Here is what Kevin thinks we should do
It’s been well-reported at this point that the Kings are interested in Siakam. But last week, The Athletic’s Sam Amick said that Siakam, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, doesn’t view Sacramento “as a good long-term fit.” Siakam’s reported stance must be more about the city than the team because he’s an excellent fit for the basketball team. Siakam could be to Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox a lot like what Aaron Gordon has been to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray: providing versatile defense across multiple positions and the skill to fill any role on offense.
My understanding is that the Kings would still trade for Siakam even without the assurance that he’d re-sign, but his lack of commitment certainly changes the assets they’d be willing to give up alongside Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter. Odds are, the Kings would get outbid by a team that’s more optimistic that Siakam would stick around past this season.
Whether it’s Siakam or someone else, Sacramento’s goal is to turn Barnes, Huerter, and Davion Mitchell into upgrades to bolster the team’s odds of making a deep playoff run this season. The starting lineup that fueled last year’s run is beginning to trend down.
As I wrote about recently, Kings head coach Mike Brown has limited Huerter’s role this season, and Barnes isn’t an ideal fit next to Sabonis. Siakam is a much better complement to him. But if the Kings can’t get a deal done, they’ll need to review other options to improve on last season’s success.
Sacramento’s attention should also be glued on Blazers forward Jerami Grant and Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic. And not just on one of them, but both. Neither player is better individually than Siakam, but together they could be. In theory, the Kings could send Barnes and Mitchell with picks to Portland for Grant and send Huerter with picks to Detroit for Bogdanovic.
The Pistons fire sale may have just begun with the Bagley deal, and Bogdanovic could be next, with a number of teams interested. The Kings should be at the front of the line: Bogdanovic is a more seasoned offensive player than Huerter with his off-the-dribble game, and he’s a better defender, too.
Siakam is a better player than Grant in a vacuum, but Grant is arguably just as good of a fit in Sacramento because of his superior spot-up shooting and defense. They might not be considered franchise-altering acquisitions, but neither was Gordon or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for the Nuggets. Glue guys are necessary. Acquiring both would maintain the Kings’ long-term flexibility while making them bigger on defense and more dynamic on offense, giving them a better chance to win it all. Not a bad plan B.