- Editor's note: Watch "Kings Central" with Monte McNair on Wednesday, March 23 at approximately 7 p.m. after "Kings Postgame Live."
When it comes to adding talent, the Kings do so with both the present and future in mind.
Sacramento sent shockwaves across the NBA last month with a trade which dealt Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Indiana Pacers for Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a 2023 second-round draft pick.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Just two days after that six-player trade, the Kings sent Marvin Bagley to the Detroit Pistons in a four-team trade which saw the team receive Donte DiVincenzo from the Bucks along with Trey Lyles and Josh Jackson from the Pistons.
From blockbuster trades to draft picks, Kings general manager Monte McNair explained the front office’s philosophy for the future to NBC Sports California’s Kyle Draper on the latest “Kings Central.”
The Sabonis acquisition marked the first major deal of McNair’s tenure as GM, and now he’s tasked with building a winning roster around the Kings’ new star.
“I would say almost every move we make is with a long-term horizon, right? We obviously want to win now, but we want to win next year and the year after, and on into the future,” McNair said. “So it’s not just about adding talent now. It’s about adding talent that can help us in the future and doing it in a way that we can continue to add to the team.”
NBA
Since arriving in Sacramento last month, Sabonis is averaging 18.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game in 15 games. Holiday and Lamb have contributed with averages of 9.3 and 8.4 points, respectively, across 16 contests. Lyles helped the Kings bounce back from a four-game losing streak, and Davion Mitchell, who Sacramento selected ninth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, is one of the NBA’s rising stars.
RELATED: Sabonis' bruised knee to be re-evaluated after road trip
McNair hopes that trades and picks like these can eventually catapult the Kings back into the playoffs for the first time in 16 years.
“...As we’ve, I think, consistently said, we want to get to the playoffs, and the sooner the better. But we want to be able to stay there and grow and continue to compete in the playoffs,” McNair said. “So to do that, you know, we don’t just need talent, right? We need the flexibility to continue to add guys. We have all our draft picks, going forward, for example, that can help us, whether we draft those or trade those to surround De’Aaron [Fox] and Domantas [Sabonis] and the rest of these guys with more talent.”
The Kings have one first-round and two second-round picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, where they’ll look to continue the organization’s long-term approach to success. While the goal of Sabonis’ arrival is to help the Kings win right now, McNair knows the 25-year-old, two-time All-Star will contribute to future Kings’ wins in seasons to come.