Ranking Kings' Top Trade Targets After 2023 NBA Playoff Loss
For the first time since 2006, the Sacramento Kings are headed into the NBA offseason fresh off of a playoff appearance.
They now need to decide their next step.
Do they try to keep growing this organically and see if this core can become a contender on its own? Or do they think they're short a missing piece or two to climb the next rung up the ladder?
They have the trade chips needed to broker something big if they wanted to, but they may want to get a better sense of their place in the hoops hierarchy before pushing in their chips. We'll examine both options while identifying their top three trade targets this summer.
3. Reggie Bullock, Dallas Mavericks
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If the Kings don't want to part with a ton of assets, Reggie Bullock could be a priority target.
The veteran swingman could seamlessly slide into their growing stable of thee-and-D wings. He has the lateral quickness to pester most guards, and he has the strength and physicality needed to check bigger forwards.
He used to dabble in more off-the-dribble stuff, but settling into a shooting specialist role has arguably increased his value. First, it makes him easy to share the floor with more ball-dominant stars. Second, he has always been a better shooter than off-the-bounce scorer, so this merely emphasizes his greatest offensive strength.
As long as Sacramento keeps the De'Aaron Fox-Domantas Sabonis twosome in place, it should seek to put as many floor-spacers around them as possible. Bullock has fully leaned into that label, as this season, 5.1 of his nightly 6.0 shots came from distance, and he buried those long balls at a 38 percent clip.
2. O.G. Anunoby, Toronto Raptors
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The Kings have a star guard in Fox and a star center in Sabonis. The idea of them aggressively adding an impact forward makes a lot of sense.
And not only to us. The Kings themselves eyed players like O.G. Anunoby, Kyle Kuzma and Pascal Siakam back in December.
Of that trio, Anunoby is the most intriguing. He is the best defender of the bunch, and that distinction should hold serious weight with a Sacramento team that finished 24th overall—dead last among playoff teams—in defensive efficiency, per NBA.com. He might also be the cleanest offensive fit since he is the least ball-dominant.
At 25 years old, Anunoby is on the same timeline as Fox and Sabonis—and Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray and Davion Mitchell, too. Sacramento could be really good and stay really good for a while.
1. Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn Nets
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If you're in the wing market this summer and you have trade assets to throw around, you should be making a massive push for Mikal Bridges.
He thrived as a three-and-D support piece for the championship-contending Phoenix Suns for years, then elevated to an All-Star level after his deadline deal to Brooklyn. Over 27 games with the Nets, he averaged a whopping 26.1 points with an efficient 47.5/37.6/89.4 shooting slash.
Can he be that productive on a winning team? Who knows, but that's not the Kings' concern. They already have two stars, so they wouldn't need Bridges to be a centerpiece but rather a member of the Association's next Big Three.
The Nets could theoretically view Bridges' second-half surge as a reason to make him untouchable, but they have no idea if he could lead a championship run—or if they could give him the supporting talent needed to make one. It seems at least possible they'd consider flipping him for a mountain of assets and moving on to their next chapter.
