What the Kings Actually Need at the Trade Deadline – And What They Don't

Rumors are flying around the Sacramento Kings, but what do they actually need to focus on with the NBA trade deadline less than a week away.

Jan 14, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) controls the ball against New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

But as the deadline looms, all focus has been on who the Kings are going to be sending out, moreso than who they should be looking at bringing in via trade(s). Part of that is the fact that the Kings need so much to get started on their roster reconstruction. They have solid young players in Keegan Murray, Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud, and Dylan Cardwell, but they don't have a future building block to put their hope in.

Ideally, they'll draft that player in the upcoming draft, but that still begs the question: what do the Kings actually need for this NBA trade deadline?

What the Kings Need: Young Athletic Wings

Dec 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (1) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jaylon Tyson (20) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

This should come as no surprise, but the Kings desperately need more help on the wings. They have for years, with no true wing on the roster outside of Murray since Harrison Barnes was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for DeMar DeRozan. But unfortunately for Perry and the Kings, young athletic wings are a hot commodity around the NBA.

There's a reason that the Kings have been connected to Jonathan Kuminga for months. He fits the exact type of player Sacramento should be targeting. A young wing who's 23 years old and 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan who could pair perfectly with Murray going forward.

The Kings and Warriors rumors will likely continue until Kuminga is eventually traded somewhere, but he's not the only wing on the market that Sacramento can target. Tari Eason, Jeremy Sochan, and Jarace Walker are all great options for the Kings to look at, among others.

RJ Barrett stands out as the front-runner out of all the rumors, as the Kings and Toronto Raptors continue to be connected via a Domantas Sabonis trade. Barrett is a little undersized for this exercise, but he's 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and can play either the two or three spot alongside Nique Clifford and Murray.

With the likelihood of the Kings landing a true star slim with their veterans not garnering trade interest, Barrett could be the best talent and fit Perry could find. But either way, all focus should be on trying to bring in as many wings as possible to catch up to the rest of the league.

What the Kings DON'T Need: Veterans With Long Contracts

Nov 2, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) battles with Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) for a rebound during the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

What the Kings don't need is more of what they already have, and that's large contracts that are going to be impossible to move off of in the coming years. The good news for Sacramento is that even if they can't trade any of their veterans, they don't have anyone under contract for more than $27 million in the 2027-28 season outside of Sabonis.

Both LaVine and DeRozan are set to come off the books at the end of next season, if not sooner for DeRozan, with only $10 million of his contract next year guaranteed. That leaves Perry options following next season, and it doesn't appear that he wants to do anything to hurt that upcoming flexibility.

The main name that jumps to mind is Jakob Poeltl. With the aforementioned Kings and Raptors rumor, Poeltl is a candidate to come to the Kings for salary-matching purposes. He's set to make $27.3 million in 2027-28, $29.5 million in 2028-29, and $27.3 million in 2029-30. It's not a huge number, but having him on the books for so long would make it nearly impossible to build a playoff team around going forward.

The only caveat to this type of deal is if Perry were able to get a draft capital haul. No one in the league wants to take on long-term money right now, which means the Kings could go the route of the Oklahoma City Thunder as they were doing their rebuild to take on the league's worst contracts.

That's a long and tenuous process to go through, though, and not something that the Kings seem ready and willing to go down. So, unless they change their mind and collect any and all assets they can, they should do their best to stay off of long-term money. That could mean sitting on the veterans like LaVine and Schröder for longer than many hope, but that's better than the same issue stretching out for years to come.