Though the Sacramento Kings haven’t shown much willingness to trade Keegan Murray, he’s the exact type of player the Golden State Warriors should be looking to steal away from them. It’s been a disastrous season in Sacramento, to the point where the Kings should consider any trade that comes their way, including ones for Murray.
The Warriors have something the Kings want: Jonathan Kuminga. They’ve been interested in bringing Kuminga on board since the summer. Again, they don’t want to trade Murray. That’s been made clear. But at a certain point, they shouldn’t be shutting down any trades.
And with how rough their season has gone, that point might be now.
Warriors should try to trade for Keegan Murray
Murray is only 25 years old, but he’s already one of the best 3-and-D forwards in the NBA. Unfortunately, it seems as though his ceiling is a high-level role player.
That’s a great ceiling to have. He’s going to carve out a long, successful, high-paying career in the NBA with the skill sets that he possesses. But the Kings aren’t the place for him. At least, not right now.
Murray would be best-suited on a team that’s built for playoff contention. He would slot in beautifully as a third or fourth scoring option, much like Cam Johnson.
In Sacramento, the top players aren’t good enough to compete, and the roster isn’t complete enough to take advantage of what Murray has to offer as a role player.
With the Warriors, he would get to play alongside Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and others. It would be a much better situation.
Murray has struggled shooting the ball this season. But Golden State should bank on the way Murray has played throughout the course of his career, not this season. With the right spacing around him, Murray’s shooting and defense would be very valuable.
Shipping out Kuminga (and perhaps some draft capital) for Murray would be a huge win for the Warriors. And if there were any time to pounce on a deal, it would be now, as the Kings should be selling, and Murray hasn’t shot the ball well this season.
As noted, the Kings have stated that they want to keep Murray in Sacramento. They don’t really have any interest in trading him right now.
But that doesn’t mean the Warriors shouldn’t try. They should push their cards onto the table, offer Kuminga (and picks), and try to steal him away from Sacramento.
It would help them win right now, but also give them an awesome future piece.