The Sacramento Kings have made their first trade of the 2026-27 regular season, and it is certainly not what anybody would've expected. With trade rumors circulating about the team's veterans, the Kings are actually parting ways with one of their recent first-round picks.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Kings are sending 24-year-old guard Nique Clifford to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for two second-round picks, giving up their 2025 first-round pick after just one year.

"The Sacramento Kings are trading Nique Clifford to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two second-round picks, sources tell ESPN," Charania broke on Sunday.

Why the Kings traded Clifford

Obviously, heading into the season, nobody would've expected Clifford to be a trade candidate. He had a solid rookie season, averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, and only got better as the year progressed. However, as a sophomore, he has completely fallen out of Sacramento's rotation.

Through Sacramento's first nine games, Clifford has averaged just 6.3 minutes, with most of his opportunities coming in garbage time, and has even logged one DNP-CD.

If I had been told Clifford would be traded a few weeks ago, I would not have believed it. But now, after Doug Christie seemingly abandoned the sophomore guard, I understand he is no longer part of the team's plans. Getting a pair of second-round picks from the Thunder is still valuable, but it is not a great look for the Kings.

A quick turnaround

This is actually a full-circle moment for Clifford, as the Kings traded up to draft him 24th overall in 2025 by acquiring the Oklahoma City Thunder's pick. In exchange, the Kings sent Oklahoma City a protected San Antonio Spurs 2027 first-round pick, so in just over a year, all they did was swap a protected first-rounder for two seconds.

Drafting Clifford was Scott Perry's first move as the Kings' general manager, so giving up on him so early is far from ideal. Still, that does not mean this should be counted as a total loss.

It would've been hard for Clifford to carve out a role on this Kings team, especially given his unique skill set, which is a bit harder to integrate, so they opted for draft capital instead. We obviously would've loved to have seen Clifford's time in Sacramento pan out better, but with a logjammed backcourt, it was not in the cards.

Fans will be upset with this move because the franchise is moving on from Clifford before Zach LaVine or Malik Monk. Obviously, I understand the frustration, especially considering that this has become a common trend for the Kings, but we can hope it works out better this time around.

Trade Grade: C-

This is obviously a far from ideal move for the Kings. Trading into the first round of last year's draft to select Clifford, only to turn around and send him away a year later, is not a good situation for Sacramento. It is even worse, considering it feels like he never got a fair chance to prove himself this season after a strong rookie year.

While we wish the best for Clifford in Oklahoma City, we also hope this does not turn into another situation where the Kings regret giving up on him too soon. Fans will likely underestimate the value of acquiring a pair of second-round picks, but it is still easy to understand why there will be some frustration over this trade.