In the NBA, players getting traded from one team to another is a common occurrence. We often see players get moved suddenly and without any warning by their teams.
There was once an instance where the Dallas Mavericks traded forward Harrison Barnes to the Sacramento Kings in the middle of a game. There was a photo taken of Barnes’ reaction to the announcement, and it is clear that he was unhappy that the trade happened this way.
Harrison Barnes has had a productive few seasons with the Sacramento Kings, fitting in as a two-way wing player that guards multiple positions while also providing supplementary scoring. Barnes was notably very efficient during the 2021-22 season, averaging 16.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.4 APG while shooting 46.9% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc.
The Sacramento Kings should be a much more competitive team next year, and they have notably been active in the trade market over the last year. They acquired All-Star Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers at the 2022 trade deadline and acquired Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk during the offseason. It is clear that they are making win-now moves to try and break their playoff drought.
Obviously, people believe that the right way to rebuild and make the playoffs is by tanking for elite prospects. However, that method has not worked for the Sacramento Kings in recent memory, as a lot of their draft picks have not panned out.
Despite that, it is clear that they have a good core, and they can definitely be a good team by building around De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Hopefully, we see them break their playoff drought sooner rather than later, and it’ll be interesting to see how well they do next year.
