As the Sacramento Kings try to sort out what to do with many of their current players, one potential trade involving DeMar DeRozan is rather interesting. The end result would be DeRozan heading to the Atlanta Hawks while Trae Young makes his way to the West Coast.
Way back in 2018, Young was part of some draft night shenanigans. The Mavericks drafted Trae fifth while the Hawks drafted Luka Doncic third. A trade was quickly engineered that saw the two young superstars swtich teams. At this point, everyone knows how Doncic on the Mavs panned out.
Trae, on the other hand, is still with the Hawks and seemingly unhappy as ever. Atlanta has tried to build a reasonable team around their All-Star point guard but can never quite seem to get it right. At this point, if they were going to win with Young, it's safe to assume it would have happened by now.
As such, the Hawks are rumored to be wanting out of the Trae Young business, and are looking for opportunities to trade it. The funny thing is that the Kings are looking to trade the majority of their roster, and might actually be able to put Young to good use in their rebuild.
Trae Young for DeMar DeRozan is a win for both sides
One of the players the Kings are open to move is DeMar DeRozan. Honestly, he has played well for the Kings and is a reliable scorer. At the same time, he's not super impactful on defense and is playing his 17th season. The Kings have prioritized youth and defense in their rebuild process.
With DeRozan, the Hawks get a seasoned veteran and scorer who can shore up virtually any line with a stabilizing on court presence. Plus, separating him from Zach LaVine can only benefit both players. Partnering them in Chicago and Sacramento has gone nowhere.
Young's salary is much bigger than DeRozan's, but could be absorbed in the context of other trades. The Kings could include some combination Dario Saric, Doug McDermott, Drew Eubanks, and Dennis Schroder plus a draft pick or two to balance it all out.
Yes, Trae Young is an undersized point guard, but he's also an energetic bucket who could succeed greatly in the right framework. Putting him at the center of the Kings' rebuild alongside Keegan Murray has incredible potential for Sacramento going into the next five years.