Sacramento's defense made significant strides this season, but considering where the bar after ranking 24th in efficiency during 2022-23, the club could sense the need to keep pushing things farther.

Having a mediocre defense is better than having a bad one, but it's not good enough to get this team into the league's top-tier, especially if the offense ranks closer to decent than dominant as it did this season.

That's all a long-winded way of saying the Kings could be in the market for a stopper, and few are stingier than Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso. He was an All-Defensive first-teamer in 2022-23 and has played his way into consideration for this season's honors, too. Better yet, he's not a one-way specialist, as he can fill a number of complementary roles—shooter, slasher, cutter, playmaker, transition attacker—on the offensive end.

Even better still, his contract ranks favorably among the best non-rookie deals in the Association. It's down to its last season, but he'll still spend the 2024-25 campaign as one of basketball's best bargains with a $9.9 million salary, per Spotrac. So, unless the Kings wanted some of his Bulls' teammates included in the deal, they wouldn't have to send out much money to make a sizable splash.