Rumor Central: Kings Continue To Receive ‘Plenty Of Trade Interest’ For 4th Pick
Jun 21, 2022, 9:32 AM | Updated: 9:33 am
(Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
(Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
As we move within two days of the 2022 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings are getting a lot of inquiries about their highly coveted fourth-overall pick.
According to Bleacher Report’s NBA insider Jake Fischer, teams that are drafting behind Sacramento are calling Kings general manager Monte McNair in an attempt to pry away the fourth pick and select Purdue guard Jaden Ivey or Iowa forward Keegan Murray.
The Kings continue to receive plenty of trade interest for the No. 4 selection, where the Pacers, Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards and others have made efforts to leapfrog in the lottery. Of those teams, it’s believed the Pacers and Spurs are targeting Iowa forward Keegan Murray, while New York and Washington have their sights set on Purdue combo guard Jaden Ivey.
Rival teams are prepared for Sacramento to gauge all trade interest up until the Kings are on the clock. If there’s a surprise pick in the top three, Sacramento could receive a flurry of offers from teams that covet one of the star big men in the class.
The past weekend further established the notion that Sacramento has its eyes on Murray after Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported on Monday that the Kings set up a dinner between the All-American and franchise cornerstones De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.
It appears that several teams beneath Sacramento in the draft are optimistic that Ivey will be available following the initial four picks of the night, with the Detroit Pistons–a team that has long been interested in the guard and holds the fifth pick–reportedly feeling confident in Ivey being available after the Kings’ selection:
Several teams picking behind the Kings are also preparing for Sacramento to select Murray if it remains at No. 4 and the top three picks unfold with no surprises. The Pistons, sources said, have projected a strong confidence that Ivey will be available for them to choose at No. 5 if the Kings stand pat.
No matter how you slice it, McNair and the Kings are in a strong position.
Sacramento can choose to hold onto the fourth pick and select the player that they feel is the best available. They can choose to trade back a few picks, net an asset in the form of a rotation piece or future draft pick, and select a player like Murray, Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, or Australian guard Dyson Daniels.
Lastly, the Kings could package the pick in a real ‘swing for the fences move’ and attempt to pry an All-Star talent from one of the interested teams. This scenario is the least likely of the bunch, but anything is possible on draft night.
Of course, any deal for the fourth pick will bring some form of value back to Sacramento.
According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, the asking price for the fourth selection is said to be ‘considerable’ as McNair will not move the pick unless the requirements for a deal are met:
Almost every team picking after Sacramento in the lottery and even beyond has approached the Kings in exploratory conversations, a source says, a group including Indiana (No. 6), Washington (No. 10), New York (No. 11), Oklahoma City (No. 12), Atlanta (No. 16) and others.
Rival teams say the asking price will be considerable, with a mix of established vets (Malcolm Brogdon, Kyle Kuzma, Jerami Grant, John Collins), a 2022 draft choice and rookie-scale contract players such as the Pacers’ Chris Duarte believed to be some of the options teams have studied.
Sacramento has been interested in Atlanta forward John Collins since February’s trade deadline, and league sources have indicated that McNair is not floating the fourth pick in any potential deals for the talented forward.
It’s still unknown what the Kings are planning to do come draft day, but the first three picks will certainly have large implications on what McNair chooses to do with the selection.
If one of the ‘Big 3’–Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., or Paolo Banchero–falls to fourth, Sacramento could get even more interest in the fourth pick, or just choose to select whoever falls into their lap. Several draft experts and analysts have speculated that Ivey could be drafted as high as second overall, leaving one of the talented forwards at fourth for the Kings.
The possibilities are seemingly endless at this point, but Monte McNair and the Sacramento Kings are in a very ideal spot.
Having multiple options is a good thing, and boy do the Kings have options heading into Thursday night.
