If you poll most Sacramento Kings fans on who the next major player on the roster to get traded will be, most people would likely say that it is Kevin Huerter. After all, Huerter is coming off a down year, he has a contract that is fairly easy to match (set to make 16.8 million next year, per Spotrac), and the team has a promising replacement for him in Keon Ellis.
But what if I told you that the right answer may just be the player the Kings made their number one priority heading into the offseason, Malik Monk?
Why, you ask? First, Monk's stock is much higher right now. While Huerter is coming off one of his worst seasons as a professional, Monk (one of the best combo guards in basketball) is coming off arguably his best – finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year (6MOY) voting.
Second, Monk also has a contract that is pretty matchable (19.5 million per year), especially with the rising salary cap.
And third, now that the Kings have DeMar DeRozan, they have more of a surplus in the area that Monk excels at than they do for Huerter. Monk's specialty is on-ball creation, but with De'Aaron Fox and DeRozan on the roster, the Kings don't need that as much as they need shooting/spacing (which is what Huerter's best skill is).
With these dynamics in mind, I decided to create a hypothetical trade (that can't happen until at least October 4 because of when Monk and the other main player involved in this signed their contracts) involving Monk, and give both parties involved a grade.
Here is the proposed deal:
Again, this deal can't be executed until at least October 4. Because of that, we can't say for certain that this deal will work financially for both teams. But it should, as the incoming/outgoing salaries involved are nearly identical.
Orlando Magic
Grade: A-
The Orlando Magic are the perfect trade partner for the Kings because they have the exact opposite problem. The Magic are a defense-first team that is lacking in on-ball creation.
You may be wondering why the Magic would want to trade their prized free agency signing. But I think the Magic (and the rest of the basketball world) will soon realize that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's skillset is very redundant of many other players on the roster. He may enhance their strengths, but he does nothing to shore up their weaknesses.
By adding Monk (72nd percentile in unassisted field goals, per Dunks & Threes), the Magic will boost their offense (82nd percentile in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus). Monk also (mostly) makes up for the loss of shooting and spacing that comes with the departure of Caldwell-Pope. And since the Magic have Jalen Suggs, Gary Harris, and Anthony Black, they won't suffer much of a decline in point-of-attack defense, either.
Unless he has a major bounce back, Jalen McDaniels (4.7 million dollars next year) is just dead salary. But that is counterbalanced by the second round pick they would be getting from the Kings. The Magic would also be getting the younger player in this swap (Monk is 26, while Caldwell-Pope is 31).
The reason the Magic only get an A- here is because I think the Kings get the best player in this deal. Monk is good playmaker/scorer, but Caldwell-Pope is one of the very best 3-and-D role players in the business.
Sacramento Kings
Grade: B+
For the reasons I outlined in the first slide, this would be a very good deal for the Kings. Adding DeRozan diminished Monk's importance to this team. So, swapping him for Caldwell-Pope pushes the team closer to their ultimate goal (winning an NBA title). Losing the pick isn't great, but it's a necessary evil if you're including McDaniels in the deal.
With that said, there are a few factors that keep this deal from being a perfect one. First, as we said, Caldwell-Pope is five years older than Monk. So, there is a higher probability that his deal (three-years, 66 million) ages poorly.
Second, while this deal raises the team's ceiling (giving them more balance), it also lowers their floor. The Kings may have a sufficient amount of on-ball creation with Fox and DeRozan on the roster, but what happens if (God forbid) one of them gets injured? It will be a repeat of what happened last year when Monk went down.
Third, while Caldwell-Pope raises our ceiling, it is uncertain how much. As we said earlier in the offseason, what the Kings really need is two-way players with size. In my opinion, Caldwell-Pope is one of the best two-way players money can buy, but he is also only 6'5.
And lastly, if the Kings don't end up being a better team because of this deal, they run the risk of seriously upsetting their fanbase. Few players have a connection with the city they play for the way that Monk does with Sacramento. Trading him away right after you signed him to a long-term deal would be a huge gut punch to the fanbase, especially if they don't follow it up with some success.