NBA Trade Rumors: Kings’ Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter on the Block amid LaVine Buzz

“Sacramento remains active in exploring trade opportunities for Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, league sources told Yahoo Sports, with Huerter receiving a healthy amount of external interest.

“The Kings, at this juncture, are still considering trade possibilities for their No. 13 overall pick in Wednesday’s draft as well, sources said, with combo guard Malik Monk, a top Sixth Man of the Year candidate, agreeing to stay with Sacramento and his close friend, All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox.”

The Bulls and Kings both appear primed to make moves, and it’s easy to see why.

Chicago hasn’t experienced much success since the end of the Tom Thibodeau era in 2015, making the playoffs just twice and losing in the first round both times. The end of the Bulls’ last two seasons resulted in losses in the play-in tournament.

The Bulls have already made one shake-up, dealing guard Alex Caruso for guard Josh Giddey. But more work likely awaits, per Fischer, with an eye on often-rumored trade target LaVine in particular,.

“Chicago continues to project a willingness to shuffle its deck, exploring its options to move up in the draft, sources said, and engaging rival teams on LaVine trade scenarios,” Fischer wrote.

The Kings, unfortunately, find themselves in a Western Conference gauntlet where a 46-36 record was only good enough for ninth-place tie. They have a core four to work around in De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and the recently re-signed Malik Monk, but it appears core contributors in Barnes and Huerter are now available.

Ultimately, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Chicago and Sacramento make notable moves soon enough as they look to rise out of the middle of the NBA’s standings to greater heights.