One of the few teams in the NBA having a worse season than the Sacramento Kings is the New Orleans Pelicans. Being that deep in the basement means that they might be willing to talk trades with the Kings, specifically for their rookie guard Jeremiah Fears, a player who could fit in Sacramento.
The Pelicans are in a surprisingly similar place to the Kings. Much like Sacramento, they have a poorly put together roster and can't make the moves to fix it thanks to so much money being tied up in star contracts. In New Orleans' case, that would be Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, and Dejounte Murray.
Unfortunately for the Pels, Zion Williamson isn't going anywhere anytime soon. He can still ball, but is so frequently injured that it's incredibly easy to forget how good he can be. At this point, he's missed more than 55% of his career games since being drafted in 2019, which is mildly absurd.
Zion also has almost $127 million left on his contract. Unless Nico Harrison gets hired somewhere, no general manager is going to take on that size of contract for a player that is almost guaranteed not to play. That's why New Orleans is going to have to look at moving some one like Jeremiah Fears.
It's a good trade for the Pelicans and the Kings
New Orleans picked Fears up in the most recent draft, taking him seventh overall. He's done well, averaging 15.3 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game. His most compelling stat is his steals at 1.8 game. Fears recently picked up seven steals in one game against the Lakers.
The problem for the Pelicans is that he's committing a lot of fouls and turnovers, which minimizes his effectiveness at times. But that's probably not a big enough reason to look into a trade with the Kings. It's more about what Sacramento can offer than what Fears can't.
A trade package that includes guards Dennis Schroder and Devin Carter as well as forward Dario Saric might be enough to get the Pelicans to move. It give them an interesting combination of experience and youth, adding more depth to their roster.
For the Kings, they get a potentially elite young defender in Fears, which is an area they are sorely lacking. He would work well with players like Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray, not to mention being able to study under Russell Westbrook. Plus, the Kings would actually be down one guard overall.