NBA Trade Grades: Rockets, Kings, Cavaliers agree to 3-team deal
Sacramento Kings
Iman Shumpert is probably best known for being a complete offensive liability for those Cavs teams that kept letting LeBron James down, but he was an underrated part of Sacramento’s success this year.
Enjoying a bounce-back season in the form of 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in his 26.2 minutes per game, Shump’s impact extended far beyond the stat sheet. Aside from defending well on the wing and starting in 40 of his 42 appearances, he was also knocking down 36.6 percent his his career-high 4.8 3-point attempts per game.
Iman Shumpert had a huge impact on the culture of this Kings team for the short time he was in Sacramento
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) February 7, 2019
With that being said, Shumpert was heading for unrestricted free agency and finding upgrades on the wing was a priority for this team to continue making its playoff push. There’s something to be said for continuity, but that usually applies for teams entrenched in the playoff picture, not ones still fighting to get there for the first time since 2006.
Shumpert is a year older than Alec Burks, and provides less of a consistent scoring punch compared to the former Utah Jazz bench wing. In 34 games with the Cavs, Burks was able to revive his trade value, posting 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game.
I love Alec Burks for Sacramento. He can score and the Kings can use another scorer. Ideally, Bogdanovic starts, but maybe SAC is comfortable with him off the bench and stats Jackson for now and then eventually Burks.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 7, 2019
Even better, he shot 37.8 percent from 3-point range and unlike Shumpert, actually cleared the 40 percent mark from the field as well (at exactly 40 percent, but whatever). The second-rounder from Cleveland certainly doesn’t hurt either.
Burks is a downgrade defensively, which could be a cause for concern. By itself, this move doesn’t seem like a clear win for the Kings and appears to threaten their team chemistry, but in conjunction with their second move of the night to acquire Harrison Barnes, it makes a little more sense in retrospect.
Grade: C+