Harris' shot has been off. He's never been a good three-point shooter, but he's just getting nothing at the rim this season: he's averaging 1.7 attempts within three feet. His career low going back to 2007 was 3.8. He's still converting the opportunities he gets in there well, but with three fewer close attempts compared to last season as a 55 percent conversion rate — that's 1.65 points per game left on the table. That's manifested in free throws, too: he's earning two fewer free throws per game, and as a career 80 percent shooter, that's another 1.6 points per game. So there are 3.2 points per game being left on the table due to less attacking the rim.

Unless …

It's a risk. You'd need to give up an asset to get Harris, and this team's tradeable assets (Thompson, Hickson) don't fit Utah's needs (guards, wings). It'd probably need to be a three-way deal to make the pieces work, and the Kings don't have a whole lot beyond Evans, Cousins and possibly Jimmer that other teams want.

But for a club no one likes in a non-glamour city, you need to draft or trade for talent. In trades, you almost always need to take damaged goods. Whether it's a player near free agency, one with a bloated contract, one playing poorly — there's always a downside. Given this club's history in free agency, this GM's inability to draw high-end talent in recent years and the fact that the team has to improve and spend over the next year … it's trades like this, if not this player acquisition specifically, that will need to be pursued.