Free agency primer: Breaking down Kings roster, cap situation

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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. 

Where the Kings stand heading into Free Agency

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.