Sunday Musings: If I were Kings' GM for a day

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Trade season is heating up, even if the rumors are regarding the same players and the same teams. Once again, the Sacramento Kings are being mentioned in trade conversations with Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers, although there is a new twist.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Kings are still in on the Simmons sweepstakes, but Sixers exec Daryl Morey may be trying to dump a hefty salary in addition to the three years and $114 million remaining on Simmons’ deal after this season.

“There’s this subplot to the Simmons situation, too: As if the uncertainty that would come with taking on his massive deal isn’t enough, sources say the Sixers have been attempting to attach forward Tobias Harris and his sizable contract in possible Simmons deals with multiple teams (including Atlanta and Sacramento).”

Gulp.

So basically, the Sixers are trying to right two wrongs with one trade and they are hoping the Kings, or possibly the Hawks, are willing to take the bait.

Make no mistake, Harris is a very good player. Previous regimes in Sacramento have been interested in acquiring the 29-year-old forward on multiple occasions. But that was when he was a young stretch four on a somewhat reasonable contract.

The 76ers’ massive overpay (5-years, $180 million) was bad when it happened in July of 2019 and it only looks worse now. 

Packaging Harris with Simmons makes sense for Philly, but paying these two a combined $73 million next season and more than $77 million the year after that is tough for any franchise, and that is before you know what the Sixers want in return.

I’ve written and spoken about the difficulty of fixing the Kings. I’ve also made it clear that this team doesn’t need to make a trade just to make a trade. They need to make a trade because they aren’t good enough.

Now I’m not an NBA general manager, but I can dig pretty deep into the salary cap and come up with trades that work financially. Since this is Sunday Musings and I can write anything I want, here is how I would handle this situation if I were the Kings’ GM for a day.

Here is my offer for Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, and yes, I’m willing to take on both. Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, Tristan Thompson, Marvin Bagley and two first round picks are my offer. 

Protections on the picks can be negotiated, but this is the framework of a trade that I believe helps both teams now and in the coming seasons. 

I would also offer a more complicated trade that sends Barnes, Hield and Thompson while including a third team in the Portland Trail Blazers. Is a package of Barnes, Hield, Thompson, Robert Covington (with Marvin Bagley going to Portland) and a pair of first round selections enough?

If Morey is engaged with Kings GM Monte McNair at all in talks, he is likely asking for Tyrese Haliburton or De’Aaron Fox. If I’m Sacramento, that’s a hard pass. 

Taking on that type of salary for a three-time All-Star who hasn’t played in seven months and a veteran owed nearly $80 million over the next two seasons, who has never made an All-Star team? That is tough. Giving up one of your young guards as well? Find a different deal.

What would the Kings look like with both Simmons and Harris on the roster? The starting lineup of Fox, Haliburton, Simmons, Harris and Richaun Holmes is at least intriguing. A bench that includes Davion Mitchell, Terence Davis, Moe Harkless, Chimezie Metue, Damian Jones and Alex Len is lean, but workable.

The Kings’ core would have a major facelift. The cost would be dramatic, but with attendance dwindling and the fanbase turning off their tv sets, the Kings need a major change as soon as possible. This is a splash that would draw people back in the building.

Harris is a career 36.4 percent shooter from 3-point range, even if his averages are lower this season. He’s a better rebounder and passer than Barnes and an overall matchup nightmare against certain teams.

Simmons is known as a defensive stopper and with the Kings, he would be asked to move to the three. He’s a high-level rebounder for his position and the type of playmaker the Kings desperately need. 

Salary wise, the next two years would be difficult in Sacramento, especially when Fox’s contract is considered. With the NBA’s salary cap scheduled to rise to $119 million next season with a luxury tax set at $145 million, the Kings would still have plenty of options to stay under the tax.

In addition, Harris’ contract would be off the books or reduced dramatically when an extension for Haliburton hit the franchise. 

This is all pie in the sky. If McNair could make this type of franchise altering move, then he should have already made the trade. 

You are tying yourself to a lot of salary. You are giving up a tremendous amount of draft capital. But you are also putting yourself in a position to not only be good in the second half of this season, but the next two at a minimum. 

McNair could certainly entertain other pieces to make a trade work, but you can’t completely mortgage both your draft and salary future without having a core in place. Haliburton and Fox are my core if I’m Sacramento and I’m not ready to break up the pair. 

The key for the Sixers is that they free themselves of major cap liabilities, break contracts into smaller, more workable pieces, and they grab high-end draft capital that could eventually lead to another trade or major free agent signing in the coming months or years. 

Is the package the Kings put together going to move the needle in Philly? Maybe not, but giving a team three rotational players to replace Harris, two top tier picks and shaving $131 million off their books over the next two seasons is a tremendous amount of value. It also ends the Simmons saga and allows the Sixers franchise to move forward. 

There are already rumors that the Sixers will chase the Nets’ James Harden in free agency. This swap wouldn’t clear enough cap space to make that happen, but it would be a very good start and potentially give the Sixers the assets they need to clear even more room during the offseason. 

For the Kings, it’s a huge risk. All of it. Simmons is a risk. Trading draft picks are a risk. Taking on all of that salary is a risk. But if McNair can pull it off, Simmons and Harris would be the best two players that Fox has played with in his five years in the NBA. If it doesn’t work out, then make trades down the line to balance the roster.

It took plenty of poor decisions over three previous front offices to come up with a 15-year playoff drought. The Kings have tried to build through the draft without success in multiple seasons. They’ve tried to tinker and add veteran role players. They’ve cycled through coaches and players. Nothing else has worked. At some point, you have to take a swing. Move all in. Go for broke and give your fanbase something to get excited about outside of lottery night.