NBA Rumors: 1 Unlikely move or player every team should be thankful for this season

Portland Trail Blazers

Thankful for: Milwaukee's 2029 first-round pick, pick swaps

It's been an extremely tough season for the Portland Trail Blazers, and I'm not even talking about wins and losses. In many ways, it's been a difficult season for the Bucks because they haven't shown much promise for the future. With a ton of stock invested into the future of its young core, it's continued to struggle this year. Scoot Henderson nor Shaedon Sharpe have made the jump to stardom that the team hoped they would be able to make by this year. It's hard to consider this team in a good place without a foundational core in place.

But if there's one asset the Blazers should be thankful for, it's having Milwaukee's 2029 first-round pick and multiple pick swaps with them in 2028 and 2030. With the way things are trending for the Bucks, those picks could end up being extremely valuable. And if nothing else, the Blazers could hang on to those assets as paying dividends for the moves they made right after the Damian Lillard trade two offseasons ago.

Sacramento Kings

Thankful for: De'Aaron Fox's greatness

As the Sacramento Kings continue to fight through the deep Western Conference, this is a team that should be thankful for the continued greatness of De'Aaron Fox. He truly had his coming out party as a star in this league about four years ago but the argument could be made that he's currently in the midst of his best season to date. Fox is on pace to have the best season of his young career and continues to get better as a guard. Even though the Kings continue to be hit or miss this season, Fox is one player they can constantly lean on every night.

In an ideal world, Fox is going to use this big season to cement the huge extension that he's going to be eligible for next offseason. Whether the Kings want to admit it or not, both sides need each other equally. Fox needs the Kings to get his money and the Kings need Fox because without him, they'd be lost in a sea of mediocrity. The results could be better for the Kings but that should come as the team continues to perform at a high level.