Hornets: Sacramento Kings players to target in NBA free agency

As a part of our ongoing series detailing which players the Charlotte Hornets should target in NBA free agency, our attention shifts to the Sacramento Kings. The Kings finished with a 30-52 record, which earned them a 12th-place finish in the Western Conference. Trading for Domantas Sabonis midway through the season, Sac-Town has their potential trio of the future in Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, and Davion Mitchell.

With a disgruntled Richaun Holmes on their roster for the upcoming season, the Kings are expected to be quite active in the 2022 offseason. The club has a team option on Trey Lyles valued at $2.56 million. They should probably pick this up. Lyles was a rotation player for Sacramento this season, and his team-friendly deal should tide them over for the time being.

On the restricted free agent side of things, the Kings have Neemias Queta (yes, that is a rostered NBA player) and Donte DiVincenzo. Queta will not grace the Hornets’ radar, and DiVincenzo will likely be too expensive of a talent for Charlotte to pursue. Although DiVincenzo would fit quite well in the Hornets’ system due to his shooting and elite defensive play, Charlotte’s backcourt is already top-loaded with talent in the starting lineup.

As for unrestricted free agents, the Kings could lose Damian Jones, Josh Jackson, and Jeremy Lamb in the open market. Jackson has underwhelmed in his four professional years so far. He should not be a priority for the Hornets this offseason.

On the other hand, Jones proved that he is a capable big in today’s NBA. With little offensive usage, Jones could provide defense and rebounding for a Hornets squad that is lacking in both of those aspects of the game.

Of these three, Lamb could be the most eye-catching for the Hornets. As an elite shooter and above-average playmaker, Lamb could slide into Charlotte’s rotation with relative ease.

Although none of the Kings’ free agents make a lot of sense for the Hornets to go after, they could make an offer for DiVincenzo. With little non-bird cap room to work with, it is unlikely that Charlotte could snag the young wing player, but it is always worth it to offer a contract to a restricted free agent just to see what happens.