It barely registered a blip on the national radar, but Sacramento forward Harrison Barnes had one of the more interesting free agency dilemmas of the summer. He was slated to make $25M in the last year of his deal, but decided to opt out in order to chase a longer-term contract.

In the process, he opened up even more cap space for the Kings. Right now, they have $50M to spend, which is more than enough to land a superstar max-salary player.

Of course, superstars like Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant won't actually go to Sacramento, for various reasons. The franchise has a toxic reputation, and the city itself is still an undesirable market despite Greta Gerwig's best efforts.

Still, looking through the roster, you can't help but wonder: what if?

On paper, the roster looks like a dream fit for a superstar forward. Among the reasons why:

SECONDARY PLAYMAKER. Whether you're LeBron James or James Harden, it's hard to win a title as a one-man band. Ideally, you'd have at least one secondary playmaker who can apply pressure when you're locked up or off the court. And by those standards, De'Aaron Fox is more than qualified (in fact, he's overqualified.)

Fox took a giant leap up in his sophomore season, rising up to 17.3 points and 7.3 assists per game. If he keeps improving, he's an All-Star. If he regresses (which he may as a shooter, after a 37% season from three), he's still a good starter. Unlike other scoring guards, he also earns raves for his work ethic, leadership, and defensive effort.

SPACERS GALORE. Another must have for any superstar is shooting and spacing, and the Sacramento Kings have that in spades. In fact, SG Buddy Hield is one of the best in the entire NBA at that. This past season, he shot 42.7% from three on a whopping 7.9 attempts per game. And he's not alone in that. SF Bodgan Bogdanovic is also a good shooter (37.5% career from beyond the arc.) PF Nemanja Bjelica also shot a sparkling 40% himself this year. Bjelica is a big-time regression candidate, but it shows that he's also a competent rotational spacer himself. Between these three, the Kings have shooting for days.

BABY BOSH. Back in Miami, LeBron James benefited from having a mobile big man in Chris Bosh who wouldn't slow him down. The Kings have a version of that in Marvin Bagley III. Bagley may be one of the more criticized # 2 picks in recent memory because he wasn't Luka Doncic, but he's quietly a great prospect himself. He's extremely fluid on his feet, and has an underrated skill set regarding his playmaking and ballhandling. He also attacks the glass with the ferocity of a John Wick-ian cat. As a rookie, Bagley averaged 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds in only 25.3 minutes a night. With extended minutes, he could hit 20-10 next year. Defensively, Bagley lacks the length you'd want as a rim protector, but he has some virtues there anyway; he's fast enough to switch to the perimeter and he defends without fouling, which usually is an Achilles heel for young bigs. And if you are concerned about the defense, you can always retain Willie Cauley-Stein as a rotational piece.

EXTENDED TIMELINE. Of the players we've mentioned so far, Bogdan Bogdanovic is the elder statesman at the ripe old age of 26. Buddy Hield is also 26. De'Aaron Fox is 21. Marvin Bagley is 20. This core should be getting better and better, with a 5 year window of success. Realistically, they may be a year away from making waves, but you know who else is a year away from making waves? An injured Kevin Durant. In theory, Durant can rehab for the entire 2019-20 season and watch these young kids develop, before taking the court with them in 2020-21. By then, this entire team may be good enough to make a genuine title run.

Again, this is a fantasy scenario, because no one actually wants to sign up for Sacramento. However, in terms of a pure basketball fit, there aren't many better situations out there for a superstar SF/PF.

shameless plug! This post got more attention than I expected so while you’re here check out the 99 cent store series of bargain free agents. We closed out the series with centers today.