The Denver Nuggets pulled off a coup of a trade this summer, even if it lacks the star power of a true blockbuster. Not only did they land the ideal player in Jonas Valanciunas to back up Nikola Jokic, but the Sacramento Kings look increasingly insane for their part in the trade.
The narrative around the Nuggets trading for Lithuanian veteran center Jonas Valanciunas this summer centered on the unexpected drama between Valanciunas and a Denver front office in transition. The 14-year veteran was strongly considering a return to Europe this summer, and Denver had to fight to convince him to stay and play for the franchise this year -- a fight aided by the leverage they held over him by owning his contract.
From the Denver side, the trade has been a slam dunk. Valanciunas is playing a modest 12.5 minutes per game as purely a backup center to Jokic, and he is scoring efficiently and prodigiously during his time on the court. He is averaging 23.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per 36 minutes, both above his career averages.
His presence on the team is also allowing head coach David Adelman to keep the minutes low for Jokic; through Friday's games, he is playing just 34.9 minutes per game, almost two fewer than last season. Denver is still significantly better with Jokic in the game, but the split is not as drastic as in past seasons; the Nuggets outscore opponents by 13.9 points per 100 possessions with Jokic on the court without Valanciunas, and are -0.6 when Valanciunas is on the court without Jokic, a very livable number.
Yet the trade goes from successful to an grand larceny when you consider the Sacramento side of things. That the Kings made the trade in the first place appears to be sheer lunacy -- it was bad at the time, and with every passing day their reasoning gets worse and worse. It's truly a disaster at this point and going downhill.
The Kings are a disaster
The trade itself was simple: Jonas Valanciunas and his $10.4 million salary for Dario Saric and his $5.4 million salary. Saric was a disaster for the Nuggets last season, while Valanciunas remained a solid center -- somewhere in the 30-40 range, so a very low-end starter or high-end backup. This deal wasn't about swapping one quality player for another; it was about the Kings saving money.
Why did they need to save money? Because they had a team with a gaping hole at point guard, and they decided that the best way to address that need was to sign Dennis Schroder. The going rate for Schroder was $44 million over three seasons, which came to $14.1 million to start. The Kings couldn't offer that salary and stay under the luxury tax if they kept Valanciunas on the books.
There were two problems with their thought process. First, Schroder has been terrible. The fact that the Kings needed a starting point guard is incredibly depressing given that they had De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton both on the team just a few seasons ago. Yet if Schroder was supposed to be the answer, he has fallen flat on his face.
The veteran point guard is averaging 12.4 points per game, a fine number, but needing 11.5 shots per game to get there. He is shooting only 39.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, and defensively he has been below average on a team lacking many above-average defenders. He has already been moved to the bench in favor of Russell Westbrook, who signed to a minimum contract just before the season because he couldn't secure a roster spot earlier in the offseason.
Not only have they proven they didn't need to carve out the space for Schroder specifically, but they desperately need help at center. They traded away Valanciunas and didn't find a replacement; with starting center Domantas Sabonis now hurt, they have no one to turn to. The likes of Precious Achiuwa and Drew Eubanks are starting games.
What is more, the Kings are not the kind of team that should have been pressing for that "one move" that would propel them into the playoffs. They have been terrible this season, 5-15 after losing to the Utah Jazz on Friday night in their NBA Cup finale. It's a start everyone on the outside could see coming, but which the Kings appear to be shocked by.
The Kings are the biggest joke in the league as an NBA franchise, and other teams should continue to take full advantage of them in every way that they can. The Nuggets did that this summer, and their trade continues to look like a home run for Denver -- and an ongoing wound for the helpless Sacramento Kings.