Projected Kings lineup after trading De'Aaron Fox, acquiring Zach LaVine
Well, after it became apparent that the Sacramento Kings were willing to listen to offers for De'Aaron Fox, that it was only a matter of when, not if, he'd get traded, and a matter of where he'd end up. The answer to those questions became clear on Sunday, when Fox was traded to his preferred destination, the San Antonio Spurs, in what turned out to be a three-team deal involving the Chicago Bulls.
Losing Fox stings, but at least Kings fans weren't blindsided like Dallas Mavericks fans who had to watch Luka Doncic get sent to the Los Angeles Lakers out of nowhere. Plus, the return allows them not only to remain relevant in the Western Conference playoff picture.
In addition to three first-round picks and three second-round picks, the Kings are receiving Zach LaVine, a player more than capable of helping them win right now. LaVine will reunite with DeMar DeRozan in a new-look big-three next to Domantas Sabonis.
With LaVine in the mix, here's how Sacramento's lineup projects to look with the full band together.
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Projected Kings lineup after De'Aaron Fox trade: Zach LaVine helps form new-look star trio
Position | Starter | Bench |
|---|---|---|
Point Guard | Malik Monk | Devin Carter |
Shooting Guard | Zach LaVine | Keon Ellis |
Small Forward | DeMar DeRozan | Doug McDermott |
Power Forward | Keegan Murray | Trey Lyles |
Center | Domantas Sabonis | Alex Len |
With Fox gone, the question now is who will take the reins as the team's starting point guard? Well, the answer is, outside of Devin Carter, they don't really have a natural point guard. Malik Monk can handle the ball and is an underrated facilitator, but honestly, the offense is going to run through Sabonis anyway, which was often the case even with Fox around.
Where Fox's subtraction will really be felt is on the defensive side of the ball. Fox, a played who led the league in steals last season, is now gone, and replaced by LaVine, a subpar defender to put it lightly. None of Sacramento's starting five provides much defensive value, which could mean more playing time for guys like Carter and Keon Ellis.
The Kings currently sit at 24-24 on the year, holding the last Play-In spot in a loaded Western Conference. Losing Fox and handing him to a team just 2.0 games behind them in the standings will only make their lives harder. However, LaVine, an ultra-efficient three-level scorer having a fantastic season should help them even with his defensive deficiencies, and his pre-existing chemistry with DeRozan shouldn't hurt either.
It will be fascinating to see how this group gels sans Fox.
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