The Phoenix Suns might not be having the season many expected after a fantastic 8-1 start, but spare a thought for the poor Sacramento Kings. Despite returning to the playoffs a couple of years back and having a promising core of young players with tons of upside, the train has come off the rails there, as it has so many times before in the past.
The rumors have begun to pick up that superstar guard De'Aaron Fox wants out, while the firing of head coach Mike Brown recently was nothing short of shocking. Further proof - not that any was needed - that a head coach like Mike Budenholzer should always be looking over his shoulder.
Now the Suns could pounce for a former player from the Kings' mess.
It is no secret that the Suns urgently need more depth at the center position. Jusuf Nurkic exceeded expectations last season - but as expected - he was exposed badly in the playoffs. A bigger center such as Rudy Gobert is too much for him to handle, while an offensively elite stretch five such as Karl-Anthony Towns is an even bigger problem for the Bosnian.
Talk of adding Nikola Vucevic is way wide of the mark - it literally cannot happen - and that's because the Suns are a second apron team. But if the Kings are going to blow it up - and it is looking as likely as ever right now - then the front office in Phoenix could do a lot worse than pick up the phone and enquire about Alex Len.
Alex Len with the starting absence of Domantas Sabonis. pic.twitter.com/Qu1ZwV2cmk
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) December 27, 2024
Before you click out of this piece, stick with us just a moment. Len was a disaster when selected fifth overall by the franchise a decade ago, and nobody was sorry to see him go. To his immense credit though, the 31-year-old has managed to stick around in the league, and at this point has spent as much time with the Kings as he did with the Suns.
He's obviously not a solution at the center spot - he's not even better than Nurkic in a lot of ways - but he represents a different look. Like a discount version of Jonas Valanciunas, Len could be the kind of player that could split the center duties with backup Mason Plumlee, with Oso Ighodaro getting spot minutes as well.
The Kings wouldn't take Nurkic back of course - even they couldn't talk themselves into that - but they wouldn't have to. Len is on a veteran minimum deal, which is the exact reason why the Suns should be interested in the first place. They can actually trade for him, and the likes of Bol Bol, Monte Morris or Damion Lee would get the job done as a straight up swap.
If Fox is going to leave Sacramento, then for half a season Morris can run your offense before you figure things out in the summer. If that doesn't take the Kings' fancy, then perhaps a rental of Lee could do the trick. Like Len his current deal expires in the offseason, and he's proven he can knock down a 3-pointer when called upon.
Or perhaps it is the great unknown that is Bol who could appeal the most. He was a fan favorite with the Orlando Magic when they were going nowhere, and he's loved in The Valley as well. If you're going to blow it up and go for high draft picks, then playing Bol to keep fans entertained while losing games sure sounds like a good way to go about it.
If the Kings were to enquire about adding a second round pick to the deal however, the Suns should hang up the phone. Len could do a job for them for 10 minutes a night, but he doesn't move the needle that much. The organization needs to cobble together a rotation if they're going to move away from Nurkic though, and the uncertainty in Sacramento is there to capitalize on for the Suns.