Kings 2025 NBA trade deadline grade after De'Aaron Fox-Zach LaVine deal
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The Sacramento Kings’ hands were tied at the trade deadline after star point guard De’Aaron Fox expressed his desire to be moved, which left the Kings without many options. In the end, the Kings traded Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal with the Chicago Bulls, receiving Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko and three first-round picks and three second-round picks in the process.
The Kings were able to flip that return for more help in the middle, trading Cissoko and two of those second-rounders to the Washington Wizards for center Jonas Valanciunas. The Kings also acquired young wing Jake LaRavia from the Memphis Grizzlies to help out with their perimeter shooting.
The Fox trade left the Kings without a true point guard, and Malik Monk has had to handle a lot of the ball handling duties along with LaVine and DeMar DeRozan while they try to find a solution. After the deadline passed, the Kings attempted to fill that hole when they agreed to a deal with free agent guard Markelle Fultz. Fultz is a former No. 1 overall pick who flamed out with the Philadelphia 76ers before having somewhat of a career resurgence with the Orlando Magic. He isn’t an elite scorer, but he should be able to impact the game in multiple ways for the Kings.
After all of those moves, the Kings have a much different roster than they did heading into the month of February. Did they come out better, worse, or about the same? Let’s dive into what the new-look roster looks like and how it fits together.
Kings treading water after blockbuster trade
The Kings are just 3-3 since swapping De’Aaron Fox for Zach LaVine, and things have looked pretty similar to what they looked like with Fox in the lineup. LaVine is able to handle some of the point guard duties that Fox did while also providing off-ball value, but the end result has been the same for Sacramento. They are roughly a .500 team that plays a lot of high-scoring games with a very good offense and a pretty bad defense.
The offense hasn’t suffered even without a point guard, as LaVine is able to create shots for himself and still provides a ton of value on that end of the floor. The former Bulls star doesn’t help the Sacramento defense, which is still pretty poor. Even though some of the high point totals can be attributed to the fast pace that the Kings play at, their individual defenders are still not very good as a whole.
Those issues on defense aren’t helped much by the additions of LaRavia and Valanciunas, neither of whom would be considered elite on that end of the floor. While LaVine and LaRavia help out with Sacramento’s spacing after losing Kevin Huerter in the LaVine trade, but the defense is still a problem. In the six games that LaVine has played in, the Kings have allowed more than 125 points three times.
Heading into the All-Star break, the Kings are currently in a tie for 9th place in the Western Conference at 28-27. They are just 3.5 games out of sixth, so the chance is there for them to make a push. If Fultz can come in and get things a little bit more organized offensively, the Kings should have a more balanced roster with the addition of Valanciunas in the middle and the extra shooting on the wing. However, the defense is going to remain a problem all season, and that caps the ceiling for this team.
The fact is that these could have been a bunch of deadline moves that didn’t really change this Kings team’s trajectory. However, Sacramento still did well to recoup another star and still make some sound moves on the fringes at the deadline where their leverage was severely hampered by Fox wanting out. LaVine is under contract through next season and has a player option for 2026-27, so the Kings will have the opportunity to build something with this core in the coming years.
Grade: B
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