All offseason long, the Sacramento Kings have been big game hunting, searching far and wide to obtain a high-profile player to level up their roster. Recently, their focus has shifted toward New Orleans Pelicans All-Star forward Brandon Ingram.
While his fit on the Kings is questionable, they should be willing to pay a solid price for Ingram's services (Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, and some draft capital should suffice). But they most certainly should not be willing to trade Keegan Murray.
The Sacramento Kings should not include Keegan Murray in any trade for Brandon Ingram. Murray is part of the “Core Four” with Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. It would be a mistake to trade Murray.
— Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) June 30, 2024
Players Like Keegan Murray Don't Grow On Trees
I'm not one of those people who thinks you should hold on to young players simply for the fact that they are young and have unknown upside. In fact, I think teams are guilty of doing this way too often.
But Murray is a special case study. Everyone in the NBA is searching for big wings/forwards who can shoot, attack closeouts, defend on the perimeter, and offer some positional rim protection. It's a big reason why the New York Knicks paid a king's ransom (no pun intended) to acquire Mikal Bridges.
The thing is that those players are not easy to find. There are a lot of guys who can, in theory, provide those elements, but they have yet to actually prove it in practice. Like, how many times have you heard someone (myself included) talk about a role player and be like, 'If they ever develop a jumper, they would be one of the best role players in the league.'
However, it is very rare that a player is able to put all those pieces together and transform into that quintessential role player. That's why, when it does happen, teams will throw a bag at them (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope just got paid 22 million a year to fulfill this role for the Orlando Magic).
It's also worth noting that championship teams almost always have a role player like this. Look at the Nuggets with Caldwell-Pope or, even more recently, the Boston Celtics with Derrick White.
Murray isn't someone who could theoretically develop into that kind of player in the future. He already is that player. He's 6'8 with a 6'11 wingspan. He's a wickedly good shooter – the all-time leader in 3-pointers made as a rookie. He was in the 59th percentile in true shooting on drives last season (per Thinking Basketball database). He finished in the 90th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (per Dunks & Threes). And he's in the 76th percentile in block rate among forwards (per Cleaning the Glass).
Murray does all the things you need from a championship-level role player (plus, he's not even 24 yet). There are very few players in the NBA that you give that up for, and Ingram is not one of them.
The Kings need to upgrade their roster if they want to compete, but their chances of ever winning a title in this era are close to zero if they give up Murray in the process.