The Kings are parting ways with two players ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season.
Sacramento has traded guard Davion Mitchell and forward Sasha Vezenkov to the Toronto Raptors for sixth-year wing Jalen McDaniels, the team announced Friday morning.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported the news Thursday afternoon, citing sources.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, citing sources, that the Kings also will add the No. 45 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft as part of the trade.
Wojnarowski reported that the trade allows the Kings to slip under the luxury tax line while also clearing a roster spot.
The Kings, selecting on behalf of the Raptors, used the No. 45 overall pick on Houston Cougars point guard Jamal Shead.
Mitchell, 25, was drafted by Sacramento No. 9 overall in 2021. Mostly praised for his defense, the Baylor product has shown glimpses of his shooting ability and playmaking.
As a rookie, he averaged 11.5 points on 41.8 percent shooting, with 2.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 27.7 minutes. He started 19 games that season — the most of his career — mostly to fill in for an injured De’Aaron Fox. He made the most of the opportunity, but things changed in his sophomore season.
The Kings added guards Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter to the squad, and Mitchell saw his playing time significantly decrease by nearly 10 minutes and even more during the 2023-24 season.
In just 15.3 minutes off the bench last season, Mitchell averaged 5.3 points on 45.2-percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent from 3-point range, with 1.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 72 games.
Sacramento reportedly retained Monk, who intends to sign a four-year, $78 million deal to stay with the Kings, and with 2023 draft pick Colby Jones, their 2024 draft pick Devin Carter, and the inspiring surge of Keon Ellis — Sacramento had to offload its guard depth and find Mitchell a new home.
Meanwhile, conflicting rumors surrounded Vezenkov and the Kings this offseason.
Vezenkov reportedly grew frustrated with his lack of playing time in his first NBA season with the Kings, but several sources told FOX40’s Sean Cunningham that there was “no truth” to the report of his desire to leave the NBA, with one source calling the report “off base.”
That appears to ring true for Vezenkov, who rather than leaving the league, has found a new NBA home.
Vezenkov averaged 5.4 points on 44-percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range in 12.2 minutes, adding 2.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.5 steals.
McDaniels has had an up-and-down career thus far, bouncing around three teams in six years.
The 26-year-old’s best season came with the Charlotte Hornets during the 2022-23 season, when he averaged 10.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting, adding 4.8 rebounds, two assists and 1.2 steals in 56 games before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
He has yet to find as much NBA success as his younger brother, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, but at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds, Jalen could be exactly what Sacramento has longed for in a wing.
