After parting with De'Aaron Fox, the Sacramento Kings were left chasing a new answer at point guard. They got Zach LaVine back in the Fox deal, but according to a report from Kings insider James Ham, Sacramento also had a shot to reroute LaVine for a far bigger name: Trae Young.
Ham said on a recent episode of the Locked On Kings podcast that the Kings passed on a LaVine-for-Young framework.
"The Kings, of course, have been offered Trae Young at one point in exchange for Zach LaVine. Zach LaVine to Atlanta and Trae Young to the Sacramento Kings," Ham said.
"The Kings said no to that deal, from what I know. Very specifically, according to a source of mine.
They said no because they knew that the second he got off the plane, he wanted an extension, and the Kings were not fully prepared to be in the long-term Trae Young business."
Ham didn’t pin down exactly when the offer surfaced, but it landed sometime between the 2025 offseason and the 2026 trade deadline. That window matters, especially considering Young’s path since then. At last season’s deadline, he wound up with the Washington Wizards in a deal for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, a move that also gives some perspective on how teams viewed his market.
For Sacramento, the choice looks strange at first glance. The Kings have made it clear they want out of the Zach LaVine situation, and LaVine only made that more complicated by opting into his $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season. Even so, turning down Young may have been the smarter play.
Young is the more proven ball-handler, but the price tag would have been enormous. After the move to Washington, he agreed to a four-year, $212.8 million contract. As Ham noted, Sacramento was not eager to lock itself into that kind of commitment, especially when compared with LaVine’s remaining $49 million.
The bigger picture makes the decision look even more deliberate. In the 2026 NBA Draft, after passing on Young, the Kings used the seventh pick on Darius Acuff Jr. That’s a different kind of bet: a 19-year-old offensive prospect instead of a 27-year-old star already established in the league.
There’s no guarantee Young would have lifted the Kings into a better spot anyway. Sacramento still might have been stuck in the same middle ground, only with less flexibility.
As things stand, the team at least has room to reset. LaVine’s contract runs out in 2027, Domantas Sabonis’s in 2028, and the rebuild is already underway.
The timing of the offer may be the real key. If it came in the 2025 offseason, Sacramento could have still believed it had a path to compete with Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan. But if it came at the 2025-26 trade deadline, during a 22-win season, the Kings were no longer in the mood to chase a star and try to force a short-term fix.
However tempting it may have been to finally solve the point guard problem, Sacramento said no. And based on how the situation has unfolded, that decision looks defensible.
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Kings Passed On A Major Guard Gamble For A Bigger Plan
The Kings have been sorting through the same broader question that hangs over every team trying to retool on the fly: stay with proven names or keep prioritizing flexibility for the next phase. Sacramento has already explored the possibility of moving former All-Stars Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis, a sign that the front office is at least willing to think big while rebuilding around younger pieces. Against that backdrop, the team also had a chance to make an even louder move at guard, only to turn it down.
Trae Youngs name has hovered in the conversation, but the reported hesitation centered on the price of a long-term extension and what that kind of commitment would mean for the roster the Kings are trying to shape. Instead, Sacramento added Darius Acuff Jr. in the draft, and the early Summer League showing has only added intrigue to a path that looks more patient than splashy. The bigger question now is whether the Kings are finally choosing a direction, or simply keeping every door open a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Linked To Proven Guard As Point Guard Depth Looms
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Kings Cap-Space Plan Could Finally Land A Frontcourt Upgrade
For the last two offseasons, Sacramento has been tied to restricted free agent Jalen Duren, a frontcourt name that keeps lingering around the Kings whenever talk turns to long-term roster upgrades. The bigger picture is starting to take shape after next season, when the Kings are expected to have meaningful salary cap space and a chance to go after more than one player at once, with Duren and Jonathan Kuminga both emerging as potential fits.
General manager Scott Perry also appears to be laying the groundwork early, building relationships that could matter when the team is ready to spend. Nothing is locked in yet, and the path to a major frontcourt addition still runs through future contract decisions, but Sacramento has clearly put itself in position to be aggressive if the timing lines up. [Read more 🡒]