Just a year ago, at last season’s trade deadline, the shocking news arrived that star point guard De’Aaron Fox wanted out of Sacramento. The former All-NBA member followed up his request with a demand to be sent to the San Antonio Spurs. With that, the Kings were left with no other options.
However, despite the leverage San Antonio earned in this decision, General Manager Brian Wright absolutely fleeced the Kings. The Spurs gave up hardly anything to acquire a game-changing, potential All-Star. And still, this wasn’t the first time the smarter franchise robbed Sacramento.
Brian Wright pulled off an equally insane move by acquiring Harrison Barnes for a bag of chips in the 2024 offseason. HB is now one of the Spurs’ most coveted role players. So, with all of this history, there’s no way the Kings would allow this to happen again, right? Well, I am happy to say there is a strong chance, and San Antonio must take advantage.
Brian Wright should attempt to steal away these Sacramento standouts
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Sacramento Kings are once again in disarray. Without De’Aaron Fox, there is no one there to carry the hopeless squad. With that, it is likely that the organization will be in full sell mode over the next month. Despite their poor record, there are still a few promising assets on this team.
The first is Malik Monk. The high-flying guard has found success as a high-volume scorer in Sacramento, but like most Kings, he deserves to be producing in a place that matters. His points per game have noticeably dipped from a year ago, likely signaling his desire to get out of that dumpster fire.
As the Spurs could use an extra scoring punch, Monk would provide that instantly. The combo guard can make it rain from all over the place and, most importantly, is shooting over 40% from three this season. Alongside Dylan Harper on the bench, the pair would come together as one of the most deadly scoring bench duos in the NBA.
Similarly, with three-point shooting in mind, the Kings roster another sniper who is in need of a new home. The story of Keon Ellis is a strange one. He has weirdly been rotting at the bottom of the Kings’ bench despite shooting over 41% from three for his career. Plus, the undrafted guard is a superb perimeter defender capable of locking down a team’s number one.
Contractually, Malik Monk would be an investment, as he is set to make $18 and $20 million through 2027 and carries a player option in 2028. However, his scoring juice could be well worth it. On the other hand, Keon Ellis is in the last year of a cheap $2.3 million deal. If he works out, we keep him; if not, the Spurs would gladly let him walk.
San Antonio could easily acquire one or both of these shooting guards relatively easily. A package of Kelly Olynyk and Jeremy Sochan, plus an added second or two, would get it done. No harm, no foul.
If I were Brian Wright, knowing the history of previous Kings’ deals, I would be all over this. With three-point shooting as the target at this year’s deadline, another fleece of Sacramento could solve all of the Spurs’ needs.
