The Sacramento Kings Are Dedicated To Dignified Losing

Tucked in the smallest corners of the NBA trade deadline or, as it has come to be known, Giannis Interruptus, there are the Sacramento Kings, quietly making a deadline of their own. And when we say quietly, what we mean is they're not being as brazen in their quest for glory through failure as, say, the Utah Jazz. To wit:

Nobody expects the Jazz to be subtle in their pursuit of Darryn Peterson, the putative top pick in the upcoming draft, but they could save the airfare and just forfeit the season from here and affect nothing of consequence. Peterson, the Kansas shooting guard elegantly described by the website NBA Draft Room as "Kobe with less bounce," is the almost undisputed top prize, and there are teams like Indiana—who lose their pick to the Clippers if it falls outside the top three spots—who are equally motivated to not-quite win every game from here on out. The Wizards also are trying to create magic through the mundane, trading for their own degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon link to the disastrous Luka Doncic trade, the often incorporeal Anthony Davis, all while Brooklyn and New Orleans are their own well-tended messes.