A surprising trade package could sway Sacramento. Is DeRozan, Carter, and picks enough to land Ja Morant?
The Sacramento Kings do not appear to be the right destination for 2-time All-Star Memphis Grizzlies point guard and polarizing trade candidate Ja Morant, but the rumors keep on coming.
Even after contributing horrid box score figures (for his standards) of 19.0 points, 7.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds on a 42.9% effective field goal percentage in 18 appearances for Memphis this season, Morant has been pursued by several franchises looking to make a big swing and take a chance on the evidently declining 26-year-old floor general.
Of course, the Kings have been looped in as one of Morant's potential trade destinations despite not showing any interest in the controversial play-maker to this juncture.
However, a recent intel drop from The Stein Line's Marc Stein offers a new, interesting perspective on what the Kings' front office and general manage Scott Perry is really thinking as the Feb. 5 trade deadline quickly approaches.
"The Kings, meanwhile, are generally painted as a team that does not intend to pursue Morant," Stein wrote Sunday.
"However," Stein continued.
"I must confess that some chatter to the contrary over the weekend has circulated suggesting that Sacramento's position could change if Memphis was prepared to accept a package headlined by DeMar DeRozan, Devin Carter and some level of draft capital."
In a new turn of events, the Kings might be open to a deal to land Morant if it were to involve 6-time All-Star scorer DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento's former No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Devin Carter and draft assets.
For a Kings team actively trying to stack as much draft capital as possible to hopefully launch yet another full-scale rebuild starting in the 2026 NBA Draft, it's unlikely that there's a world where the franchise gives up multiple first-round picks to land a player of Morant's caliber at this stage of his career.
Sacramento has plenty of valued, difference-making talents to sell off to contenders for a premium price, so halting that operation to also make a splash deal for Morant would be out of left field, to say the least.
The Kings' main focus will be to shop and eventually part ways with the Domantas Sabonis' and Zach LaVine's of the world, not doing any meaningful star-hunting or shopping themselves.
If anything, the one reason why a deal of this caliber could work is solely due to the fact that Morant's $197 million contract runs through the 2027-28 season, potentially giving the Kings a sense of security.
Still, it's hard to imagine either the Kings making a real, aggressive offer to the Grizzlies and the Grizzlies accepting such a deal to land a 36-year-old DeRozan and a prospect in Carter who hasn't shown much promise in 48 career games spanning his first two seasons.
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