Grade the Trade: Sacramento Kings trade for Pacers’ Chris Duarte
The Sacramento Kings have been making headlines for the past two days. Following up on Thursday’s decision to re-sign veteran forward Harrison Barnes, the Kings have reportedly decided to trade for guard Chris Duarte, sending draft compensation to the Indiana Pacers. Duarte’s contract is worth $4.1 million next year, and nearly 5.9 the following year.
Duarte, 26, averaged 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game in just 46 games last season. This is a step down from his promising 2021-22 rookie season, where he averaged 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1 steal, while also making the 2021-22 NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Duarte was drafted with the 13th pick in 2021, being 24 years old at the time – noticeably old for a lottery pick. He missed a significant fraction of the Pacers’ past season due to multiple injuries.
Notably, the Sacramento Kings traded with the Pacers for All-Star Domantas Sabonis last year, meaning this will be a reunion between Duarte and Sabonis.
This is an interesting move from the Sacramento Kings, just hours before free agency talks are permitted to begin. Considering the Kings’ depth heading in free agency, it is a surprising choice to trade for a shooting guard while there are already 7 other guards on the team. This could mean we may see an exit of some Kings guards this off-season. The caveat to this is that despite primarily playing guard for the Pacers, Duarte is also 6-foot-6, and can play small forward as well.
This is a bold play from Kings GM Monte McNair. After spending much of the Kings’ free cap space on Harrison Barnes left Sac-Town fans feeling mixed reactions, McNair follows up this decision by taking on the latter half of Duarte’s rookie contract. This, in a way, does address the Kings’ need for depth at the wing, but still leaves some room for another target or a Sabonis extension.
Duarte is a gamble for the Kings. Taking on a player with this many injuries in only his first two seasons will always be a risky play, but Duarte has potential. His regression from his Rookie year is clearly due to injuries and what it does to a player’s confidence, but this is clearly overshadowing his highs. Just this past season, Duarte dropped a career-high 30 points on the then-Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving version of the Brooklyn Nets.
While Duarte struggled from three last year, shooting 31.6% from three, he is still a good shooter and certainly can make threes posted up.
Grade for the trade: B
This trade came out of nowhere, and while it is certainly a gamble, this is a cheap option that has the potential to pay off big time. Of course, a regression and injuries are in factor here, possibly hurting this grade more than it should, but it’s clear that the Kings are (somewhat) addressing their needs.
