Trade activity could heat up around the 15th as free agents signed this summer can then be traded.
Sacramento's new front office has vowed to be both aggressive and opportunistic in looking for ways to improve the team. We saw that a week and a half ago when the Kings traded for Derrick Williams.
Trade rumors involving Sacramento could heat up again on or around December 15th. Why is December 15th so important? It's the date that teams can begin to involve players they signed in free agency in trade discussions. This doesn't mean that the Kings would be targeting such a player, but instead that it gives teams way more options in how they can shape deals.
The Kings don't have a ton of super attractive trade assets. The players with the greatest value, DeMarcus Cousins and Ben McLemore, likely aren't being moved short of a blockbuster deal. The next best assets for the Kings are their Point Guards: Isaiah Thomas, Greivis Vasquez and Ray McCallum. We cannot trade future first round picks because of the Casspi-Hickson trade and even if we could I'm not sure we'd want to.
The Kings would probably love to get out of the big deals of Jason Thompson, Marcus Thornton and Chuck Hayes. The trick is of course, finding another team that would be willing to take on such a deal. Usually that means bundling up a more attractive asset to go with such a player or taking on an even worse contract in return.
I expect several more moves to be made by this front office leading up to the trade deadline. So keep an eye on December 15th, because from then until the trade deadline, we'll be hearing Sacramento's name in a lot of rumors. Just remember that we have to give something to get something.