The Sacramento Kings entered Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery with an outside chance at having an old trade blow up in their face more than it already has, but the unlikely scenario that would have haunted them did not play out. And let’s just say they were not exactly humble about it.
In 2015, the Kings made a move to create salary cap space to sign free agents by trading Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, Nik Stauskas and their 2019 first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers then traded the pick with top-one protection to the Boston Celtics two years ago to trade up to No. 1 for Markelle Fultz. Had Sacramento’s pick ended up at No. 1 this year, they would have had to send it to Philly. Instead, they landed at No. 14 and the Celtics got the pick.
The 2015 trade is already viewed as a bust for the Kings, as they failed to build a winning team around DeMarcus Cousins and ended up shipping him off, too. That didn’t stop their social media team from trolling the 76ers over not getting the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday.
Sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce your way, @sixers fans. Trade complete. pic.twitter.com/zINTpdhrIP
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) May 15, 2019
How did the Sixers respond? By reminding the Kings that the reason they weren’t eliminated from the playoffs on a Kawhi Leonard buzzer-beater is because they didn’t get there.
Playoffs are like that, you kn- oh… nvm.
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 15, 2019
In summary, the Kings had no chance at landing a first-round pick on Tuesday. However, it would have been a complete shot to the gut if they ended up at No. 1 and had to send the pick to Philly. That would have been yet another reminder of what a disaster their 2015 trade was.
For whatever reason, the Kings and 76ers have a history of trading shots on social media. Sacramento’s latest wasn’t a great look, however, as they were basically bragging about their trade being just bad rather than a potential franchise destroyer.
