The Sacramento Kings gave up their 2025 first-round draft pick to get Kevin Huerter in 2022. The pick was protected in 2024, but the Kings kept the choice after missing the playoffs. Sacramento ended up sending the Hawks the highest possible selection as it was top-12 protected this year, and Atlanta will pick 13th on June 25.
Huerter helped the Kings make the playoffs in 2023 during the best season of his career, but things quickly fell off. The 6’7 wing struggled last year and was even worse in 2025. Sacramento flipped him to Chicago in the De’Aaron Fox trade, but that made things even worse. Now, the Kings missed the playoffs, face an uncertain future, and do not have the lottery selection to show for it.
The original Kevin Huerter trade keeps getting worse for Sacramento. The Kings are no strangers to nightmare moves, but giving up a lottery pick in this deal takes it to another level. This only further sets back a franchise struggling to find a direction.
Kevin Huerter trade has the Kings giving up the 13th pick to Hawks
The Kings could use an influx of young talent that helps connect their roster. Keegan Murray, Devin Carter, and Isaac Jones are the only players under contract for next season under 25 years old. Sacramento’s top talents are in or past their prime, and the franchise just missed the playoffs. Things are not suddenly getting better without the front office shaking up their roster.
The Kings have draft capital to trade and must quickly find a direction. Having a lottery selection in 2025 would help. Instead, they traded it for two and a half seasons of Huerter where he produced a negative net rating and had a below league average win shares per 48 minutes.
The 6’7 wing was just starting a four-year $65 million contract when the Kings acquired him. By year three, his $16.8 million salary was viewed as a negative contract. The CBA changed things, but the Kings likely don’t move Huerter without parting with Fox. Now, they have to give up a lottery pick for a player they couldn’t get value for.
This will get even worse if the 13th pick becomes a key contributor for the Hawks. Sacramento took Devin Carter with that selection in 2024. Since 2014, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Zach LaVine, Tyler Herro, Gradey Dick, and Jalen Duren have all been picked at 13. The Kings would love to add a talent like that on a rookie deal, but they ruined their shot by trading for Kevin Huerter.
The Sacramento Kings face a crucial offseason. They must upgrade their roster and find pieces that fit around their core players. Can they do it? The Kevin Huerter trade further sets them back, but Sacramento has draft assets to trade.
They must avoid letting Vivek Ranadive take control. Fit and role matter in building a contending roster. The answer can’t be finding another scorer. Things will only get worse if the Kings fail this summer. Sadly, this may be the first omen in a nightmare offseason. All fans can do is hope things turn quickly, but that is usually not the case in Sacramento.