It seems like a distant memory now, but back in January, the Sacramento Kings tried to get their hands on NBA All-Star and champion Pascal Siakam. They came up in short because there was "very little...optimism" that he would sign a long-term contract, per The Athletic's Sam Amick.
Despite missing out on Siakam, the Kings sent a clear as message: they want to go one step further. After narrowly missing the postseason, the pressure is definitely on the Kings to improve from their current standing. As fun as it was to see them make the playoffs last year, the new car smell eventually wears off.
Lucky for the Kings, plenty of other teams came well short of their playoff goals too, which could lead to them making some drastic changes. The Kings have the first-round picks and enough affordable contracts to potentially exchange for a star. At the same time, they have to play their cards right to advance further.
With that in mind, here are four stars the Kings could pursue via trade this offseason.
Bradley Beal - Phoenix Suns
Of all the players on here, Beal is the most expensive contract-wise. He's paid like a franchise player even though he's never been one. At the same time, he would probably cost the fewest assets after the season the Suns had. The Beal experiment did not work out the way Phoenix would have liked, primarily because their lack of depth killed them.
Know who doesn't have a dearth of depth on their team? The Kings. It would cost several players in their rotation, namely Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, but the Kings could offer the Suns the depth to cover their holes in exchange for Beal.
But why would the Kings want him? It's simple. They would have three 20-point scorers with just enough depth left to take them to that next level. Better yet, Beal was miscast as the Suns' point guard, which was further accentuated by how redundant he was next to Devin Booker. For the record, Beal can handle the point. Just not full-time and is better off playing next to a traditional point guard.
He would have that playing next to Fox. He could play more at his natural position as a shooting guard and then run point when Fox is on the bench. The other conundrum is that Beal has to agree to a trade to Sacramento to make it work due to his no-trade clause. Because of his expensive contract, the three-time All-Star likely won't have a strong market if the Suns make him available.
The Kings could potentially bail both him and the Suns out of that jam, but that would only be if the Kings struck out on other options.