HIGHLIGHTS
- Keegan Murray is considered a foundational piece by Kings’ front office, but his trade value is being weighed against other options like Brandon Ingram and Jerami Grant.
- Kings face pressure to make a big move after missing the playoffs, with fans wanting a significant change.
- Murray’s sophomore season showed improvement, but his three-point percentage declined, and his potential All-Star status is still uncertain.
The Sacramento Kings have declared Keegan Murray unavailable in trade talks, reports Evan Sidery for Forbes Sports. The fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft showed marked improvement for his sophomore year and Sacramento’s front office still values the potential of the former Iowa Hawkeye.
Murray will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension in 2024. He could theoretically command a five-year deal. However, the question is whether he is worth that money or if the Kings could find more value with another win-now move.
After not moving forward at the deadline and missing the playoffs, the Kings have been speculated to require a move to put them back into playoff contention. Rumors have included a sign-and-trade for free-agent DeMar DeRozan , according to K.C. Johnson from NBC Sports Chicago. Other potential options could include power forwards Brandon Ingram from New Orleans or Jerami Grant from Portland.
Kings Under Pressure to Deal
Sacramento faithful feel a move is necessary
The mood around Sacramento suggests that Kings fans want to see a big move after finishing ninth in the West with a 46-36 record last year. Sacramento missed the playoffs after losing a play-in match-up against the New Orleans Pelicans , 105-98.
A disappointment after finishing third in the 2022-23 season. Matt Issa of A Royal Pain, a Kings blog for Fox Sports, conducted a Twitter poll asking Kings fans to vote for one of Ingram, Grant, Kyle Kuzma from Washington or Naz Reid from Minnesota, with Ingram winning the vote.
While it is unlikely that Reid leaves Minnesota, contract talks between the Pelicans and Ingram have stalled out, as reported Tyler Conway for Bleacher Report. The Pelicans have refused to extend Ingram the maximum available and the price of a trade is projected to be “steep.”
Jerami Grant, meanwhile, is entering the second year of a five-year, $160 million deal signed with the Portland Trail Blazers last year. While his number is due to go up, the expected hit as a percentage of the salary cap is projected to go down as the cap continues to rise.
Potential Kings’ Forwards | ||
---|---|---|
Player | 2024-25 Salary | Years Left* |
Brandon Ingram | $36,016,200 | 0 |
Jerami Grant | $29,793,104 | 3 |
Kyle Kuzma | $23,522,727 | 2 |
Keegan Murray | $8,809,560 | 1** |
*After 2024-25 Season **Club Option |
Of the mix, Kuzma provides the most value, with the cash value in the remaining years of his contract declining to $21.5 million in 2025-26 and then just $19.5 million in 2026-27. But that value might still not warrant trading away Murray. The Kings executed their club option to pay the small forward $8.9 million in 2024-25, with the deadline to execute his next club option for $11.1 million coming up in October.
Excluding Murray from the trade block will make any attempt by Sacramento to find a third star difficult. At just under $10 million per year, Murray’s average annual salary holds great aggregate value, and he could also substitute for an additional first round pick in any potential deal. Sacramento cannot trade picks until 2028, as they owe a protected pick in 2026 or ’27 to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the deal that brought Huerter to the Kings.
However, Sidery’s report shows how the Kings’ front office have not moved from a position reported in January, before the trade deadline. The deadline saw the Toronto Raptors make Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby available, two high-impact players that could have helped the Kings make a playoff push. According to Anthony Slater of the Athletic, general manager Monte McNair considered the forward a “foundational-piece” to a trio that includes De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis .
Can Murray Make a Leap to All-Star?
The former Hawkeye still has a lot to prove
The thought process came as a surprise after the Kings traded Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Sabonis. The trade deal moved up the timeline for the Kings, who had suffered a 16-year playoff drought, previously the league’s longest. If Sacramento declines to move Murray this offseason, it’s because McNair still believes the forward from Iowa can take another jump and help bring the Kings back to the playoffs.
Sacramento selected Murray from Iowa with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft and the Hawkeye’s first year in the California state capital was a hit. Murray became the all-time rookie leader in three-pointers, making 206 on the year, and won Rookie of the Month honors in December and January.
At the end of the year, he was named to the 2023 All-Rookie First Team as the Kings made the postseason. Sacramento would fall to the sixth-seeded in a hard-fought seven-game series.
Murray’s sophomore season saw some statistical improvement in 2023-24. He played 77 games for the Kings, starting in all of them, and averaged 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in his second year. However, his three-point percentage declined precipitously from 41.1 percent to 35.8 percent. While the numbers are encouraging that he will at least be a high-level starter, Sacramento will have to wait and see if their first-round pick makes the leap to All-Star level.