Apparently the Kings could have had Trae Young. They just didn’t want everything that came with him.
Before Young was traded from the Hawks to the Wizards, Atlanta offered him to Sacramento in a deal for Zach LaVine, according to Kings insider James Ham. Sacramento declined.
“The Kings, of course, had been offered Trae Young at one point in exchange for Zach LaVine,” Ham said. “LaVine to Atlanta and Trae Young to the Sacramento Kings.”
The issue, according to Ham, wasn’t necessarily Young’s ability. It was what Sacramento believed would happen next.
“They said no because they knew that the second he got off a plane, he would want an extension and the Kings were not fully prepared to be in the long-term Trae Young business,” Ham said.
That’s a fairly significant detail considering where both franchises were at the time. Young eventually landed in Washington, while Sacramento continued reshaping its roster without taking on another massive long-term commitment.
Young, 27, is a four-time All-Star and one of the NBA’s most productive offensive guards. But he’s also the sort of player who requires a roster to be constructed around his strengths and weaknesses, particularly defensively.
The Kings apparently decided that wasn’t the direction they wanted to go. So Sacramento had an opportunity to turn LaVine into Young without surrendering a pile of draft picks. It still said no.
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