2. Kings trade Arron Afflalo and 10th pick to the Suns for Brandon Knight
Rudy Gay would have been traded from Sacramento if he had not torn his Achilles prior to February’s deadline. The writing was on the wall in California’s capital city for some time. Gay did average nearly 19 points per game prior to the injury, but it was readily apparent that he was not a part of the Kings’ future.
Now that Sacramento has blown it up by trading DeMarcus Cousins, Gay decided to opt out of his contract. That pretty much leaves veteran Arron Afflalo as the only asset Sacramento can move to make a deal for another proven player. He would be nothing more than fodder to make the salaries work here.
The Kings have one young star in the backcourt with Buddy Hield, who averaged over 15 points per game after being acquired in the Cousins trade. Why not go out there and get a partner for him? Under this scenario, it comes in the form of a player in Knight who was actually shut down for the final 23 games of the season by Phoenix.
Knight wasn’t injured. Rather, it was all about Phoenix maintaining his trade value while going all in with a tanking model to close out the regular season. Knight surely will be moved here, especially with youngsters Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis taking on larger roles in the Suns’ backcourt.
This trade makes sense for Phoenix in that it gives the team the fourth and 10th picks in June’s draft. Add that to a pretty talented young core, and there would be a lot to look forward to here. And for the Kings, they get a player in Knight with 20-plus point potential to team up with Hield while still boasting the fifth pick in the draft.