As we've discussed on numerous occasions, the Sacramento Kings need to make a win-now trade to vault their roster into title contention. And they know it too, as we've seen their name mentioned in some trade talks. But who should they trade for?
In this article, we want to focus on power forwards. In the ideal world, the Kings are able to retain Malik Monk in free agency, which would mean that their biggest need is at the four spot (I'm very sorry, Harrison Barnes).
With that in mind, I wanted to (as I often like to do) get the fanbase's input on who they would want the Kings to trade for this offseason. So, I posed a poll question including four realistic targets (Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Jerami Grant, and Naz Reid) and put it out on Twitter (I refuse to call it X!).
Who Do The Fans Want The Kings To Trade For?
In total, we got 251 votes – a pretty solid sample size for an inquiry like this. Each player got a good deal of support (at least 44 votes), with Ingram getting the most votes at 97 (38.6% of the vote share).
Who would be the better option for the Kings to trade for?
— Mat Issa (@matissa15) June 17, 2024
Kuzma came in second with 60 votes, Reid was third with 51, and Grant came in last with 44.
Are They Right?
Are the fans right about Ingram being the best option for the Kings to trade for this offseason?
This is going to be such a cop-out, but I'm not entirely sure. As evidenced by the fact that all four of them received at least 17.5% of the vote share, they all have a good case to be the Kings' next starting power forward.
Let's think about what the Kings need from a power forward: secondary rim protection (block rate), spacing (3-point volume), and the ability to put the ball on the floor (drives per 36 minutes).
Player Name | Block Rate | 3-Point Attempts Per 75 Possessions | Drives Per 36 Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
Kyle Kuzma | 54th %tile | 75th %tile | 84th %tile |
Brandon Ingram | 59th %tile | 34th %tile | 91st %tile |
Jerami Grant | 51st %tile | 66th %tile | 78th %tile |
Naz Reid | 83rd %tile | 90th %tile | 47th %tile |
(Sidebar: Block rate and 3-point attempts per 75 possessions were provided by Dunks & Threes. Meanwhile, drives per 36 minutes was extracted from the Thinking Basketball database.)
Based on the chart above, Reid may be the best option. He's also the cheapest (average annual salary of about 14 million). The issue is that he's more of a great bench player than a high-level starter (see his inconsistency in the 2024 NBA Playoffs).
Kuzma fares pretty well in all three of these categories (and he's got the second-best contract of the four), but his prowess as a spacer is questionable at best. Even though he takes a lot of threes (which, for spacing, is more important than percentage), he's never been one to make many. For his career, he has only shot over 36% from three twice in his seven-year career.
If you want a guy who takes and makes a lot of threes, Grant could be your guy (40% 3-point shooter over the last two years). However, Grant is probably on the worst contract of these four. He's in the second year of a five-year deal that will pay him an average annual value of 32 million dollars. Ingram will make more than that next year (and on his next contract), but he's also a better player than him.
Speaking of Ingram, he's the best player in this group, but he's also the worst spacer of the bunch, and his fit alongside the ball-dominant De'Aaron Fox is questionable at best.
The point in all of this is there is no perfect option. Each player comes with their own pros and cons. What I will say is that all four of these options would surely make the Kings better than they were last year.