With the trade deadline tomorrow at 12 noon PT, the Kings look to be sellers rather than buyers with the intent to dump contracts and gain assets that will help them complete this Tower of Babel rebuild that has now reached into its third decade.
The Kings have quite the predicament regarding Bogdan Bogdanovic, and it’s more than just his quality of play. We all know Bogi is a solid player and could help this team in upcoming years try and make playoff runs, but basketball is a business, and money talks.
Bogdanovic becomes a restricted free agent at the end of this season, which sounds fantastic for the Kings as they hold matching rights to any contract offered to the Serb. But here’s where issues arise.
As said before, Bogdan is a good player and a true asset on any team. On top of this, the offseason’s free agent class looks awfully weak, which means his price will only be higher, perhaps higher than his monetary worth, due to the low supply of options at shooting guard.
With the Kings extending Buddy and resigning Barnes to hefty contracts in the summer, the Kings also have to think about keeping their young talent in upcoming years.
Fox will be extended soon (hopefully, that is) and he won’t come cheap. If Bagley comes back strong next year, then there’s another contract Sacramento has to keep in mind.
At the end of the day, if the Kings’ front office knows they won’t be able to sign Bogi in the offseason, then they need to trade him so they get some sort of value from him rather than watching him go for nothing.
There is certainly demand. The Lakers have expressed interest in a Kuzma for Bogi swap. Even the Hornets and Sixers said they’re interested in Bogi, but both lack the necessary assets or won’t give up certain assets to obtain him.
Something that can affect the outcome of what the Kings do with Bogi is what they do with Dewayne Dedmon.
Dedmon has explicitly said he wants to be traded and his mind has not been changed. After recent solid play from the center, it should be easier to move him and his contract.
A perfect scenario would be to trade Dedmon for an expiring contract. This would free up over $26 million over the next two years, which could be enough cap space for the Kings to resign Bogi.
In other trade scenarios, there’s not much there.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Yogi Ferrell on an expiring contract get moved as he has proven to be a good backup in limited minutes.
I could also see Nemanja Bjelica be moved for a couple of reasons. For one, he has a team-friendly contract. Another is that, in reality, he isn’t part of the Kings’ future plans. Lastly, the Kings would likely be able to get something out of him due to his genuine worth and ability, both of which could be put to good use on a competing team.
Some teams have expressed interest in Harry Giles, but considering he’s a free agent at the end of the season, Sacramento wouldn’t get much in return for him.
By tomorrow, the Kings need to know if they’re going to be able to resign Bogi this offseason. If they know they can’t, then they will have to look for the best possible trade involving him.
Although Bogi is treasured in Sacramento, it would be the only logical move to bring in assets for a man that will be gone by next year, if that is the case. Only time will tell.
The clock is ticking and time is running out. It will be interesting to see what Sacramento does with Bogi and Dedmon, and how the rest of the trade deadline plays out.
