The Sacramento Kings currently sit on roughly $11 million in cap space. The rest of the league has essentially none. Other teams can take on small amounts of money in trades, but no other team can absorb a player into space. The Kings stand alone.
This puts the Kings in a position to be involved in trades without sacrificing notable assets up until the trade deadline. The Kings can take on bad money or bloated contracts and receive draft picks or young players for their trouble.
But this position of strength turns back into a pumpkin once the trade deadline passes.