BREAKING: NBA Mock Trade Sends Kings Down a Dangerous Path

The Sacramento Kings entered the 2024 NBA offseason with high hopes of transforming into a legitimate Western Conference contender. That hope led them to make a series of aggressive moves—some of which now appear to have backfired, particularly in their dealings with the San Antonio Spurs.

In their most prominent offseason acquisition, the Kings landed veteran All-Star DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade deal that required them to send forward Harrison Barnes and a 2031 first-round pick to the Spurs. To facilitate the trade, Barnes waived his trade kicker, allowing the transaction to go through smoothly. It was a steep price, but one Sacramento deemed worth paying to add scoring punch alongside De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

While DeRozan has brought scoring and leadership to the Kings’ locker room, the overall impact of the deal has been debatable. Barnes, now thriving in San Antonio, delivered a career-best 3-point shooting season while starting all 82 games for the Spurs—a testament to his reliability and versatility. His contributions have quietly become a stabilizing force for the young Spurs squad.

But Sacramento’s missteps didn’t stop there.

In a surprising midseason move ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, the Kings dealt franchise point guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio. The return? Widely regarded by analysts as underwhelming. The move raised eyebrows not only for the minimal assets received but also for its timing—essentially signaling the end of the Kings’ playoff push. For the Spurs, the acquisition was a major coup, pairing Fox with Victor Wembanyama and accelerating their competitive timeline.

This string of trades has left many questioning the Kings’ front office strategy, and it’s clear that if Sacramento hopes to reestablish credibility, they must avoid getting shortchanged in future deals—especially with the Spurs.

That brings us to this offseason, where another potential trade between the two franchises is being floated. The Spurs are rumored to be interested in acquiring veteran center Jonas Valančiūnas from the Kings to bolster their frontcourt depth behind Wembanyama. San Antonio has cycled through options like Zach Collins, Bismack Biyombo, and Charles Bassey, none of whom have proven reliable as long-term solutions.

Valančiūnas, a physical and experienced big, would provide immediate reinforcement and could even share the floor with Wemby in certain matchups. His rebounding and post presence would be a valuable asset to the Spurs, who are just a few pieces away from being a legitimate playoff threat in the West.

But Sacramento won’t be easy to deal with this time.

Proposed Trade Scenario:

• Kings receive: Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley, 2025 second-round pick, 2030 pick swap (more favorable between Dallas and Minnesota), and the 2031 first-round pick swap originally sent in the Barnes deal.

• Spurs receive: Jonas Valančiūnas

This package would give the Kings a pair of intriguing young guards. Branham offers perimeter scoring potential, while Wesley showed promise down the stretch last season, averaging 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals in his final 20 games despite limited minutes. In addition to those prospects, Sacramento would recoup some draft flexibility by reclaiming their own 2031 pick swap—essentially undoing part of the earlier deal for DeRozan.

Although losing Valančiūnas would thin out their frontcourt rotation, the move could open up valuable cap space. This would allow Sacramento to target a cost-effective backup center to play behind Sabonis. League veterans such as Brook Lopez and Clint Capela are expected to be available this summer, and either could help solidify the Kings’ interior defense.

More importantly, this trade would allow the Kings to shift toward a more youth-centric model while freeing up future flexibility—something they desperately need after swinging and missing on win-now deals with limited upside.

As San Antonio continues its rapid ascent under head coach Gregg Popovich and the brilliance of Wembanyama, Sacramento is at a crossroads. Their next move needs to be smarter, more measured, and most importantly—successful.

After all, Sacramento can’t afford to be on the losing end of another deal with the Spurs.