The pressure is on for the 12th-place Kings as they hope to turn their 2024-25 NBA season around before it's too late.
A roster upgrade feels necessary at this point of the season, with general manager Monte McNair and Co. specifically eyeing a boost at the backup center and/or the wing spots, The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater reported, citing team sources.
Six players in particular are on Sacramento's radar, Amick and Slater added, citing league sources.
Those players include Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, Utah Jazz forward John Collins, and a pair of Washington Wizards teammates, center Jonas Valančiūnas and forward Kyle Kuzma.
Additionally, Brooklyn Nets forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith are drawing interest, although Finney-Smith's interest is to "a lesser degree," per Amick and Slater.
Sacramento adding a big-name player such as Zach LaVine or Brandon Ingram, who have been tied to rumors with the Kings and other teams, is "very unlikely," per Amick and Slater, but McNair still could explore any and all possibilities.
With De'Aaron Fox's future in Sacramento becoming more and more uncertain, per Amick and Slater, if Fox and the Kings do part ways, it would make the most sense for it to be via trade to avoid him leaving in free agency for nothing in return.
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Fox hasn't requested a trade, but teams already are preparing themselves to be in a position to acquire him, such as the San Antonio Spurs, Amick and Slater reported, citing league sources.
For now, though, the Kings are focused on the present, and it's only a matter of time until major change occurs.
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