It took 20 years for the Sacramento Kings to make the playoffs. If they want to get back, there is only one path forward -- and it's going to involve more losing before they win again.
The De'Aaron Fox trade saga was relatively brief and ended Sunday night the way everyone expected: with the All-Star guard joining Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
The Kings managed to accomplish many of their goals in the deal, bringing back another fringe All-Star guard in Zach LaVine (if a more injury-prone version) while also getting off of the contract of Kevin Huerter and landing three first-round picks and three second-round picks.
Although, to be fair, one of those three firsts belongs to Charlotte and is lottery-protected for this year; since the Hornets are nearly a lock to finish in the lottery, it will instead convey as two seconds. That means this deal actually brings back two firsts and five seconds.
The Kings now look ready to go to war with a lineup of Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis, with either Keon Ellis or Keegan Murray as the fifth starter. For all that Monk plays hard and Sabonis is underrated defensively because of his elite defensive rebounding, that is a terrible defensive group. They will be in the mix for a bottom-5 unit, especially without Mike Brown around to coach them up.
Is that good enough for the Kings to make the playoffs? Perhaps, as the offense could truly be potent, but they are not a favorite to make the playoffs this year and their future is scary. Sabonis is being paid like a superstar, LaVine is one unnatural leg movement away from missing months with an injury and is on a max deal himself, and DeRozan is 35 years old. That is not a championship core and it has no viable path to becoming one.
The only high-upside pick the Kings own is the Minnesota Timberwolves' 2031 first, and that will take six years to materialize. This Kings front office can't wait that long, and this core will be over by then. If the Kings want to maximize their chances as being a legitimate playoff team and competing for a title, then they need to do the unthinkable: they need to tank.
The Sacramento Kings need to tank
Sure, they probably should have made that decision already, before they agreed to a trade bringing back Zach LaVine and his onerous contract. But they need to make it now, before they continue throwing out good money for bad and dig themselves into an even bigger hole.
The Chicago Bulls just tried to pair LaVine and DeRozan with a center who doesn't protect the rim, and it didn't work! Not even close. Now the Kings are going to do the same thing, except all of those players are older and they have an interim coach to try and put it all together.
If the Kings want to build a real playoff team, they need to tear everything down and start fresh, to find the next De'Aaron Fox through the draft. There is a ceiling on this current group, and it's painfully low. Winning 42 games and squeaking into the Play-In Tournament is not worth aiming for; if this team cannot realistically see a path to winning 50 games and winning multiple rounds in the playoffs, even if you squint, then it's time to pick a different path.
Is there a team out there that would trade for Domantas Sabonis and pay like he is a star? Then the Kings need to make that trade. What about a team like the Miami Heat to go after DeMar DeRozan? Keon Ellis would be a boon for a contender to acquire given his low salary. The Warriors and Nuggets have both been interested in Zach LaVine lately.
Rebuilding will be painful, and for this franchise it will be traumatic and triggering. Yet it's also their best chance at building a team that matters. Because the aging, defensively delinquint group they have now doesn't matter. While Fox and Wembanyama will team up to dominate the Western Conference, the Kings are set up to watch from the sidelines - or get in the game and make the hard choices with their eye on the prize.
For now, the way to that prize is a rebuild. Again.