Welcome to Part 3 of the pre-draft deadline Bruce Brown breakdown. If you missed the previous parts then feel free to check them out below:

Part 1

Part 2

For part 3, we're sticking in California with another team that is poised to make some changes this offseason.

Sacramento Kings

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Most likely player(s): Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Davion Mitchell, Chris Duarte

Incoming salary: Ranges from $22.7 million to $30.3 million (Net of to -$0.3 million to +7.3 million for 2024/25; $10.2 million exception can be used to absorb one of Mitchell, Duarte)

Pick(s) available: 13th, 45th, 2025 2nd via Blazers

I'm going to (try to…oops) keep this entry short for the Kings for one very simple reason: The Sacramento Kings did this same thing last year to shed Richaun Holmes albatross of a contract, and this was in a much better draft class albeit with a much worse pick despite having a similar win/loss record overall and with Holmes being the definition of a bad contract whereas the other contracts on the Kings books are not as atrocious.

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As a result, it's very unlikely they do the same this year despite Kevin Huerter having a down year and Harrison Barnes on the decline that has led to speculation about him being on the move along with their pick to shake up the roster.

It's unfortunate for Sacramento that Huerter had a down year but the Kings are in a similar spot to Toronto, in as much as they need more talent added to their roster and shouldn't be dumping contract after contract. The difference – aside from one core likely being at their peak while the other is still in the midst of developing – is that the Kings don't have a ton of options to improve from where they are due to that lack of internal development to raise their ceiling.

Between the protections on their pick owed to the Hawks as a result of the Huerter trade limiting their ability to put together a competitive package for an impact player right now and the lack of notable prospects aside from Keegan Murray – who came in to the league as an older prospect – there aren't a ton of assets for Sacramento to toss around nor avenues to pursue unless they want to trade some distant (read: 2028 or further) 1sts.

All that being said…in the off-chance the Kings revert back to the bad decision-making that has defined them for over a decade and they are open to trading to get off of a multi-year contract for a consecutive season, it really depends on how you feel about Huerter or Barnes. No, not Scottie, the guy the Raptors lost their chance at drafting due to a coinflip.

Kevin has been awful ever since last year's playoffs but historically, he's been a good 3-point shooter and a mediocre defender. In terms both simple and complimentary to both players, he's a realistic outcome for Gradey Dick with worse passing/court vision.

With the Raptors already having Dick, however, adding Huerter makes for a redundant addition as far as their "buy-low" candidates are concerned, even if Kevin does bounce back, that would serve to take away time from Gradey and his development. Huerter as far as role and expectations go may be a realistic outcome for Gradey when he turns the same age as the 26 year-old Kevin, but Dick's skillset as a rookie includes notably better passing and off-ball movement that adds more to the offense than Huerter has been capable of.

If they rehab his value successfully then it becomes a much easier sell – both on the trade and on eventually trading him away – to take him on for part of the season but if a bounceback was guaranteed, he wouldn't be worth consideration for a Bruce Brown trade.

As an alternative, there's Harrison Barnes; Barnes is under contract for another year after 2024/25 and while he has shown serious signs of regression, him boasting a significant playoff experience as well as championship experience from his time with the Golden State Warriors would provide a valuable veteran presence on the team. Even in his career's twilight years, Harrison still manages to shoot the 3 well – he shot 38% on a little under 5 attempts per game for the Kings – so it wouldn't make for the worst placeholder roster spot while the Raptors figure out their future frontcourt.

As Sacramento has kept their pick due to losing in the play-in, a trade with them can go on of two ways. They can either have the higher pick be the main piece along with a reclamation project like Chris Duarte (Who is being paid a not insignificant $5.8 million) and one of the two mediocre contracts in Barnes or Huerter, or they can resolve the backup PG position with one of the many 2021 draftees up for an offseason extension in Davion Mitchell in addition to moving on up in the draft.

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Also known as D-Mitch 2.0, the younger of the two Mitchells with a D (No relation to Donovan, it's just a nickname) has not lived up to that moniker. An excellent on-ball defender whose offensive game has historically lagged far behind his defensive prowess, his finishing & outside shooting have been suspect since being drafted.

While Mitchell was shooting better overall post-All-Star break this season – he was averaging 41.6% from 3 and driving to the rim with far more efficiency – it is a relatively small sample size of games on a less than significant volume. For context, Davion only shot an average of 2.8 attempts per game over this 28 game stretch which is hardly convincing as far as turnaround is concerned. He's never been known as a 3-point shooter and his 3rd year in the league was an overall mixed bag but as a potential backup guard, he's a decent option despite his limited upside at the age of 25.

The main issue for Sacramento concerning Mitchell is that, like Moses Moody on the Warriors, Mitchell does need to be extended in the offseason to not risk losing him in restricted free agency and the Kings are increasingly close to hitting the luxury tax apron with a season before said extension kicks in.

They're two away from having to worry about paying Keegan Murray, with those extensions likely to occur in the following offseason. With Mitchell's sporadic performance in 2023/24 and a notable sophomore slump that preceded it, it's likely he'll be entering this offseason as a massive question mark for any team that adds him to their roster – or the Kings if he remains with them. More importantly, and this should go without saying, if the Kings have to choose between paying/keeping Keegan Murray and Davion Mitchell, they're choosing Keegan Murray so his time in Sacramento may be limited a la Quickley outperforming what the Knicks were willing to pay him.

Chris Duarte, on the other hand, has quietly been on a downwards spiral since achieving All-Rookie 2nd Team back in 2022. The 6'6 swingman had a decent outing with the Pacers, shooting a hot 36.9% from 3 and averaging 13 points before finding his role diminished, his sophomore slump mired by injury and inconsistent shooting, and his offseason seeing him traded to the Kings in the summer for a pair of seconds.

His time in Sacramento? Uneventful, to say the least. A career low across the board and with Chris being on the older side (He's just as old as Kevin Huerter at 26), it's not unreasonable to think that Duarte is at his peak even if he were given greater opportunity.

He's not a terrible player but despite being drafted as a high floor, low ceiling player, he has rarely made his presence off the bench known post-rookie season. Whatever else can be said about Davion, his defense is likely to get him a second contract, the question is for how much. With Chris, his future in the NBA is dubious at the moment and he's almost certainly entering the season without an extension.

As far as alternative draft capital is concerned i.e. "not their 2024 1st", the Kings do have a few interesting seconds, most notably the 45th pick in this draft and a 2025 2nd from the Blazers that's not protected but otherwise don't have a lot of options outside of the 13th pick in this year's draft. As mentioned before, their draft capital is locked up for the time being due to a trade with the Hawks and thus they don't have a lot of options to up the talent on the roster. The Kings do need to shake up their roster but it's an open question as to how they should do so with them likely out of any offseason star sweepstakes on the horizon and so few teams looking to sell.

Conclusion

Here's our TL;DR so far: