It appears the Sacramento Kings are joining the free agency melee. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, they just unloaded Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Nik Stauskas, and, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, a protected first-round draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Sacramento is trading Jason Thompson and Carl Landry as part of a salary dump to the Philadelphia 76ers, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2015
The Kings are sending Nik Stauskus to the 76ers as part of the deal too, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2015
Sixers will receive a protected 1st-round pick from the Kings, and swap rights w/ Sacto in the 1st round of two other drafts, sources say.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 2, 2015
The move clears about $16 million in additional cap space, which enables them to go after several potential players they’ve been targeting, including Rajon Rondo, Monta Ellis and Wesley Matthews. Earlier today, Woj reported that the Indiana Pacers were “pushing hard” to sign Ellis, but ESPN’s Marc Stein now believes the Kings could potentially upend those plans.
The Kings, after completing this trade, will have the salary-cap space to outbid Indiana for a free agent they've long coveted: Monta Ellis
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 2, 2015
Sacramento is in dire need of quality back-court players to go alongside DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein, and it’s widely understood that they see current point guard Darren Collison as more of a backup. It would certainly allow Rondo an opportunity to rehabilitate his image after a disastrous stint in Dallas, to say the least, but with the way things are panning out in Portland, it could also be a potential landing spot for Wesley Matthews, who’s set to meet with the Kings later this week.
(via Adrian Wojnarowski, Zach Lowe, and Marc Stein)
