Whispers of Sacramento Kings' considering trading picks No. 5 and 10 to Sixers for No. 3 getting louder

We've heard this countless times before, but league sources keep saying the Sacramento Kings are seriously considering packaging picks No. 5 and 10 in a trade for the 76ers' No. 3 in the June 22 draft.?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /

This reported package had been previously denied. However, it keeps resurfacing.

One league source said Tuesday that former Kentucky point guard De'Aaron Fox and former Kansas small forward Josh Jackson were mentioned as targets for the Kings. There's a chance that both of them could be selected in the top four picks.  That's why the source said the team is still considering packaging the picks. Another league source said Fox wouldn't slip past the Kings at five if they remained there. Time will tell about that and how serious the Kings are about making a trade.

What we do know is that an undisclosed NBA team had representatives in Fox's hometown of Houston asking questions about him. The team wanted to get as much background on him before deciding whether to trade up to get him.  Was that squad the Kings?

One could argue that trading up to three to ensure getting Fox makes sense for the Kings.

Former Washington point guard Markelle Fultz is expected to go first to the Boston Celtics. Even though they've been noncommittal, the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to take Lonzo Ball with the second pick.  If they decide not to, the Lakers would most likely pick Jackson or Fox.

In that scenario, the Kings would be in position to select Fox or Jackson at three.

However, some in the league think the Kings would be better off remaining at five and 10. That's because they need plenty of help. As a result, one would expect them to decide to not try to make the move in the end. 

But the deal would be great for the Sixers only if one of the players they've identified as a serious target will be available at five.  That way, they would get their guy in addition to second first-rounder.

The crazy thing about this potential trade is that the Kings gave the Sixers the third pick. The Sixers received the rights to swap picks with the Kings in a 2015 trade that former general manager Sam Hinkie engineered, which included Nik Stauskas. The Sixers would have had the fifth pick if not for the swap.

Follow and contact 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers.