Report: Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets Talking About Marcus Thornton Deal

Jan 31, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Sacramento Kings shooting guard Marcus Thornton (23) dribbles as Dallas Mavericks small forward Jae Crowder (9) defends during the game at American Airlines Center. Dallas won 107-103. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

According to a report, the Sacramento Kings are Brooklyn Nets are discussing a possible trade that would send guard Marcus Thornton to the Nets in exchange for a pair of veterans, guard Jason Terry and forward Reggie Evans.

Yahoo Sports Adrian Wojnarowski reported via Twitter about the deal:

This comes on the heels of a report Monday from Yahoo Sports Marc J. Spears (buried within his weekly power rankings column) that the Boston Celtics discussed a possible deal with the Kings involving Isaiah Thomas, Ben McLemore and a draft pick for former All-Star Rajon Rondo. According to Spears, the deal was nixed because Rondo had no interest in re-signing long-term with Sacramento.

It’s probably best for the Kings that Rondo balked; the Kings already traded away their top-five pick from the 2012 draft last trade deadline when they shipped Thomas Robinson to Houston. Sending out another top-10 lottery pick (McLemore went No. 7 overall) would not speak volumes to the existence of a real long-term plan in Sacramento.

Regarding a possible deal for Terry and Evans, Thornton has started 26 games for the Kings this season and is averaging 8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and an assist in 24.4 minutes per game while shooting 38.1 percent overall (a career low) and 31.8 percent from 3-point range (similarly, a career worst).

Thornton, 26, came to the Kings in a deadline deal in February 2011 from the then-New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Carl Landry. He was the 43rd overall pick by the Heat out of LSU in 2009 and is signed through 2014-15. Thornton is owed just less than $8.6 million next season and is on the books this season for $8.05 million.

Terry, 36, is a former Sixth Man of the Year, winning the award while with the Mavericks in 2008-09 and he was a member of Dallas’ NBA championship club in 2010-11. He’s been slowed by injuries in Brooklyn this season, averaging a career-low 16.3 minutes, 4.5 points, 1.6 assists and 1.1 rebounds per game in just 35 games. His 36.2 percent shooting overall is also the worst of his career, but he is hitting 37.9 percent from long range—right at his career mark. Terry was part of last summer’s blockbuster trade between the Nets and Celtics that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn. He is signed through 2014-15 and is on the books for a shade more than $5.6 million this season and is owed $5.85 million and change next season. He was the 10th overall pick by the Hawks out of Arizona in 1999.

Evans, 33, was the sixth-leading rebounder in the NBA for Brooklyn last season and led the league across the board in rebounding percentage (offensive, defensive and total), but his playing time dipped dramatically this year with the addition of Garnett. After averaging 24.6 minutes, 4.5 points and 11.1 rebounds a year ago, Evans is at 2.7 points and five rebounds in 13.3 minutes. Never an offensive threat, he tends to make Jason Thompson resemble Kevin Love by comparison. Evans was traded to the Nets for a draft pick by the Clippers in July 2012. He was originally an undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2002, signed by the Seattle SuperSonics. Evans would make the money work in the deal—he is on the books for a bit less than $1.7 million this year and is owed roughly $1.77 million next year. He has also logged time with Denver, Philadelphia and Toronto.

Getting Terry would, ostensibly, bring in some offensive punch in the backcourt off the bench, something that has been missing since Thomas moved into the starting lineup in December. But that would assume that (a) Terry will be better as a King than he’s been for Brooklyn and (b) McLemore will be more productive in another go-around as a starter. He was benched in favor of Thornton in early January.