NBA Rumors: Kings Were ‘Close’ to Alex Caruso Trade; Offered Bulls No. 13 Draft Pick

The Sacramento Kings were reportedly “close” to landing former Chicago Bulls shooting guard Alex Caruso in a trade before the Oklahoma City Thunder traded for him, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Sam Amick.

According to Slater and Amick, the Kings were willing to give up their No. 13 draft pick for the NBA All-Defensive second-teamer.

“The Kings already tried to use it for a significant roster upgrade,” Slater and Amick wrote of Sacramento’s draft pick. “They were close to a trade for defensive ace Alex Caruso last week, according to league sources, offering the No. 13 pick to Chicago as the key chip. The Bulls, to the surprise of many within the league, instead opted to send Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey.”

Rather than taking the draft capital, the Bulls traded Caruso the Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey.

Adding Caruso would have been a big pickup for the Kings, who seem to be on the brink of becoming a perennial playoff team. Sacramento had a solid offense in 2024 behind De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, but a middle-of-the-pack defense kept it from reaching the postseason. Per NBA.com, the Kings had a 114.4 defensive rating, which ranked 14th in the league. Caruso would have given the team a major defensive boost.

The Thunder already had one of the top defenses in the league with a defensive rating of 111.0, and adding one of the best defensive guards in the NBA will only help them improve as they compete for a title.

There’s still hope the Kings can add another piece or two this offseason, whether through the draft or a trade. Slater and Amick reported that Sacramento has hosted a handful of lottery-level players recently, National Player of the Year Zach Edey being one of them.

The 7’4″ star center for Purdue could help the Kings get the defensive help they are searching for, though he would need a bit of development to blossom into an elite rim defender.

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman projects Sacramento to take Indiana center Kel’el Ware with its first-round pick. Wasserman considers Ware to be the No. 20 prospect in this year’s draft class.

Ware averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks for the Hoosiers last season, displaying solid potential as a shooter with a 33.9 percent clip from deep.

The Kings still have some questions to answer this offseason—like whether they will keep or trade the No. 13 pick ahead of this week’s draft—but Sacramento can take a breath of relief after re-signing shooting guard Malik Monk last week.

Keeping Monk around was a top priority this offseason, and re-signing him early on gives the team a chance to work on other improvements this summer