Grade the Trade: Mock deal sees Hornets send LaMelo Ball to Lakers in 3-teamer
By Jack Simone
Grade the Trade: Kings get Rui Hachimura in mock deal with Hornets, Lakers
Incoming: Rui Hachimura
Outgoing: Kevin Huerter, 2026 second-round pick (via SAC)
As noted, the Sacramento Kings would be involved in this trade as a facilitator to help the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers get a deal done. Most of the moving parts would be between those two teams.
That said, Kevin Huerter getting traded in the deal is an interesting tidbit. He had a relatively rough shooting year in Sacramento last year, but this deal still doesn’t seem ideal for the Kings.
Hurter shot 36.1% from beyond the arc last season on 5.3 attempts per game. That’s way down from what he shot during his first season in Sacramento the year prior—40.2% on 6.8 attempts per game.
However, it’s still not a terrible percentage, and the Kings could bank on the fact that Huerter has always been a solid shooter and hope for a bounce-back season next year.
Adding Rui Hachimura would give them a forward replacement to make up for the loss of Harrison Barnes in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade, but DeRozan already provides that replacement.
This trade would effectively be trading a wing for a forward, and at this point, the Kings shouldn’t be doing that. Their wing depth is a bit more important.
Hachimura is a fine defender, but he’s not a reliable three-point shooter and never has been. Losing Huerter and a pick for him doesn’t make much sense for the Kings.
Grade: D