Three NBA Stars the Kings Should Avoid in Trade Talks

There are a few stars across the NBA that the Sacramento Kings should not be looking at.

Oct 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) dribbles against the Toronto Raptors in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings are expected to be busy sellers ahead of the NBA's February 5 trade deadline. However, they may instead decide to acquire win-now stars to upgrade their current core rather than tearing it down and restarting.

If the Kings go down the route of searching for another star player to trade for, there are a few notable names they should avoid altogether.

Ja Morant

Nov 11, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts after getting called for a foul in the second quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The most obvious star that the Kings should avoid this season is Ja Morant.

The 26-year-old is not only consistently injured, but he has also been steadily declining over the past few years. Morant has time to prove everyone wrong this season once he returns from his calf strain, and for the Grizzlies' sake, they need him to be much better than he was before the injury. Whether that is to improve his trade value or actually try to win around him, he needs to be better.

As it stands, the Kings could try to make a move for Morant while his trade value is at an all-time low, but Memphis will likely not consider trading him until that improves. On paper, Morant could be the game-changing point guard the Kings need to turn things around, but the declining star simply might not be the player he once was.

Trae Young

Oct 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Trae Young is in a similar situation as Morant, as the four-time All-Star's production has been steadily declining over the past few years. In his first five games of the 2025-26 season, Young averaged just 17.8 points and 7.8 assists with 37.1/19.2/82.1 shooting splits, and he has not played since then due to a sprained MCL.

Not to mention, Young has not won a playoff series since his trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2021 postseason, which many fans still use to attempt to boost his value.

The Kings have had one of the league's bottom defenses for years, and adding Young to lead the team would be the opposite of what they need to fix that. Sure, Young is one of the NBA's top offensive players, both scoring and playmaking, but what he brings to the table would not fix Sacramento's issues.

Lauri Markkanen

Nov 16, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) prepares his shot against Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) during double overtime at Delta Center. | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

The Kings were expected to be a potential suitor for Lauri Markkanen when the Utah Jazz were initially shopping him, but when they decided to keep him, those trade rumors faded. Now, the Jazz could still look to trade away Markkanen after starting their 2025-26 season with an 8-14 record, but the Kings should stay away.

Not only is Danny Ainge known for being very stingy in trade talks, but Markkanen might not be worth giving up valuable assets for. Of course, Markkanen is a very talented player and would undoubtedly help the Kings, but would he be the difference-maker that makes them a contender?

Markkanen is having a career year, averaging 27.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, but the 28-year-old is now being paid as an All-NBA talent. The 7-foot-1 forward is only in his first season of a four-year, $195.8 million contract, and the Kings should not be looking to take on that type of long-term money at this point.

This does not mean the Kings should not look to make a big trade this season, but they would be much better off if they opt to look at younger options to help with a rebuild.