Should the Kings trade De’Aaron Fox?
That would have been unthinkable when the season started. Fox is the head of the snake, the player that the team is built around.
It was apparent, though, that the roster was flawed heading into the year. There were plenty of guards and big men, but the Kings were weak on wings.
All was good when the team started out with five wins in their first nine games even though Fox and second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton didn’t get off to great starts.
But then the season took a turn as the Kings lost eight of their next nine games. Luke Walton was fired.
WALTON WAS NOT THE PROBLEM
The Kings are 11-16 under interim coach Alvin Gentry and it is very apparent that the Kings are just not very good. General Manager Monte McNair must make big changes to this team. Nobody wearing a Kings uniform should be untouchable.
Why should the Kings trade Fox if he is the player the team has been building around?
From the start of the season, the Fox-Haliburton pairing hasn’t worked out quite as well as expected. Haliburton seemed passive and reluctant to shoot.
In the four games when Fox was out for health and safety protocols, Haliburton had to run the offense. He was much more aggressive, looking for his offense while still being an effective playmaker. He posted four-straight games with at least 20 points and 10 assists (21-10, 27-11, 24-11, 22-13).
LET HALIBURTON HAVE THE KEYS
That started the talk that Fox could be expendable.
To make a move though just to make a move isn’t smart, but you do have to give up something to get something. It makes sense to trade from your strength (guards) to improve a weakness (wings).
If the Kings are going to trade Fox, they better get an all-star-caliber player in return, somebody like Jaylen Brown from the Celtics. Brown is a combo shooting guard/small forward who could fill a need on the wing for the Kings and help balance the roster.
[pickup_prop id=”12529″]
IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO
The Celtics might not even be interested in a Fox-for-Brown swap, but if the Kings are going to trade their star point guard they are going to need to get a player of Brown’s caliber in return, preferably someone who can play the wing.
The Kings are floundering. The fan base (at least if you follow Twitter) is fed up. Crowds at Golden 1 Center are down. It’s time to shake up the Kings, for McNair to either make a big move to get the Kings into the play-in tournament or blow it up, tear it down and start a rebuild.
WHICH WAY SHOULD THEY GO?
The current Kings are a dumpster fire as assembled.
A rebuild is scary. We all know how long it’s been since the Kings have been in the playoffs. A complete rebuild means at least another two or three years of struggling on the outside watching others competing in the postseason?
The Kings can maybe achieve their stated goal of making the playoffs if they make the right move or moves. More than likely, the best the Kings will do is reach the play-in tournament as a nine or 10 seed.
But is that really the answer? Maybe you get past the play-in round, only to get swept in the opening round by the Warriors or the Suns.
Pick your poison.
What the Kings really need to do is to make a franchise-changing trade. They need to bring in a player who will not just make the Kings a playoff team, but one who will make the Kings a championship contender.
If they need to trade De’Aaron Fox to get that player, then they need to pull the trigger.
