Kings-Pacers trade shows Sacramento smart pivot after missing on Kyle Kuzma

The Sacramento Kings missed out on Kyle Kuzma already, but a trade with the Pacers is a smart pivot by a Western Conference contender on the rise. 

The Sacramento Kings were in on Kyle Kuzma but missed out, then re-signing free agent Harrison Barnes to a three-year deal. But they weren’t done trying to make improvements to their roster after a run to the postseason this past year.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Kings have agreed to a trade with the Indiana Pacers that will send veteran Chris Duarte to Sacramento in exchange for draft compensation. The picks involved have not yet been revealed.

While the compensation has not been announced, the assumption would be second-round picks, or perhaps just one.

Chris Duarte trade: What it means for Kings and Pacers

For the Pacers, this is a team that doesn’t have enough minutes to play Duarte, particularly as they target upgrading on the wing this offseason. More importantly, given that situation, they got good value for Duarte and freed up an additional $4 million in cap space with free agency about to begin.

It’s a bigger win, however, for the Kings. After whiffing on Kyle Kuzma, they pivoted to the Barnes extension, which allowed them to retain a solid starter on a favorable contract. Even though it took up some cap space, dumping the Richaun Holmes contract helped alleviate concern there.

Now they’ve gotten deeper on the wings with the addition of Duarte, which helps them further. However, it’s likely one of the last major moves Sacramento makes this offseason. The Kings will likely re-negotiate Domantas Sabonis’s contract — somewhere in the projected four-year, $120 million range — and re-sign Trey Lyles. That will likely put them pretty much out of cap space.

Keith Smith of Spotrac noted that Sacramento could use the traded player exception from the Holmes deal to bring in Duarte, but could also do that for a forthcoming trade too.

In any case, the addition of Duarte improves the Kings’ bench in an inexpensive manner. For a team trying to elevate in the Western Conference hierarchy, they have a much better chance now, even if this is an under-the-radar move.