings roster
Those who are appreciators of Young's game may disagree with me, but it's hard to deny that his particular skillset is the opposite of what this Sacramento roster currently needs. Think about it, how many big-minutes guys currently exist on the Kings' roster that are particularly defensive-minded? It's not anything resembling an overwhelming majority.
Listen, Trae is a superstar talent. His offensive prowess is frankly a bit underrated due to how the Hawks have struggled to win consistently during his tenure. And I honestly don't believe a lot of that is his fault. But with that said, we have to be real about what he brings to the table as a point guard. Superior shot-making and playmaking? Yes. But very lackluster defense as well? Also yes.
By adding Young to this Kings roster, Sacramento would be leaning even more into an all-offense team for the future. Which, again, if we're being honest, is a total losing strategy.
Every team that's completely ignored the importance of defense and just tried to sell tickets with flashy offense has ended up either missing the playoffs or being bounced very early in the postseason. It's not something that's ever won on the biggest stage in the NBA.
In thinking about it this way, I would hope most would begin to see it as a pretty big no-brainer for the Kings to veer away from Trae Young this offseason. It may seem like an enticing option given his potential availability, but I feel confident in saying he is not the missing piece for Sacramento.