It seems inevitable at this point that the Sacramento Kings are on the verge of a full-blown roster teardown. After a plethora of puzzling moves over the last two seasons, the roster is a disjointed mess, and it has reflected in the product they’ve put forward on the court.
At 6-20, they are inches away from being the worst team in the Western Conference, and there doesn’t appear to be a miracle turnaround in the works. Their misery has caused a former three-time Sixth Man of the Year to outright plead with the organization for one of his former teammates.
Veteran Insisting Kings Trade Second-Leading Scorer
A demolition derby of a season hasn’t seen a lot of positives to take home for the Kings. They rank second-worst in offensive rating, only behind the Indiana Pacers, who lost their best player and superstar point guard to a torn Achilles.
Moreover, they aren’t any good defensively either, ranking as a bottom-four unit, combining for a net rating that is second-worst in the league, only to the Washington Wizards, who are assuredly in the rebuilding stage.
However, for a Sacramento team that was in the playoffs just two years ago, the fall-off has been brutal for the first time in 17 years. They haven’t played at the same frenetic pace that made them such a revelation, while the drop from De’Aaron Fox to some combination of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan hasn’t worked in the slightest.
As a result, the roster is a confusing mess of veterans like the aforementioned duo, Russell Westbrook, and Domantas Sabonis. With no end in sight and budding future prospects to build around, a fire sale might be the only remaining option for the organization.
That’s prompted one of the premium bucket-getters of the 2010s, Lou Williams, to make a desperate plea to the team. During an episode of “Run It Back,” he made the case for DeRozan, his teammate on the Toronto Raptors in the 2014-15 season.
Crediting him and the rest of the locker room in Toronto for extending his career by seven to eight years through their support, he was willing to take the situation in Sacramento “personally.”
“I want him to be moved because I want him to be happy, especially at the tail end of his career. I want him to have a realistic opportunity to win and just go out and be at peace with his career and have that opportunity.”
The support from the Raptors prompted Williams to win the first of his three Sixth Man of the Year awards, transforming his career completely, where he’s now regarded as one of the best spark plug bench players in league history.
He clearly believes a renaissance could be possible for Deebo as well, who is in the second year of his three-year, $73.89 million contract he signed with the Chicago Bulls before being traded last season.
However, he did not shy away from the bias that consumes him. “It’s hard for me to look at this like an analyst. I’m looking at this as a friend. I want my friend to be moved, be with a contender, and go out the door with a smile on his face.”
It might not be completely out of the realm of possibility that Williams’ wish comes true in the very near future. A large portion of the NBA is eligible to be traded, with an even larger contingent becoming available after Jan. 15.
With the direction of the Kings, DeRozan might be among the most likely candidates to be moved. It is only going to be a matter of the market for him, and if a contender is willing to bring him in for one last hurrah.
