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NBA Trade Rumors: Kyle Kuzma, Jerami Grant, John Collins, More Linked to Kings

Julia Stumbaugh

The Sacramento Kings could be making some significant roster changes before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

The Portland Trail Blazers' Jerami Grant, Utah Jazz's John Collins and Washington Wizards' Jonas Valančiūnas and Kyle Kuzma are "back on [the Kings'] radar," according to a Saturday report from The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater.

The Brooklyn Nets' Cam Johnson is also "known to be of significant interest" to the Kings, while Dorian Finney-Smith interests the team "to a lesser degree," according to Amick and Slater.

Star guard De'Aaron Fox said in a recent appearance on Draymond Green's podcast that he hasn't signed an extension with the Kings in part because he wants to be "in a position to win in the future." The Kings could be hoping loading up at the deadline will help convince Fox to re-sign in Sacramento.

The Kings' 113-100 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday dropped the team to 13-15.

If the regular season ended today, the Kings would be left on the outside of the playoff bubble as the No. 12 team in the West.

According to Amick and Slater, Fox's agent Rich Paul was present at the Kings' loss to the Lakers in order to speak with general manager Monte McNair and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox about their "plan" for the franchise.

Fox, who is playing in his eighth season with the franchise that drafted him with the No. 5 pick in 2017, has played 497 regular-season games with the Kings but just seven in the postseason. Those all occurred during the first round of the 2022-23 playoffs, which ended in a 20-point Game 7 loss to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

According to Amick and Slater, Fox hasn't asked for a trade but is "reading the room in Sacramento before deciding what comes next" when his current contract expires following the 2025-26 season.

One way for the Kings to improve how the franchise looks in that evaluation could be to expand the team's depth.

Heading into Saturday, just 23 players in the NBA were averaging more than 35 minutes per night, and four of them play in Sacramento. To make matters worse, through 28 games the Kings' bench has averaged 20.6 points per night to mark the third-worst average in the NBA.

Kuzma's scoring has dipped as he's been held to 12 games this season while recovering from a rib injury, but the Kings could hope he could add some offensive firepower to their reserves when recovered after consecutive 20-point campaigns in Washington.

Collins and Grant could provide similar boosts to the team's bench scoring, although any deal for Grant would be complicated by his $32 million AAV contract. He is signed for at least two more seasons with a 2027-28 player option.

Valančiūnas, who has previously represented Lithuania in international competition alongside Domantas Sabonis, could help boost the Kings' offense with his rebounding. The Kings would, however, reportedly have to compete with the Lakers in order to acquire him from the Wizards.

The Kings are ranked 11th overall in net rating by the NBA, a sign that this team has room for improvement. McNair could hope some roster adjustments this winter will help the team achieve that potential while keeping Fox happy in Sacramento.

   

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