Kings shopping lottery pick in trade talks?

Dec 7, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; A view of the Sacramento Kings logo and basketball before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Kings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings are reportedly looking to make significant moves prior to the NBA Draft, and are offering up a lottery pick as trade bait.

The Kings are shopping the No. 13 pick in the NBA Draft, according to Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic. The team is looking for immediate help to boost what they see as a playoff team, and would even be willing to offer up extra picks for the right player.

The report states that the Kings were close to a deal that would have sent the pick to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Alex Caruso, but the Bulls chose to do a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder instead.

The Kings are coming off a 46-36 season, but that was only good enough to get them into the Play-In Tournament, which they lost. That is part of the reason for the aggression, as the team wants to maximize the peak years of Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. That is also why they moved quickly to keep one key player in the fold for years to come.