Getty Harrison Barnes
The Sacramento Kings had been attached to rumors relating to a few different names ahead of the NBA trade deadline. One that seemed to continuously pop up though, was Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes. And on Wednesday night, the Kings were able to get a deal done that will bring Barnes to Sacramento and help bolster their chances at making the postseason.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, the Kings sent Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph to the Mavericks in exchange for Barnes. Beyond that, the team also is looking to make a push to keep Barnes for the foreseeable future.
The deal will move Barnes’ contract off the books for the Mavericks and allow them to add an expiring deal in Randolph as well as an inexpensive one with Jackson. In turn, the Kings get another playmaker to add to their up-and-coming core which is looking more and more like a legitimate playoff team.
Kings Roster & Starting Lineup After Harrison Barnes Trade
*Notates expected starter
C: Willie Cauley-Stein*, Harry Giles, Kosta Koufos
PF: Nemanja Bjelica*, Marvin Bagley
SF: Harrison Barnes*, Ben McLemore, Troy Williams
SG: Buddy Hield*, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Yogi Ferrell
PG: De’Aaron Fox*, Frank Mason
This trade marks the second of the night for the Kings, as they were also part of a three-team deal with the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. In that trade, Sacramento acquired Alec Burks from the Cavaliers while sending Iman Shumpert to the Rockets. Houston also added guards Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin while Cleveland picked up Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss and a 2019 lottery protected first-round pick, per Wojnarowski and ESPN.
There’s no question the Kings put themselves in a good spot moving forward with their new-look lineup as they have a solid core of starters who can put the ball in the hoop and strong bench play. With the emergence of Marvin Bagley and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings are only going to continue to get better from here.
Kings’ Current Outlook
Sacramento finds themselves in an interesting spot, as they’re just one game back of the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. While they have plenty of competition for that playoff spot, the teams from No. 4 to 10 are all fairly close in the standings currently.
The Portland Trail Blazers (32-21) hold the No. 4 seed at the moment, while the Kings are 28-25 and 5.5 games behind. The entire middle group of the conference will likely be in for an interesting homestretch to finish out the year after the All-Star break. For now, it’ll be about the Kings getting their new pieces acclimated and continuing to trend in the right direction.
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