Sacramento Kings: Nikola Vucevic should be priority No. 1 in free agency

The Sacramento Kings will have money to spend this summer and they should use a good chunk of it on current Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic.

The Sacramento Kings enter the 2019 offseason with more promise and optimism than they have in a very long time. Fresh off a surprising 39-win campaign, the Kings feel rejuvenated and revitalized as they will be looking to take the next step towards being a playoff team next season.

The team already has an exciting young core consisting of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Marvin Bagley, but to truly emerge as contenders they will need to add at least one marquee name to complete their starting five.

Fortunately, that opportunity could very well present itself in free agency this offseason.

Longtime Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic could be set to hit the open market and the Kings are reportedly very interested in him as a free agent target. However, this all hinges on whether or not Vucevic actually does become available.

Unfortunately, current betting odds seem to indicate that Vucevic could be staying in Orlando after all. Still, the Magic are in an interesting position where signing Vucevic could actually end up hurting them in the long run.

With such little cap space, signing him to a potential max deal would basically eliminate any other chances the team has of improving the roster in the offseason. But are the Magic really anything more than a first-round-and-out team even with him?

One thing’s for sure though if Vucevic becomes available, he should be the top priority for the Kings in the offseason.

While the Kings seem to be set with their backcourt and at the power forward position, the two main weaknesses for the team this past season were at small forward and center. Fortunately, Harrison Barnes was acquired at the deadline and he showed enough promise that the team will likely re-sign him to be the starting small forward next season — barring the signing of a big-name player like Tobias Harris.

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But the center position still remains a major weakness.

Former top draft pick Willie Cauley-Stein has just finished up his fourth season with the Kings but his output has been frustrating, to say the least. In theory, Cauley-Stein should be an ideal center for the Kings, but his inconsistencies have grown tiresome and it might just be time for the team to move on at this point.

And Vucevic could represent the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. The Kings could secure their offensive superstar while shoring up the center position at the same time.

The 28-year-old Vucevic had a breakout season this past year surpassing the illustrious 20-point per game mark for the first time in his career while also posting career highs in rebounds and assists.

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Vucevic has worked hard to develop his outside shot throughout his career and shot at an impressive 36.4% clip from three-point range this past season. On top of that, he is a superb rebounder as he posted an excellent 28.6% defensive rebounding percentage during the 2018-19 campaign.

While not his strength, Vucevic has also proven to be a solid, if not reliable defender especially down low under the rim. Even though handing out max contracts to centers is something that is somewhat frowned upon in the NBA, this is an instance where it would absolutely be worth it.

Vucevic would immediately step in and be the most accomplished offensive player on the Kings to go along with the already offensive-minded Fox, Hield, and Bagley. In short, the Kings offense would have the potential to be dominant in the 2019-20 season.