This Sacramento Kings player's trade stock is soaring

All throughout the offseason, Sacramento Kings wing Kevin Huerter had to live with his name being in the middle of trade talks. The reason for this is that between Keon Ellis' emergence as a two-way stud and Malik Monk's new contract, Huerter was becoming a redundancy on the Kings' roster.

However, Huerter was never moved. This was likely because his trade value was at an all-time low, and the Kings didn't want to flip him for pennies on the dollar. Not only was he coming off a down season, but Huerter was also recovering from a shoulder surgery that cost him the final 15 (17, if you count the play-in) games of the Kings 2023-24 season.

Despite his struggles and Ellis' development, head coach Mike Brown (one of the most well-respected coaches in the association) maintained his faith in Huerter, opting to gift him back his starting two-guard spot when he returned from injury.

After the first game, Brown was looking foolish, as Huerter picked up where he left off in 2023-24 – scoring just two points on 1-for-4 shooting from the floor (0-for-3 from three). But Brown never wavered in his belief in Huerter, and ever since that debut dud, the Red Mamba has been absolutely balling out.

In the last three games, Huerter is averaging 15.3 PPG while shooting 60% from the floor and 47.6% from three (on seven attempts per game!).

Kevin Huerter is a valuable trade piece

Huerter's trade stock has seen a massive resurgence. Yes, it has only been three games. But Huerter is playing like the player he is supposed to be on paper.

Huerter is hitting threes, diversifying the offense (with his movement skills), and spacing the floor. But he's also using his sneaky length (6'7, with a 6'7.5 wingspan) to make plays on the defensive side of the ball. In that three game span we cited just a second ago, Huerter is averaging 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

If he keeps playing this way and the Kings keep winning, the front office will have a hard time cutting ties with him. But if the team ends up deciding that they want to lean on Ellis/Monk long-term and that they would rather try and add another power forward than have a logjam at the position, Huerter will be a pretty desirable trade chip on the open market.

Not only does he give you size and shooting (two things that are being appraised highly in today's game), but Huerter is on a reasonable deal. According to Spotrac, Huerter is in the third year of a four-year, 65-million dollar contract.

Everyone was down on Huerter after a rocky 2023-24 campaign, but if the start of the 2024-25 season is any indication, the Kings' sharpshooter is back to being one of the better role players in the NBA, making him a valuable asset to the team moving forward.

***All stats cited in this article are from October 31.