SACRAMENTO, Calif. — There aren’t many nights on the NBA calendar when Kings-Timberwolves would be the place to be.



The regional ratings from this Monday night affair at the Golden 1 Center surely didn’t amount to much. Ditto for the game, which pitted two of the league’s worst underachievers against each other and ended with a 113-109 Sacramento win that was way harder to finish than it should have been (they led by as many as 21 points). But because the NBA trade deadline is on Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern, and because these are two of the most talked-about teams when it comes to having coveted players who might be on the move, it made for a perfect in-person primer to the week.



Especially since the trade season action away from the floor was even more interesting than the play on it.



The sight of Golden State Warriors assistant general manager Mike Dunleavy and consultant Zaza Pachulia in attendance for all four quarters made perfect...