5 Players the Sacramento Kings could target after adding DeMar DeRozan

Between the draft, free agency, and the trade market, the Sacramento Kings have already had a huge offseason. That is especially true after their recent sign-and-trade to acquire DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls.

However, just because the Kings added a marquee player in DeRozan doesn't mean that they should remain complacent for the rest of this period. After all, a big part of the appeal for making a move for DeRozan was that it gave the team the flexibility to make additional moves afterward.

The Kings are a very good team right now. But if they want to solidify themselves in the upper echelon of the Western Conference, they will need to make one more decently sized move – preferably for a forward who can provide shooting, rim protection, and some closeout attacking.

With those parameters in mind, here are five names the Kings can try and target now that DeRozan is on the roster.

(Sidebar: These players are randomly listed. They are not ranked in order of best target to worst or vice versa.)

Target #1: Cameron Johnson

We've already weighed the pros and cons of acquiring Cameron Johnson in-depth on this website. He's a great shooter, on a solid contract, but his ability to provide secondary rim protection is questionable.

However, one piece of information that has since been pointed out to me by my good buddy Eric Weiss (give him a follow on Twitter) is that while Johnson's block rates aren't great (20th percentile last season, per Dunks & Threes), he is good at altering shots around the rim. Of the 109 players who qualified as "starters" last year, Johnson was 20th in DIFF% (the difference between what a player normally shoots on those types of shots and what they shot against that specific defender) on shots contested within six feet of the rim (per NBA.com).

A realistic trade for Johnson may look something like this:

Johnson and Huerter are similar players (young-ish movement shooters with some defensive limitations). The only significant difference is that Johnson is bigger (6'9 compared to Huerter's 6'7). To make up for this, the Kings could attach a future second round pick. But only a second because Johnson does cost more than Huerter (roughly seven million more dollars per year, per Spotrac), which diminishes his value in this situation a bit.

Target #2: Dorian Finney-Smith

We might as well get the other Nets player that the Kings should be interested in out of the way. Finney-Smith is an older, cheaper version of Johnson who is better on defense and worse on offense.

Finney-Smith is three years older than Johnson (31 compared to Johnson's 28). He costs about ten million dollars less per year and is under contract for one less year. Finney-Smith is a better defender (Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus in the 84th percentile) and rim protector (54th percentile block rate) than Johnson (54th and 20th percentile in those categories, respectively). But he's also a worse shooter (34.8% from three) than Johnson (39.1%) on lower volume (69th percentile compared to Johnson's 87th).

Johnson is also a better closeout attacker, placing in the 59th percentile in drives per 36 minutes compared to Finney-Smith's 28th percentile (per Thinking Basketball).

Given the fact that they now have DeRozan, the Kings will be looking for defense more than they will be on the hunt for offense. So, they can fathom some of Finney-Smith's deficiencies as an offensive player if it means they will get to benefit from his size and positional rim protection.

Johnson is a slightly more desirable asset (because of his age and value as an elite shooter). So, the Kings may be able to get Finney-Smith by just trading Huerter and no additional draft capital.

Target #3: Isaiah Stewart

By a lot of measures, Isaiah Stewart was one of the best and most versatile power forwards/small-ball centers in the association. Last year, Stewart placed in the 85th percentile in DEF EPM, was in the 66th percentile in block rate, the 72nd percentile in defensive rebounding rate (a telltale indicator of his motor and physicality), and he's super switchable.

Oh, and remember the statistic that DIFF% we cited earlier for Johnson? Stewart finished third of the 109 players who qualified as "starters" in that category.

Stewart's offensive game is what really hurts him and why the Detroit Pistons may be willing to hear offers for him. Yes, he's an improved shooter (38.5% from three last season). But it was on low volume (38th percentile). So, he's not really someone that defenses are going to change their approach to account for out on the perimeter.

He also isn't a great rim runner/lob threat (26th percentile in rim percentage among bigs, per Cleaning the Glass) or closeout attacker (48th percentile in drives efficiency and 13th percentile in drives volume).

But like we said with Finney-Smith, since they have DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, and De'Aaron Fox, the Kings have enough offensive firepower to make up for Stewart's shortcomings so that they can profit off of his Tenacious D.

The salary works on both sides for the Kings/Pistons to do a Huerter/Stewart swap. It also makes sense from an on-court perspective for each team. Huerter gives the Pistons some much-needed shooting/spacing (27th in 3-point attempts last season). Meanwhile, Stewart gives us size, physicality, and, most importantly, defense.

Target #4: Bruce Brown

The Toronto Raptors decided to pick up Bruce Brown's 23 million dollar team option, meaning they can use him as a trade chip (or keep him on the roster) if they choose to do so. 2023-24 was a down year for the soon-to-be 28-year-old, but he's only about 14 months removed from being an integral part of the Denver Nuggets championship run.

Brown arguably gives you the best blend of all these facets we've been discussing of any of these players. In 2022-23, he hit 35.8% of his threes. And last year, he converted on 82.4% of his free throws (a strong indicator of a player's shooting prowess). He's also a confident attacker off the dribble, placing in the 64th percentile or higher in drives per 36 in each of the last two years.

On defense, Brown has also been a Swiss Army Knife. In four of his first six seasons, he's placed in the 74th percentile in DEF EPM.What this metric is picking up on is his ability to defend at the point-of-attack (see clip below), create turnovers, and provide positional rim protection. In his career, he's had four seasons where his steal rate has been in the 77th percentile or higher leaguewide and three years where his block rate has been in the 67th percentile or higher.

Like with Stewart, a clean swap between Brown/Huerter works financially for both teams. While I think Brown is the more valuable playoff player, I think the two players hold similar value because Brown is owed more money this year (roughly six million dollars) and is set to be a free agent in 2025. So, there is no guarantee that he will stay with the Kings after this year.

Target #5: Javonte Green

Along with their ability to execute a trade, the Kings still have their Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (NMLE), Bi-Annual Exception (BAE), and veteran minimums available to them to help bolster their roster.

And while there are a handful of names they could target with their remaining salary cap gadgets, one name that I am particularly intrigued by is Javonte Green.

Yes, he spent the majority of the season in the G-League on the Santa Cruz Warriors before finishing the season with the decimated Bulls (in total, he appeared in nine NBA games). But what Green flashed during that time was incredibly promising.

During his short stint, Green was in the 85th percentile in steal rate, the 86th percentile in block rate (positional rim protection), and the 91st percentile in defensive rebounding percentage (physicality). He also served as a credible spacer (37% from three) – albeit on lower volume (36th percentile).

If the Kings could get Green on a veteran minimum, he would be a great defense-first energy wing/forward to add to their bench.