One NBA insider says the Sacramento Kings will part ways with a veteran if they can land Jonathan Kuminga.
The Sacramento Kings have been active this offseason, trying to improve their roster. After the Kings lost De’Aaron Fox in a trade, they are looking to begin a new era.
The Kings finally landed Dennis Schroder to be their primary ball-handler next season, even though the trade took a long time to formalize.
But without a doubt, the Kings are most interested in landing Jonathan Kuminga. However, they haven’t had the best of luck in negotiations.
The Warriors refuse to play ball over Kuminga with the Kings. Presumably, the Warriors didn’t want to trade Kuminga to a rival team.
But as the Warriors and Kuminga continue to discuss his future, the Kings might still have a chance. So much so that one NBA insider is reporting they’ve identified a player they will trade should the deal materialize.
NBA insider Allen Stiles spoke on his show about the Sacramento Kings. It is his personal belief that the Kings have a handshake agreement with DeMar DeRozan.
Should the Kings land Jonathan Kuminga, the Kings will trade DeMar DeRozan, possibly to a contender, while taking on some expiring contracts and second-round picks.
“I believe, this is specifically me, that there is a handshake agreement between DeMar DeRozan and the Sacramento Kings. That is my belief.
“If Jonathan Kuminga is acquired by the Sacramento Kings, they will get their butts in gear as far as getting DeMar DeRozan to another team.
“What I mean by that is, there are people in this space, they never want to lose a trade. Or the perception of losing a trade.
“The situation with the Miami Heat, do you just take Terry Rozier, two seconds, and it’s essentially a salary dump?
“Obviously, you’re not getting a player back that’s as good as DeMar DeRozan, but DeMar DeRozan gets to go to a contender. You’re going to get money that’s going to come off the books.”
Stiles’ theory definitely has a lot of credence to it. For starters, landing Kuminga, a score-first slashing forward, will eliminate the Kings’ need for DeRozan, who ticks a lot of the same boxes.
And despite being 35 years old, DeRozan has shown he can still play at a high level. He might not be an All-Star, but he could be a great scoring asset for a contending team.
The problem right now, however, is that Kuminga is unclear about his future. The Kings have made little progress in landing the young forward.
While Kuminga is open to joining the Kings, the Warriors have to play ball with them. The Kings don’t have the capspace to sign Kuminga as a free agent.
However, the Warriors could try and facilitate a sign-and-trade. But the Warriors can’t get too greedy, as the Kings aren’t going to give up the house for Kuminga.
