Courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, USA Today Sports
The Sacramento Kings appear to be going all-in on tanking this season after trading Demarcus Cousins and Omiri Casspi to the New Orleans Pelicans. According to one report, that was just the first of what could be many moves heading into the trade deadline for the Kings, who could let Darren Collison and others go.
“The Kings excised Cousins, and there are strong indications they are not done dealing, either,” wrote Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports. “Sacramento is determined to restock the franchise with assets, and will be targeting rookie-deal players and draft picks in the coming days, sources told The Vertical. Free agents-to-be Ben McLemore and Darren Collison are available, sources said, as is Arron Afflalo, a solid bench scorer with a manageable contract.”
Collison is currently the starting point guard for the Kings and has been serviceable in that capacity, averaging 13.7 points, 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He’d be a valuable addition for a playoff team as a backup and could fetch a decent price on the trade market.
McLemore has never quite materialized into the player Sacramento thought it was landing when it drafted him No. 7 overall in 2013. Still, he is a young player who has potential and who can do a little bit of everything. Afflalo is also a guy who can contribute some meaningful minutes to provide a scoring boost.
Should the Kings offload this trio, then a top-10 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft would almost all but be assured.