With Kings' Unprotected 2019 Pick, Sixers' Future Assets the Envy of the NBA

It's difficult to understate how sweet the Sixers smell after the Kings' trade of DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans.

Yes, it removed another suitor from Jahlil Okafor trade talks, but that's not nearly as important as how much the Sacramento-New Orleans trade benefitted the Sixers moving forward.

And while many Sixers fans are rightfully jumping for joy today about the pick swap the Sixers have with the Kings in the 2017 draft, let's not forget about the 2019 pick.

Because no matter what happens with pick swaps, the Sixers own the Kings' unprotected 2019 first-round pick, which could legitimately be first overall given Sacramento's direction.

That 2019 pick now has immense value for several reasons:

Stripped-down Kings roster
Without Cousins, the Kings are right now probably one of the three worst teams in the NBA.

Their core is Darren Collison, Buddy Hield, Arron Afflalo, Garrett Temple, Kosta Koufos, Willie Cauley-Stein, Tyreke Evans, Ben McLemore, Anthony Tolliver. This team has 25 games left. How many can it win? Five?

Collison is their best remaining player, and he's a free agent after the season. This is going to be an incredibly challenging rebuild for the Kings, unless Hield and Cauley-Stein turn into stars.

Who is signing in Sac'to?
Sacramento is one of the league's smallest markets, and there has been front office discord there for years, along with a coaching carousel. Aside from Brooklyn, you can't find a worse free-agent destination. You can't find a tougher sell. 

Divac repeatedly said he'd never trade Cousins. Then he traded him. You tell me if agents and star players are going to trust the Kings enough to sign there without a no-trade clause.

And really, why would a free agent even want to sign there? The Kings have a bad core, a bad environment and a bad draft pick situation moving forward. There is little upside.

Sure, Sacramento will be able to lure mid-tier free agents like the Lakers did with Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. But that isn't going to make them substantially better.

Sixers' remarkable collection of picks
The result of all this is the Sixers' future becomes even brighter. Basketball fans routinely look at the Celtics as having the best assets moving forward because of their pick swaps with cellar-dwelling Brooklyn. But the Sixers' assets now are arguably better because, in addition to the pick swaps, they have the unprotected Sacramento pick.

And they have the Lakers' pick, which becomes fully unprotected next year if it doesn't convey this year.

And they have their own picks in 2018 and 2019.

And they have the Thunder's 2020 pick. 

And they have Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Dario Saric.

Today's a good day in Sixers land.

Here's a round-up of their future draft picks:

2017
• Pick swap with Kings

• Lakers pick (top-3 protected; becomes unprotected in 2018 if it doesn't convey)

• Two second-round picks

2018
• Their own first-round pick

• The Lakers' unprotected first-round pick (if L.A. gets the first, second or third pick in the 2017 draft)

• Second-round pick from Cleveland or Brooklyn (whichever is higher)

• Second-round pick from Clippers or Knicks (whichever is higher)

2019
• Unprotected first-round pick from Kings

• Their own first-round pick

• Second-round pick from Knicks

• Second-round pick from Bucks or Kings (whichever is higher)

2020
• Their own first-round pick

• Thunder's first-round pick (top-20 protected in 2020, 2021 and 2022)

• Second-round pick from Nets

• Second-round pick from Knicks

Woah.

If the Sixers want to build methodically, they can. And if they want to eventually swing a trade for a superstar like Jimmy Butler or Paul George, they have the assets for that, too.