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Sacramento Kings Weekly: 3 Trades Kings Should Make

By Jacob Hammond

Jan 31, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Sacramento Kings shooting guard Marcus Thornton (23) dribbles as Dallas Mavericks small forward Jae Crowder (9) defends during the game at American Airlines Center. Dallas won 107-103. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Sacramento Kings shooting guard Marcus Thornton (23) dribbles as Dallas Mavericks small forward Jae Crowder (9) defends during the game at American Airlines Center. Dallas won 107-103. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 20 and the Sacramento Kings have been in tons of rumors, plus have already swung two trades this season. With the Kings having the worst record in the West, it is truly time to make a few more moves and set themselves up for next season and beyond. Let’s take a look at three players the Kings should trade before the deadline.

The first player is Jason Thompson, who is currently starting at power forward. Thompson was the Kings’ first-round pick back in 2008 and has averaged 10 points and seven rebounds for his career. Now Thompson is scheduled to make $6 million or more each of the next three years. During those same years Carl Landry is scheduled to make just a little more than Thompson. So between the two right now I would say that Thompson has more trade value than Landry, making him the player needing to go at this point. Furthermore, the Kings need to see what they have in Derrick Williams, who they traded for in November, and the best way to do that now is by playing him at the 4. Thompson’s name was in trade rumors earlier this season, the Kings need to see if they can get back an expired contract or a draft pick for him at this point.

The second player is Marcus Thornton, who is starting at shooting guard right now. The big reason the Kings need to move Thornton now is because they need to see if Ben McLemore can be the 2 guard of the future for Sacramento. The best way to find out about McLemore is play him more minutes and in different situations. Thornton is currently playing about 25 minutes a game over the past month and a half, where McLemore is only playing 19 to 20 minutes per game compared to Thornton. Yes, McLemore has struggled this season; however, he has the athletic ability that you want in a guard. The Kings are not going anywhere this season and if they want to go to the playoffs in the future they need McLemore to find his game and trading Thornton will help.

Lastly, the Kings need to see what they can get for Jimmer Fredette as this is the last year of his current contract. All signs point to the Kings not re-signing Fredette and letting him walk, since they already declined his third-year option. Fredette has showed signs this season of being able to score coming off the bench. His ability to shoot the ball means he still might have some trade value. Furthermore, the Kings can give Fredette’s minutes to Ray McCallum, who they drafted in the second round of last year’s draft. The Kings would be able to see if McCallum can be the backup point guard for next season. If the Kings do end up trading Fredette, it will be very interesting to see what they get back for him. At this point I think they will be lucky to get back a second-round pick or an rotation player.

Now let’s take a quick look back at the week that was for the Sacramento Kings.

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