Given that it’s been 16 long years since the Kings have made the playoffs, it might make sense for them to explore trades for their No. 4 overall draft pick.
After all, this draft isn’t viewed as one with many immediate impact players — and that is precisely the type of player the Kings could use.
And making a move for a “win-now” type of talent is exactly what the Kings are expected to try to do, per Matt Moore of Action Network.
This is the second such report in less than a month, as Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer wrote something similar on May 20.
Again, the No. 4 overall pick may not help the Kings reach their immediate goals under incoming coach Mike Brown. So it would only make sense for GM Monte McNair to explore trading it.
Per Fischer, rival execs seem to the think the Kings will use the pick to move “either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process.”
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.
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.
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