Feb 24, 2022; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) and guard De’Aaron Fox (5) talk during the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
The Sacramento Kings have missed the playoffs for 16 seasons in a row. It’s not only the current longest drought in the league, but it’s also the NBA record for the longest playoff drought in league history.
They traded for Domantas Sabonis at the deadline this year in hopes of making a push but fell flat. And now, they’ve hired Mike Brown as their next head coach in an attempt to improve next year.
However, they did luck out at the NBA Draft Lottery, landing the fourth-overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Despite this luck, the Kings may not even be making their pick this year.
Report: ‘Strong belief’ that Sacramento Kings will trade fourth-overall pick
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, “there’s a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection.” So instead of making another pick, it’s looking like the Kings could be active in the trade market this summer.
Fischer went on to detail potential trades they could make. He said that the Kings could trade ”out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process.”
With Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., and Paolo Banchero expected to be the first three picks, the Kings hold the keys to the rest of the draft, Fischer explained. This puts them in a very powerful position.
There are plenty of teams who could have an interest in trading up into the fourth pick. The Detroit Pistons are set to pick at five, but if they wanted to make a deal centered around the fourth-overall pick for Jerami Grant, the Kings may be willing to listen.
The Indiana Pacers may be willing to trade Malcolm Brogdon and other pieces in order to snag the fourth pick, although those two teams just completed a trade a few months ago.
Another team to watch out for could be the Washington Wizards. They could package the 10th-overall pick with either Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Kyle Kuzma in order to jump up to fourth.
No matter who ends up trading for the pick, the Kings should be able to get a quality haul for their selection. However, they need to make sure they trade for the right piece, or the deal could go down as another poor move for Sacramento.
