While it looks like the Utah Jazz have the entire NBA calling them about star Donovan Mitchell, the NBA’s forgotten franchise has emerged as a frontrunner. The Kings have apparently expressed interest. While Sacramento is not often associated with big-time moves, recently they have made some trades that suggest they may be interested in winning now.
The Sacramento Kings are interested in Donovan Mitchell, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/Ird3bta3Cb
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 25, 2022
The Kings recently added All-Star center Domantas Sabonis to play with De’Aaron Fox. Both players are only 26 and 25 years old, so it makes sense that the Kings are looking to finally make some noise.
Sabonis is a two-time All-Star, and Fox is an above-average young guard. Malik Monk and Davion Mitchell are solid young options, but a third real star is needed if the Kings want to compete in the Western Conference long term.
Enter Donovan Mitchell. He is the scorer the Kings are missing. Sabonis is a good do-all center who can get 20 points and a dozen boards every night, and Fox is a traditional point guard who likes to score, even if his outside shot was an abysmal 29% last year.
Mitchell would enter Sacramento and immediately be the number one scoring option, although Fox would still be the ball handler. Sabonis would be the anchor down low, and Donte DiVincenzo, Trey Lyles, Chimezie Metu, and Kevin Huerter would round out the lineup, scoring from deep and taking some pressure off the two-star guards.
If the Kings really do believe that their core is there, they would be hesitant to part with any solid players. That’s no worry, as the Jazz are more interested in picks, anyway.
As you can see, the Jazz would come away with a steal. If the Kings want Mitchell, they would have to match any offer coming from Toronto, Charlotte, Washington, New York, Miami, or Philadelphia, so the offer would have to be huge.
Plus, if they have Mitchell, they will be competing for several years. Fox, Mitchell, and Sabonis would be the best young big three in the league, so there’s no reason the Kings should hold onto their future. Richaun Holmes and Harrison Barnes are included for salary matching reasons. Barnes only has one year and $18 million left on his deal, so he could play in Salt Lake for a year or negotiate a buyout. Holmes has three years left, and he’s a productive backup center who’s shown some defensive prowess, averaging 1.3 blocks in three seasons as a starter. He’s 28 but could manage the paint as the Jazz flounder without Mitchell or Gobert.
Ultimately, I think the Kings would add more picks than anyone else. To get Mitchell, teams seem to want to throw in young players, but with this path, the Jazz will get to draft who they want. Plus, it’s Sacramento. No matter who they trade for, those picks will be in a good position anyway.