With Dario Saric out for the better part of a year and the Suns on a limited time frame with Paul (presuming he stays), the Suns need to upgrade their backup big spot. Marvin Bagley has shown the he can score in multi-faceted ways, similar to Saric, and that he’s a vastly superior rebounder to Saric. Plus, Bagley’s theoretically talented enough to give the Suns a guy who could spot-start or more, if the Suns can get him to play defense; he could play power forward when the Suns want to go big, and fill in at center when the Suns want to go small. Lastly, Bagley lives in Phoenix and talks about wanting to play for a contender, so the trade could keep his ego in check.

As for the Kings, they get a flyer on Jalen Smith— who didn’t play much this year but is theoretically a floor-spreading, shot-blocking center/forward who was talented enough to be a lottery pick last year. The Kings also get a late draft pick, and possibly a shot at Saric when he recovers. It’s not what the Kings might have hoped they’d get out of a Bagley trade, but it’s good value on what he’s showing and could pay off for both teams.