Sacramento is considering reuniting the 29-year-old shooting guard with George Karl.
The Sacramento Kings announced the hiring of new head coach George Karl on Tuesday, and he may soon be joined by one of his former players. The Kings are targeting Denver Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo, according to CBS Sports' Ken Berger.
Berger reports the "Kings are deeply committed to making a roster upgrade at the deadline" and that Afflalo is among the teams top targets. In order to acquire Afflalo, though, the Kings would have to surrender "a significant asset," per Berger, who writes that "Nik Stauskas is the carrot the Kings are dangling in deals they're seeking to upgrade the roster for new coach George Karl."
Afflalo is averaging 14.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this season. He's shooting 43 percent from the field and 34 percent from behind the three-point line. The 29-year-old shooting guard has a $7.5 million player option for next season, which makes this rumor even stranger. Why the 18-34 Kings would be interested in trading last year's No. 8 pick for a player who might be gone in the offseason is beyond anyone's guess. But this is the Kings we're talking about, so anything is possible.
Why the Kings will trade for Afflalo
Because they're the Kings, and in Sacramento using logic is not always a priority. After all, this is the home of the the owner who suggested the team try playing defense with just four players. The Kings already angered Cousins earlier this season when they fired head coach Mike Malone. It's possible they think bringing in a quality shooting guard is a way to endear themselves to him.
Don't discount the Karl connection here. The 63-year-old Karl didn't take this job with the intention of overseeing a slow rebuild. You can be sure he wants to compete next season. If the plan is to try jump-start the rebuild, it would make sense to bring in quality players who are familiar with Karl's system.
Why the Kings won't trade for Afflalo
Because it's ridiculous. Any general manager of an 18-34 team who trades a first-round pick for a 29-year-old who is just months away from becoming a free agent should immediately lose their job. Sure, Stauskas has struggled this year, playing just 13 minutes per game and shooting a abysmal 26 percent on three-pointers despite being drafted mostly because of his shooting ability. But he's still a 21-year-old rookie learning the nuances of the NBA game. If he was good enough to take at No. 8 a few months ago, then he's too good to trade for Afflalo now.
The other part of this is Ben McLemore, the Kings' 2013 first-round pick. McLemore is currently starting at shooting guard for Sacramento. He's averaging 11.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and shooting 36 percent from deep. Afflalo would cut into both his minutes and growth. Right now the Kings would be better off letting Karl take the rest of the season to evaluate and work with the team's young players. Making this deal would go against that.
Likelihood (5/10)
That a rumor like this is out there means it shouldn't be discounted. This is the kind of thing no one could make up, meaning that someone on the Kings' side of things is clearly actually considering this. One would think eventually Sacramento will get a hold of itself. But with Vivek Ranadivé and the rest of that group, you just never know.