Four Point Guard Candidates for the Sacramento Kings

Let the offseason predictions begin. As the dust settles around the Sacramento Kings' play-in loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the firing of Monte McNair and hiring of Scott Perry, and the bundle of player exit interviews filled with questions around futures in Sacramento, we look to what the Kings can do next to make a quick return to the playoffs.

One of the biggest needs for the offseason is a point guard, which Domantas Sabonis said openly in his exit interview. Since we don't have playoff basketball to talk about, let the speculation for future Kings moves commence with four point guard options via trade or free agency that they could look at if they are hoping to contend next season.

LaMelo Ball - Trade (Contract: 4 Years, $169 Mil)

2024-25 Season Stats: 25.2 PTS, 7.4 AST, 4.9 REB, 1.1 STL, 0.3 BLK, 40.5 FG%, 33.9 3P%

Starting off with a splash, LaMelo Ball is one of the biggest, and therefore most unlikely, trade candidates for the Kings offseason. But for a team that lacks a franchise point guard, trading for Ball would (theoretically) fill that need for years to come.

Just 23 years-old, Ball would help flip the Kings average age back to the younger side. The main talking point though with the talented young All-Star is his injury history. In the last three season, he's only played 47 (2024-25), 22 (2023-24), and 36 (2022-23) games.

But it's hard to argue that Ball is one of electric players in the league. With unmatched confidence and flair, he would bring confidence and excitement back to a team that felt still and overly methodical through stretches of last season.

Ball would also fill the request that potential coach Doug Christie asked for during his time as interim coach. Christie repeatedly asked for more three-point attempts from his team, but Sacramento consistently struggled to get up a high-volume of attempts. Ball was tied with Stephen Curry for most 3PAs per game with 11.2 per contest.

The defense would be a question mark, but having both Ball and Malik Monk on the roster would give the Kings one of the most electric guard duos in the league.

Trae Young - Trade (Contract: 1+1 Years (PO), $94.9 Mil)

2024-25 Season Stats: 24.2 PTS, 11.6 AST, 3.1 REB, 1.2 STL, 0.2 BLK, 41.1 FG%, 34.0 3P%

Much like LaMelo Ball, Trae Young would be a splashy, all-in move that seems unlikely, but would certainly rebalance the roster with the money involved alone. Young is set to make just under $46 million next year, meaning the Kings would need to send out more money to match the huge contract.

Young is one of the more polarizing players in the league, but he just led the league with 11.6 assists per game. He's one of if not the best table setters in the league, and would also bring three-point shooting well that would help raise the Kings three-point attempts.

Again, the defense is a question mark, which would likely result in the Kings filling in the lineup around Young and LaVine with defensive minded players in the same ilk as Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray.

Russell Westbrook - Player Option ($3.5 Mil)

2024-25 Season Stats: 13.3 PTS, 6.1 AST, 4.9 REB, 1.4 STL, 0.5 BLK, 44.9 FG%, 32.3 3P%

Unlike Ball and Young, Russell Westbrook could serve as more of a stop-gap at point guard that would allow the Kings to compete without committing a large sum of money. Westbrook has a player option for $3.5 million next year that is up in the air, but either way, he likely won't reach anywhere near the $35 and $46 million that the previous options are making.

Westbrook is no longer the MVP talent, but he continues to be productive when on the court. The main knock of the nine-time All-Star is his three-point shooting, but his 32.3% this season was his highest mark since his 34.3% in his 2016-17 MVP season.

Westbrook also would serve as an interesting option who could either start or come off the bench. With Keon Ellis and Malik Monk both having strong cases to be in the starting lineup, having true point guard come off the bench could allow the Kings to start both Ellis and Monk.

Chris Paul - Free Agent

2024-25 Season Stats: 8.8 PTS, 7.4 AST, 3.6 REB, 1.3 STL, 0.3 BLK, 42.7 FG%, 37.7 3P%

Just like Westbrook, Chris Paul would be a (very) temporary option that could be done for minimal amounts of money in NBA terms. Paul made $10.4 million last year with the Spurs, and would likely make around the same amount on a new deal.

Ball and Young would both be high-usage, high-volume additions and Westbrook would to a lesser extent, but Paul could fit in as a lower-usage role with LaVine and others taking more shots.

At this point, it's still unknown if Paul will return for what would be his age-40 season. He has a history of elevating franchises upon his arrival though, and helping the Kings make a deep playoff run would be one of the most improbable accomplishments of the NBA.