Absurd Mock Trade Mapped Out if Kings Land #1 Pick

The Sacramento Kings acquire Brooklyn Nets' Mikal Bridges in a hypothetical trade scenario.

Mar 7, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges (1) walks off the court against the Detroit Pistons. / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA draft lottery is just days away, as the league finds out which franchise will land this year's number one overall pick. The Sacramento Kings have the 13th-best odds to move up to number one, with just a 0.8 percent chance of securing the top pick.

Although the Kings have a near-zero percent chance of getting the number one overall pick, it can be fun to fantasize about the bizarre possibility. The Kings will likely land the 13th pick, but what will happen if they defy the odds and jump the 12 teams ahead of them?

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report mapped out a mock trade for every lottery team if they land the top spot in the lottery, but Buckley's hypothetical deal for the Kings is a head-scratcher.

The trade proposal has the Kings sending Harrison Barnes, Keon Ellis, and three first-round picks, including the number one overall pick, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Mikal Bridges.

Even if the Kings stick at pick 13, dealing three first-round picks and two starters for Brooklyn's zero-time All-Star would certainly be a questionable move. Bridges is a great player, but he is not worth the first-overall pick by itself, nonetheless tacking on two extra picks, Barnes, and Ellis.

"if Sacramento strikes gold at the lottery, it would be better off flipping that pick (and more) for an immediate difference-maker," Buckley explains. "Bridges might not be a star, but he still fits that label with how well he'd fit this team. Give him a forward spot alongside Keegan Murray, and the Kings would have two defensively versatile, fire-balling wings alongside [De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis]."

A package centered around the number one overall pick should land a star like Los Angeles Clippers' Paul George, Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant, or Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell. Battling through a 0.8 percent chance of landing the first-overall pick to turn around and trade it for Mikal Bridges would be an all-time unserious move.

The 2024 draft class is regarded as one of the weaker classes in recent memory, but landing a stud with the first pick remains likely. While it makes sense for the Kings to trade the pick if they moved up into the top spot, they would be better off taking a chance on their next franchise cornerstone than moving it for a 27-year-old coming off a disappointing season.

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