Ten games into the season, and the Sacramento Kings are what reasonable people thought they would be. A small, old team with no plus defenders (ones that play, at least) or rim protection. Sacramento currently ranks 24th in offensive rating and 27th in defensive rating. It is clearly time for some change.
Not that Kings fans need reminders, but the roster is unbelievably imbalanced. Without Keegan Murray, the rotation features six players under 6-foot-6, and two bigs listed at 6-foot-10. Precious Achiuwa (6-foot-8) was signed to help the lack of perimeter size, cosplaying as a Murray replacement despite playing 70% of his career minutes as a center and being a non-shooter (career 30% 3P shooter on 1.2 3PA/game).
Trade proposals should always consider why the other team would make the trade, so most of the analysis on the three trades below focuses on the non-Kings perspective.
Mavericks New Regime: Strong Trade Partner on Several Fronts
After firing Nico Harrison, the Dallas Mavericks must retool an aging, big-heavy roster around the key part of Harrison’s vision – entering the draft lottery with a 1.4% chance of lucking into Cooper Flagg (after trading your franchise pillar for an aging, injury-prone veteran) and that 1.4% chance hitting. Despite this foolproof plan, fortune did not favor the “bold.”
Sacramento, with several talented young guards out of the rotation, feels like a natural trade partner.
Trade Idea: Keon Ellis + Devin Carter for Naji Marshall, ‘30 2RP (via PHI), ‘32 2RP
Oct 13, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) takes a three-point shot during the second quarter against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images
P.J. Washington would have made this list, but his extension makes it so he cannot be traded until after the February 5 deadline. So, Sacramento must pivot to another Mavericks wing – Naji Marshall.
On top of having next to no guards on the roster, Dallas does not control their 1RPs from 2027-2030, so getting Carter and Ellis is a cheap way to inject some young talent into their backcourt. Ellis needs to get paid, but could serve as another young piece of that backcourt as a strong defender and low-usage shooter around new cornerstone Cooper Flagg.
Parting with a reserve wing and a 2RP is a small price to pay to bring in an elite two-way guard like Ellis and a player 18 months removed from being the second coming of Derrick White.
For Sacramento, Marshall and his one additional season left under contract may actually be the better trade candidate than Washington, who is now signed through 2030-31. If Sacramento actually begins rebuilding, clean books are a great start. Marshall is a well-rounded player who brings an edge that the Kings allegedly want to bring to themselves, too.
Nuggets Punt on Offseason Acquisition
Denver also has a new regime this season and has already begun reshaping the roster around Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and the recently extended Christian Braun. This new regime has already dealt with Sacramento, acquiring Jonas Valanciunas for Dario Saric over the summer. So, there is familiarity here.
Trading Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2031 1RP for Cam Johnson was Denver’s biggest offseason move. The first was attached because Denver saved considerable money by adding Johnson, showing a desire to make financially motivated transactions that could come into play in negotiations with Sacramento (and will come into play in the trades below).
Johnson has not gotten comfortable in Denver, averaging just 7.7/2.6/2.0 on 37/21/81 splits. Johnson is a career 39% three-point shooter on around six attempts/game. Shooting two fewer attempts may be a product of playing with other volume shooters, but shooting 23% on those looks? Goodness.
Trade Idea: Keon Ellis OR Devin Carter + Malik Monk for Cameron Johnson
Oct 25, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson (23) talks with head coach David Adelman during the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
Ellis could present an intriguing off-ball option for Denver. While he does not present the same ability to guard up to 4s like Johnson, he is elite at guarding 1s, 2s, and smaller 3s. He is also once again shooting at an elite clip.
With Gordon and reserve wing Peyton Watson able to guard bigger wings, Denver could be willing to trade for a defender who gives up a little size and save a little money by extending Ellis over what Johnson may ask for in extension negotiations this summer.
For comparison, PJ Washington’s extension with Dallas is at $22M AAV, and Ellis’s max is now just over $20M AAV. In the Apron era, every dollar counts.
Denver is a little light on playmaking outside of Jokic and Murray, so Monk makes some sense as the salary match. Sacramento has tried to trade Monk before, and Denver could potentially see him working with Jokic as he has with Sabonis.
However, Monk’s extra years of guaranteed salary almost fully negate the marginal savings from extending or signing Ellis via UFA instead of extending Johnson when the time comes. This is also before considering Watson’s upcoming RFA.
Trade Idea: Keon Ellis OR Devin Carter for Peyton Watson
Oct 25, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) defends against Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
Watson brings excellent length and a defense-first skillset that, again, Sacramento allegedly wants. He is also an RFA this summer, which Denver might not want to deal with, considering how bloated their cap sheet is already and the financially motivated Johnson trade. Ellis is also a UFA, but Denver could look to extend him on February 9, because those rights will follow him if traded.
If Denver is against committing long-term money to Watson, they might prefer Carter and his two remaining rookie-scale years over Ellis. Carter remains the type of second-draft candidate that a smart team will scoop up for next to nothing, and could complement Denver’s core. This could be dovetailed in with the Monk/Johnson trade above, which would bring some of the financial benefits back into play for the Nuggets and bring additional length to Sacramento.
If these trades feel like selling low on promising young players, that’s because they are. Such is life when you (i) bury a lottery pick before their second season, opting to publicly flirt with and eventually sign veteran stopgaps instead, and (ii) refuse to play your best defender (also an elite shooter) while repeatedly saying defense is this team’s identity.
These mishaps have understandably put Scott Perry in a compromised position when he looks to reshape the roster from its current state. Hopefully, Perry is able to salvage some value for pieces he feels are replaceable/unusable to better fit his vision for this team. There could be bigger moves made than these, but standing pat is simply not an option.
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