NBA Rumors: Kings Could Trade ‘Multiple Salaries And Picks’ For LaMarcus Aldridge, Per ‘HoopsHype’
As they remain at the bottom half of the deep Western Conference, rumors will continue to swirl around All-Star center LaMarcus Aldridge and his future with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs haven’t made Aldridge officially available on the trade market but with their inability to consistently win games, the seven-time NBA All-Star is expected to be moved before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline. One team that is emerging as a potential suitor for Aldridge is the Sacramento Kings.
Frank Urbina of HoopsHype recently talked to several league executives to ask their opinion about Aldridge and his current situation with the Spurs. If the Spurs don’t find a way to turn things around in the 2019-20 NBA season, most of the executives believe that San Antonio will start exploring the possibility of trading Aldridge. When it comes to his potential trade destination, one league executive mentioned the Kings as one team that could express interest in trading for the center.
The league executive wondered if the Kings would be willing to trade “multiple salaries and picks” for Aldridge and if the All-Star big man could help in the development of Marvin Bagley III, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. For Urbina, he strongly believes that trading for Aldridge makes a lot of sense for the Kings, especially if they want to have a legitimate chance of ending their playoff drought this season.
“Landing Aldridge would be huge for their playoff odds this season, something they haven’t done since 2005-06, the longest active stretch of futility in the NBA. The one area the Kings could use some help is at the frontcourt, where young buck Richaun Holmes is presently the starter. To be sure, the 26-year-old Holmes is doing a commendable job at the moment, averaging career-highs in points (10.9), rebounds (8.1) and blocks (1.5), but there’s no question Aldridge would both provide an upgrade to Sacramento’s starting five, while allowing Holmes to come off the bench, where he’d present matchup nightmares against opposing backup centers.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgiEmdnk0gI
Aside from giving Bagley III a great mentor, the Kings would also be receiving a very reliable scoring option, rebounder, and quality rim protector in Aldridge. In the 20 games he’s played this season, the 34-year-old center averaged 18.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.8 blocks while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Aldridge wouldn’t make the Kings an instant title contender, but adding him to the core of DeAaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, and Bagley III would undeniably give Sacramento a better chance of competing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Once the Spurs put Aldridge on the trading block, expect the Kings to make a move.
