Let us toast the Sacramento Kings for always staying aggressive no matter what.
George Karl was officially introduced as Sacramento’s new head coach on Tuesday, so that was a pretty big deal. Also a big deal: The Kings are interested in trading for Arron Afflalo of the Denver Nuggets.
Per Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher:
Sources: Kings trying to reunite SG Arron Afflalo with new HC George Karl.
— Ric Bucher (@RicBucher) February 17, 2015
First off, the Kings better get in line. It’s open season on the Nuggets’ roster these days, and despite Denver’s increasingly ludicrous demands, plenty of squads remain interested in the assets they’re prepared to unload, Afflalo being chief among them.
Back to the Kings.
Afflalo doesn’t not make sense for the Kings. I apologize for the double-negative, but you must always not not use double-negatives when talking about the Kings.
Sacramento has a logjam, it seems, almost everywhere. But they’re thin on perimeter talent. Ben McLemore looks like a nice find, and Rudy Gay is still producing. But after them, there’s Omri Casspi and Nik Stauskas, who has that “I may or may not be an actual NBA player” air about him.
Landing Afflalo immediately strengthens what has been a crappy offense since Mike Malone was canned. It also gives the Kings an inside track on re-signing Afflalo this summer, when he’s expected to explore free agency.
The problem, of course, is that the Nuggets want everything. The Kings are neither flush with tangible prospects nor can they deal this year’s first-round pick, which is owed to the Chicago Bulls. Complicated still, that pick is top-10 protected, meaning if it falls inside the top 10, the Kings’ obligations to Chicago tiptoe into 2016.
Still, Afflalo would be a nice get for a Sacramento squad hell-bent on competing soon. The Kings have some cap flexibility this summer, but not much. If they have the chance to trade for a guy like Afflalo, who increases their ceiling for next season, they’ll have to pounce.
