The Kings tried (and failed) to add a power forward in the first round

All offseason long, we've discussed how important it is that the Sacramento Kings receive a major upgrade at power forward this offseason. Harrison Barnes is still a starting caliber player in this league. But next to Domantas Sabonis, they need someone who can provide some more rim protection (7th percentile block rate, per Dunks & Threes).

On Wednesday, during the first night of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Kings had the chance to unlock this upgrade, and based on reporting, it seems like that is what they were trying to do.

According to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee, the Kings were in talks with the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets – two teams who just recently made some significant trades with other teams.

Unfortunately, talks fizzled out with both of those teams, as evidenced by the fact that neither Kyle Kuzma nor Cameron Johnson are not on the roster. For the record, I don't think Johnson helps mitigate this team's weaknesses too much (20th percentile in block rate last season). So, it's for the better that he didn't end up getting traded to us. Kuzma is a different story.

Instead, the Kings ended up selecting Devin Carter – a player that many draft experts perceive to be the best player available at the time that Sacramento was up to bat (The Ringer's Kevin O'Conner even had Carter fifth on his big board).

Now, I am not saying that the Kings didn't make the right call here. Quite the contrary. I think Carter's blend of defensive versatility, positional rim protection, on-ball creation, and improved shooting will be a massive asset to the Kings (especially if Keon Ellis finds himself in foul trouble).

Also, the Kings can still trade for an upgrade at power forward, even without trading Carter. They just haven't done so up to this point. And they need to do so because if they don't, it'll be another mediocre season in Sacramento.