This is part ten of my series, where I make the Philadelphia 76ers do a fake trade with every team in the NBA. Today’s trade will be with the Sacramento Kings.
If I wanted this trade to be a tribute to Sam Hinkie, I would come up with a terrible trade for the Sacramento Kings and have them agree to it. Sacramento trades De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield for Jahlil Okafor, T.J. McConnell, and a future second round pick. Who says no? Sadly, for the sake of realism, I can’t do this.
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Sacramento has two players that they’re not trading. The Kings traded Demarcus Cousins for Buddy Hield because the Kings think he has Steph Curry potential. And Fox doesn’t make sense for Philadelphia for obvious reasons.
Sacramento also has multiple players that Philadelphia probably wouldn’t want, for various reasons. Frank Mason is redundant with T.J. McConnell. Malachi Richardson, Justin Jackson, and Skal Labissiere are young players that aren’t elite prospects. I don’t think the Sixers want to add any more young players unless they’re really good. Combine that would the fact that Sacramento is probably high on these players, and a trade involving them is a non starter.
I have a fun idea for a trade. It won’t be popular with Sixers fans, but it’s an interesting idea.
76ers get: Bogdan Bogdanovic
Kings get: Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless
Why Philadelphia does it: The NBA is going small. When I watched the playoffs, I was fascinated by some of the lineup choices. There were times when Golden State put Green at center. In fact, Green played center 32 percent of the time during the playoffs. Conversely, Cleveland played LeBron James at power forward. James played power forward 35 percent of the time (and center 3 percent of the time).
My point is this. Position versatility matters in the NBA. I worry about Saric’s ability to defend in the playoffs. He can play the power forward position. But he’s not a good enough rim protector to play center, and not quick enough to where I’m comfortable having Saric guard wings on the perimeter. Saric is a very good passer and has an intriguing set of skills as a point forward in the NBA. However, his defense and his jumper worry me enough to where I wouldn’t be opposed to moving him.
Bogdanovic was one of the best players in Europe last year. He averaged 14.6 points per game on a 60.6 effective field goal percentage. The fact that he is a big wing should give him more positional versatility than Saric. This trade wouldn’t be popular amongst Sixers fans, but it isn’t a bad idea if Philadelphia did make it in this hypothetical scenario.
Why Sacramento does it: Saric’s contract for the next three years is a lot cheaper than Bogdanovic. Bayless next summer will be an expiring contract which could be helpful in any trades that Sacramento wishes to pursue.
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If Saric can improve his three-point jumper, he could be a very good offensive threat as someone who can push in transition, and also knock down open threes. De’Aaron Fox and Dario Saric as Sacramento’s two creators could be an effective combination if the Kings can develop their skills.