The Sacramento Kings are blowing it up, and Zach LaVine is the next domino about to fall.
LaVine is one of several veteran players the Kings are expected to make available this summer as Sacramento resets a cap sheet that has not produced wins. The roster includes Domantas Sabonis, LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Malik Monk, and the front office wants to clean up the books before the next phase of the rebuild.
LaVine is the trickiest piece to move. He has two All-Star appearances on his resume. He is one of the best athletic scorers in the league. He can put up 25 points on any given night. But the contract he signed in Chicago has been an albatross since the day he put pen to paper, and his trade value has not recovered from the years of losing in the United Center.
The good news is that LaVine has played better since arriving in Sacramento. He averaged 22.4 points per game last season while shooting 39 percent from three. He looked healthier than he had in years. He fit into the Kings’ offensive structure in a way he never quite did with the Bulls.
The bad news is that even those numbers came on a 22-win team. Production in a losing environment does not move the needle in trade conversations. Contenders want players who have proven they can produce in high-stakes basketball, and LaVine’s playoff resume is essentially nonexistent.
The Lakers are an obvious match. They have a real need for a third scorer next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James. They have the trade pieces to make the math work. LaVine has spoken publicly about his interest in playing in big markets. The deal would essentially write itself if Sacramento agrees to take back a manageable contract.
The Pistons have cap space and could absorb LaVine’s contract without sending much back. Detroit has been trying to add veteran shooting around Cade Cunningham, and LaVine fits that profile. The trade would essentially be salary dumping for Sacramento and asset acquisition for the Pistons.
The Heat could also be a fit if their Giannis pursuit falls apart. Miami needs a perimeter scorer to take pressure off Bam Adebayo, and LaVine has the kind of shot creation that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra could weaponize in pick-and-roll.
The market is going to be defined by how much salary Sacramento is willing to take back. If the Kings will absorb a long-term contract in return, the trade options open up significantly. If they want a clean cap dump with minimal incoming money, the universe of teams narrows fast.
The LaVine fit issues in Sacramento were always going to be a problem. The Kings brought him in to play next to De’Aaron Fox before Fox got traded to San Antonio. The roster never fully made sense after the Fox departure, and LaVine ended up playing in an offense that did not maximize his strengths.
The bigger picture for Sacramento is what the rebuild looks like after the veterans leave. The Kings have a few young pieces worth building around, but they do not have a true cornerstone. The Sabonis trade is going to bring back some assets. The LaVine trade probably will not. The DeRozan and Monk trades will be salary dumps.
This is what a real rebuild looks like. The franchise has to take its medicine, lose for a couple of years, and try to land a high lottery pick that gives them a foundational player. The Kings have not had a true star since the Chris Webber era, and they are about to find out how hard it is to build one through the draft.
LaVine’s name is going to come up in every NBA trade rumor for the next eight weeks. Sacramento has to make a deal because they cannot keep paying $43 million a year for a player who is not part of their future. Some team is going to take him on. The only question is what the price tag ends up being.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
