Amick & Slater: Kings shopping 13th pick ahead of 2024 NBA Draft

Jun 24, 2024, 12:42 PM | Updated: 12:44 pm

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 16: Keegan Murray #13 of the Sacramento Kings (2nd L) reacts with...

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San Francisco 49ers Beat Writer

The 2024 NBA Draft is right around the corner, and the trade rumors are heating up for the Kings.

According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Anthony Slater, the Sacramento Kings have been shopping the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft ahead of Wednesday. Sacramento is seen as a team trying to contend in the near future, falling short of their goals by losing in the Play-In Tournament two months ago. And with the 2024 draft class widely considered the most underwhelming since 2013, the Kings have been working the phones in an aggressive push to improve the roster.

In fact, the Kings were repeatedly close to a deal to acquire defensive ace Alex Caruso for the first-round pick last week. But ultimately, Chicago chose another deal instead.

Here’s what Amick and Slater had to say:

The Kings already tried to use it for a significant roster upgrade. They were close to a trade for defensive ace Alex Caruso last week, according to league sources, offering the No. 13 pick to Chicago as the key chip. The Bulls, to the surprise of many within the league, instead opted to send Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey.

The article would go on to say that the Kings have pivoted to late-round prospects on their draft board. Sacramento has brought former college standout Zach Edey in for a workout since then. However, the journalism duo point out that a traditional rim protector is difficult to put next to All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis, given floor-spacing concerns.

All of that is to say the Kings and general manager Monte McNair have been making calls to satisfy an “internal appetite” to add veteran help ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The Kings were close to a trade for Alex Caruso last week in exchange for the No. 13 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, sources told The Athletic.

The Bulls, to the surprise of many, instead opted to send Caruso to OKC for Josh Giddey.

More from @anthonyVslater & @sam_amick:… pic.twitter.com/PNQTUdBlrN

— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) June 24, 2024

Click here for the full article from The Athletic.

When is the next NBA off-season date of interest?

The NBA Draft is now a two-night event.

Wednesday, June 26th, will act as the first night of the 2024 NBA Draft, where the Sacramento Kings will make their first-round selection (13th). The second round of the draft will be held on Thursday, June 27th, where the Kings will use its 45th overall pick.

Sacramento hasn’t had a first-round pick since 2022, when it selected Iowa product Keegan Murray with the fourth overall pick.

Stay locked into Sactown Sports for all of your Kings draft coverage, including player profiles, reports regarding pre-draft workouts, draft night coverage, and much more.

NBA Offseason Schedule