Kings put No. 8 pick on trading block
They have interest in Dennis Schroeder
The Kings put the No. 8 pick in the draft on the trade block immediately after the lottery Tuesday night, league sources told NBA.com, clearly looking to add at least one impact veteran in an attempt to push into the playoff conversation next season rather than wait for another rookie prospect to develop.
While several teams choosing in the top 10 on June 26 will be fielding trade offers as part of a deep draft with several intriguing prospects, the Kings have signaled they will take a proactive approach in hoping to make a deal. It is the same aggressive stance the team took early in 2013-14, before the new front office headed by owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Pete D'Alessandro made two moves, including acquiring Rudy Gay from Toronto in the kind of bold strike Sacramento would like to emulate with a valuable draft pick as bait.
The Kings have several needs in the aftermath of the 28-54 finish, most notably an upgrade on defense, adding dependable perimeter shooting and finding a playmaker point guard, whether or not Isaiah Thomas returns as a restricted free agent. Those could be addressed at No. 8 in the draft, but with the possibility of the kind of test of patience they just went through with Ben McLemore, the seventh pick in 2013.
It was immediately unclear if the Kings have a specific target. But Dennis Schroder, the German point guard firmly behind Jeff Teague on the Hawks depth chart, could come up. Had McLemore been gone at No. 7, Sacramento would have looked hard at Schroder or at trading back.
While several teams choosing in the top 10 on June 26 will be fielding trade offers as part of a deep draft with several intriguing prospects, the Kings have signaled they will take a proactive approach in hoping to make a deal. It is the same aggressive stance the team took early in 2013-14, before the new front office headed by owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Pete D'Alessandro made two moves, including acquiring Rudy Gay from Toronto in the kind of bold strike Sacramento would like to emulate with a valuable draft pick as bait.
The Kings have several needs in the aftermath of the 28-54 finish, most notably an upgrade on defense, adding dependable perimeter shooting and finding a playmaker point guard, whether or not Isaiah Thomas returns as a restricted free agent. Those could be addressed at No. 8 in the draft, but with the possibility of the kind of test of patience they just went through with Ben McLemore, the seventh pick in 2013.
It was immediately unclear if the Kings have a specific target. But Dennis Schroder, the German point guard firmly behind Jeff Teague on the Hawks depth chart, could come up. Had McLemore been gone at No. 7, Sacramento would have looked hard at Schroder or at trading back.
O. Cauchi
@paxer89
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