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Let the games begin!

Free agency opens up at 3 PM PST on Sunday and the Sacramento Kings have already been actively shoring up their roster and making moves to open up room under the luxury tax. 

Sacramento doesn’t have traditional room under the cap, but the trade that sent Sasha Vezenkov and Davion Mitchell to the Toronto Raptors for Jalen McDaniels has at least given the team some relief and the potential to use their mid-level exception either to sign a player or acquire one via trade.

The free agency window marks the de facto beginning of the new calendar year for the NBA, which officially begins on July 1. Teams are allowed to negotiate contracts with free agents, but nothing can be signed until the end of the league’s moratorium on July 6. 

Additions: Malik Monk, Devin Carter, Jalen McDaniels, Alex Len, Isaac Jones, Isaiah Crawford

Monk helped out the Kings tremendously when he committed to returning early. With their star sixth man in the fold, general manager Monte McNair held onto the No. 13 pick where he selected an NBA ready player in Devin Carter to add to the backcourt. 

McNair also pulled off a cost cutting trade that sent Mitchell, Vezenkov and a pair of seconds to Toronto for McDaniels and roughly $8.4 million in salary savings. This move also opened up a roster spot for the team.

Following the draft, the Kings added a pair of undrafted free agents to two-way contracts. According to Charania, Isaiah Crawford from Louisiana Tech is joining the club. Isaac Jones out of Washington State also inked a two-way according to Adrian Wojnarowski. 

On Sunday morning, Shams Charania from The Athletic tweeted that the team had also retained reserve center Alex Len on a new 1-year, $3.3 million contract. Len’s deal is for the league minimum for his years of service and only counts for $2.1 million against the cap. 

Departures heading into FA: Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov, Kessler Edwards (non-tendered), Jordan Ford (two-way non-tender), Jalen Slawson (two-way non-tender)

Mitchell was the only rotational player in this group, but the Kings have Monk, Carter, Ellis and Jones who can all steal some minutes at the backup point position. 

Vezenkov never truly got his NBA career going with the Kings after winning a EuroLeague MVP a year ago. Just as he started to adapt to the NBA, injuries derailed his season. 

According to our friend Sean Cunningham from Fox 40, the team decided against retaining Kessler Edwards, Jordan Ford and Jalen Slawson on Saturday evening.

The Kings spent plenty of time trying to develop Edwards, but with the addition of McDaniels, he became redundant. Ford and Slawson were key members to a strong Stockton Kings squad last season, but the team went a different direction with their two-way contracts.  

Remaining FA: JaVale McGee

McGee was in and out of the rotation last season. With Len signing a new contract, McGee’s time in Sacramento may be over. 

Current depth chart

PG: De’Aaron Fox, Devin Carter 

SG: Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, Chris Duarte, Colby Jones

SF: Harrison Barnes, Jalen McDaniels

PF: Keegan Murray, Trey Lyles

C: Domantas Sabonis, Alex Len

Two-way: Isaac Jones, Isaiah Crawford, Mason Jones

With the return of Monk and Len, as well as the addition of McDaniels and Carter, the Kings walk into free agency with roughly $166.2 million in dedicated salary for the 2024-25 season, well above the salary cap of $141 million. This is approximately $5.1 below the NBA’s $171.3 million luxury tax and $12.5 million below the first apron, which is set at $178.7 million.

The Kings have access to their mid-level and bi-annual exception, but with a few caveats. The MLE is set at a maximum of $12.9 million this season and the BAE is a starting salary of $4.7 million. Both exceptions can be used to either sign or trade for a player, as long as the contract fits into the length requirements of each exception (MLE maximum of four years, BAE maximum of two seasons). If a team uses an exception and exceeds the first apron, they are hard capped for the season. 

Keep in mind that a lot can happen between now and the time that Monk actually signs his contract. As of now, his cap hold is for $12.9 million. Once he signs, that figure jumps to $17.4 million. In the meantime, the Kings have some imaginary money that doesn’t figure into their cap figure when trying to avoid things like the dreaded hard cap. 

Len’s cap hold is set at $2.1 million and Carter’s is set at $4.7 million, which is the value of their standard contracts once signed. 

If we strip away the core of the Kings’ team -- De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis, McNair still has a few contracts to work with. 

Trey Lyles is a rotational player on an $8 million expiring contract. Chris Duarte was out of the rotation for much of the year and is entering the final year of his rookie scale contract that will pay him $5.9 million this season. 

In addition to Lyles and Duarte, the Kings have veterans Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes on two-year contracts. Huerter makes $16.8 million this season and $18 million next year. Barnes is around similar figures, earning $18 million this year and $19 million for the 2025-26 season. 

The Kings also have the newly acquired contract of McDaniels, but trading him is complicated. He can’t be included in a transaction that requires aggregation for a period of two months, although he can be moved if he is the only player being sent out by the Kings. 

Sacramento also has the budget contracts of Keon Ellis and Colby Jones, but it’s difficult to see the Kings moving off of either deals, especially Ellis who finished last season as a starter and has another two years at the league minimum. 

Lastly, beginning July 1, the Kings have access to their 2027-2031 first round picks. Their 2025 and 2026 selections are still tied up from the Huerter deal. The 2025 pick is top 12 protected and the 2026 pick is top 10 protected. Due to the Stepien Rule, the Kings can’t officially trade their 2027 first unencumbered as of today, but they can include language in the trade that would state that if the 2027 pick was unavailable, a future asset would take its place. 

In addition to first rounders, the Kings have access to their own 2025, 2028, 2029 and 2031 second round selections.  If the Kings don’t send either their 2025 or 2026 first round pick to the Hawks, Atlanta receives Sacramento’s 2026 and 2027 second round selections to complete the Huerter trade.