Sacramento Kings
Sending out: Yogi Ferrell (DET), Zach Randolph (ATL), Skal Labissiere (ORL)
Bringing in: Jeremy Lin (ATL)
The most important thing for the Kings is not this season. For the first time, in a long time, there is light at the end of the tunnel. They have what looks to be a breakout star in De’Aaron Fox and a talented young core that’s on the rise. Incredibly, they also still have a chance to make the playoffs — as of Sunday night, they were 10th in the Western Conference, one game in the loss column behind the Clippers in the eighth spot, with a six percent chance of making the postseason, according to 538’s prediction model.
Imagine what a playoff berth could do for the psyche and confidence of this young team, shaking off years of bad juju. Here, the Kings can send out some end-of-the-rotation pieces and bring back an exciting veteran back-up point guard. Lin has quietly played very well for the Hawks this year and he could help keep the Kings in the playoff race this year, without adding any long-term salary to constrain them this summer.