Kings Swap Carter for Wing in Trade Proposal with Clippers

As the Sacramento Kings continue their Summer League games, it feels like rumors and trade speculation are slowing down. Not just around the Kings' pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga, but there have been little to no new rumors regarding possible moves for Sacramento.

With that said, the roster still lacks balance, as the team is loaded with shooting guards who all have similar skill sets. The Kings are working on getting both Devin Carter and Nique Clifford time at the point guard spot in Summer League, but Carter still doesn't have the natural look and feel of a point guard that Scott Perry seems to be looking for.

In this hypothetical, the Kings round out their roster by swapping out one of their young guards for more wing depth, and bring in another player who can help backup Keegan Murray in the frontcourt as a combo forward that can play either the small or power forward position.

Sacramento Kings Receive: Derrick Jones Jr., LAC 2027 2nd Rd Pick

Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Devin Carter

This feels like a move that would balance out both teams. The Clippers have a frontcourt-heavy roster, especially after trading Norman Powell for John Collins. That leaves them thinner at the guard position and leaves a potential opening for a player like Carter to come in and make an impact that may not be there for him with the Kings.

Carter could slot in behind Kris Dunn, and fill a similar role to the defensive-minded guard. With stars in James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, Carter could focus just on defense and rebounding for the Clippers. As compared to him trying to fill the backup point guard spot for Sacramento, who needs more of a facilitator and someone to orchestrate the offense.

The move would also reunite Carter with Monte McNair, who drafted him last year with the 13th overall pick. McNair recently joined the Clippers' front office in an advisory role, and if he's still high on his former selection, he could try and get him from the Kings for a relatively low price.

Carter had a tough first outing in Summer League, but has found his stride in games two and three as the Kings position themselves for a Summer League championship run.

For the Kings, they would finally get another true wing to add to their roster, something they've been lacking for years. With the roster as currently constructed, they don't have anyone to back up Keegan Murray, or worse, to fill in for him in the starting spot if he goes down with an injury.

Jones Jr. stands at 6-foot-5, but has a huge 7-foot-0 wingspan, which helps him play both the small and power forward positions. He also had arguably his best year of his career last season, averaging a career-high 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 1.0 steals on 52.6% shooting from the field and 35.6% from three.

Jones Jr. has always been great at getting to and finishing at the rim, but a knock on him has been his lack of three-point shooting. But over the six seasons, he's slowly increased his three-point percentage every single season, going from 28% in the 2019-20 season to 35.6% last year.

That increased shooting clip, along with his high-level defense, would slot in perfectly for the Kings as they look to build an identity as a defensively-minded team that takes a high volume of threes.

It feels like Jones Jr. has been around the league for forever, but he's still only 28 years old, and has a reasonable contract for the next few years at $10 million next season and $10.5 million the following year. it would be hard to move on from Carter, who's under team control for the next handful of years, but if Perry isn't as high on him as McNair is, getting a starting caliber wing for Carter is a great way to reshape the roster.

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