NBA Draft Rumors: Kings Willing to Trade Up for De'Aaron Fox

The Sacramento Kings have reportedly zeroed in on Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox as a potential franchise cornerstone and are apparently willing to pay big to select him.

ESPN.com's Chad Ford reported Kings management has discussed using their Nos. 5 and 10 picks to trade up for Fox, widely regarded as either the second- or third-best point guard in this NBA draft class. Fox has been rising up draft boards since a strong NCAA tournament for Kentucky and could be in play as high as No. 2 to the Los Angeles Lakers.

UCLA product Lonzo Ball has been considered destined to be picked at No. 2 since the lottery, but the recent scuttlebutt is that the Lakers are having second thoughts. Fox and former Kansas forward Josh Jackson should be available, which may be the source of stress for Sacramento.

Trading the Nos. 5 and 10 picks for Fox would—regardless of what you think of him as a prospect—be a major reach in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. The class is filled with young talent, with upward of 20 teenagers likely to be chosen in the first round.

The Kings' lottery selections will be of even greater importance than they normally would because they will be compared to DeMarcus Cousins. That No. 10 pick could wind up being the best piece Sacramento gets in return from the New Orleans Pelicans for Cousins, who is perhaps the NBA's best center.

A superior draft strategy for the Kings would be to nab the best players available at Nos. 5 and 10 and begin building a young core around them and Buddy Hield. In Ford's mock draft, Sacramento selects former Duke forward Jayson Tatum and French point guard Frank Ntilikina. Pairing those players with Hield would make for a promising core—and trump a Fox-Hield backcourt.