The Sacramento Kings are reportedly looking for a trade partner that would be interested in getting Marvin Bagley III and Buddy Hield in a package deal, per the Sacramento Bee's Jason Anderson. The hope for the Kings is that a Hield-Bagley package would net them a good player in return, helping add to their core of De'Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton and Richaun Holmes.
Bagley has been mentioned as a trade candidate for a couple of years, as his time with Sacramento has been disappointing for both sides. Since being selected No. 2 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Bagley's struggled to stay healthy and has butted heads with former coach Luke Walton as well as the front office over their decision to not trade him this past summer. However, when he's fully healthy and engaged on offense, he's shown glimpses of what he what many expected to be as the No. 2 overall pick.
In his first three years in the league, he consistently averaged 14 points per game, while grabbing seven rebounds a night. But entering this season, the Kings informed Bagley that he wouldn't be in the rotation, as his playing time has dropped from 25 minutes a night in the first three years, to 19 minutes this season. But after registering several DNP-CD's at the start of the season, his minutes have increased, and in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 10 he put up 15 points and 10 rebounds in over 27 minutes of action. It's clear he could still be useful as a role player, he just needs a different environment.
However, Hield is the more tantalizing player in this trade package for the Kings, as his 3-point shooting can help several contending teams across the league. This past offseason there was a framework that would've sent Hield to the Lakers, but L.A. ultimately decided to use their assets to bring in Russell Westbrook. Although Hield's having a down year in terms of efficiency (38.2 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from deep), his shooting would be useful on teams who are struggling in that area, like the Lakers. There aren't any reported teams that would be interested in this trade, but there will surely be several suitors wanting to bring in the shooting talent of Hield and would take a flier on Bagley, who has some untapped potential.
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