Ranking Kings' Top Trade Targets After 2025 NBA Playoff Loss

The Sacramento Kings trudge into the 2025 NBA offseason with no obvious path for moving forward.

Their 130-106 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the Play-In Tournament didn't exactly inspire confidence in the Domantas Sabonis-Zach LaVine-DeMar DeRozan trio. Could the Kings still try to run that back and see if a full offseason together leads to better results? Would Sabonis and Co. even be amenable to that approach?

Or could this be the summer of more significant changes in Sacramento? Former coach Mike Brown is already out, and perhaps the Kings could consider a clean break from their current core in hopes of elevating the ceiling over time.

It seems like everything from buying to selling to standing pat are on the table, which makes it tricky to pinpoint (let alone rank) preferred trade targets. Still, that's the task we'll tackle here while weighing all possibilities for the future of this franchise.

3. Draft Picks

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This arguably should rank even higher given how little Sacramento has in the way of young, ascending talent. Even the Kings' most promising building blocks aren't all that young: Keegan Murray turns 25 in August, and rookie Devin Carter turned 23 in March.

Should Sacramento sign off on making wholesale changes to the roster, that is the kind of roster-building currency it needs to covet. A Sabonis trade would deliver a significant haul of draft picks. The Kings could probably pluck a draft pick or two away from teams seeking the scoring punch that LaVine or DeRozan would provide.

To be clear, nothing about the recent movements of this organization suggest a rebuild is imminent or necessarily even likely. Having said that, the Kings could have trouble considering themselves as high-level competitors when that's now two play-in exits in as many seasons.

Starting over might be tough to stomach, but clinging to win-now dreams that will never come to fruition would be far more damaging.

2. Jose Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans

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If the Kings plan on sticking with this core, they need to strengthen themselves at the point guard position. Maybe Devin Carter takes over that position with time, but you could be talking about multiple seasons before he's ready for that kind of role.

Jose Alvarado would be a decent, cost-effective option to keep the seat warm.

He isn't a prolific passer, but he is a capable table-setter (4.6 assists against 1.5 turnovers this season). He's also a pesky, disruptive defender, which Sacramento will need more of as long to support its offensive-minded Mid-sized Three.

While the Pelicans probably aren't in a rush to move Alvarado, they also can't set too high of a price tag on a 27-year-old role player. If the Kings can find the proverbial right price, they could get decent mileage out of this potentially sneaky-good pickup.

1. Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers

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If the Kings hope to compete any time soon, they have to fill the void at point guard left behind from the De'Aaron Fox deal. Andrew Nembhard isn't the same level of dynamic talent, but he might help connect a lot of dots for this club.

He takes care of the basketball, makes shots at a decent clip and doesn't get skewered defensively. He's also comfortable and capable playing both on and off the ball, meaning Sacramento could still find the touches needed to keep its stars, Monk and Carter happy.

The luxury tax looms above the Pacers, who haven't paid that bill in two decades. They could have a hard time stomaching that kind of hit just to keep around a role-playing combo guard who probably fits best at point but can't handle that position full-time due to the presence of former King Tyrese Haliburton.

Nembhard wouldn't be cheap to get, but Sacramento isn't a cheap solution away from fixing its issues. Again, if the aim is to win sooner than later, he could help with that in myriad ways.