Kings Asking Price For No. 4 Pick Considered ‘Steep’

The Kings are open to moving the No. 4 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, and have had conversations toward that end.

But it won’t come cheap.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, GM Monte McNair and Sacramento have put a high price tag on the pick, especially “for teams behind them in the lottery (that) are attempting to trade up.”

As an aside, the Kings have spoken to the Hawks about forward John Collins, Charania reported, but those talks did not involve the No. 4 pick.

Either way, this isn’t the first mention of the Kings and their lottery selection. Both Action Network’s Matt Moore and Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer have reported the Kings are exploring if they could get a “win-now” veteran in return.

Most mock drafts have the draft going big in the top three — with Duke forward/center Paolo Banchero, Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren or Auburn power forward Jabari Smith Jr. the top picks, in no particular order. (Though suddenly Smith is projected as going No. 1 to the Magic.)

That would leave the Kings as the biggest unknown.

“The expectation of Smith, Holmgren and Banchero representing the top three puts the Kings front office in a strong trade position, where the uncertainty of the fourth selection could prompt eager teams to leap up to secure their prized prospect,” Fischer wrote.

That indeed may be the case. But if so, apparently it won’t come cheap.

The Kings finished 30-52 last season, and while they have a promising young core headlined by De’Aaron Fox and new coach in former Warriors assistant Mike Brown, the bottom line is they have not made the playoffs since 2006. A rookie draft pick with a guaranteed salary may not help them reach their goal of changing that.

The NBA Draft is scheduled for Thursday. You can check out our first mock at this link.