This past Thursday, it was announced that the Sacramento Kings re-signed veteran forward Harrison Barnes to a three-year, $54 million deal. Following those events, the Kings came to an agreement with the Indiana Pacers, which saw guard Chris Duarte traded to the Kings.
The deal came with surprise timing and created many mixed reactions among Kings fans, with some being ecstatic over the deal and many not liking the deal at all. With emotions being settled hours after the deal was announced, it’s time to revisit the agreement.
Where the Sacramento Kings went wrong
Look, re-signing Harrison Barnes is not the end of the world. He actually had quite an efficient season last year, averaging 15 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game, while shooting 47.3% from the field and 37.4% beyond the arc. Barnes is a role player, no doubt, but his locker room presence and championship experience are what make him valuable to the Kings.
However, Barnes lacked in the playoffs when that experience was needed. His points dropped to 10.7 points per game, rebounds dropped to 3.4, and assists fell to just .7. He fell out of rotation toward the end of the series, and lacked minutes.
Harrison Barnes is not evil, and he’s a guy most of the Kings’ fan base has liked over the past four years, but this contract was a mistake from the Kings. After the Kings traded away the 24th pick of the 2023 NBA draft and Richaun Holmes for a traded player exception, they had around $30 million in cap space and were geared up to become a force in free agency, looking to land a big signing that could take them to the next level. Instead, the Kings ended up giving away the pick just to run the same starting team back, while there are still needs to be addressed.
Barnes will not be traded this off-season due to a clause in his contract preventing any trades involving him until December 29th, 2023, and also has a 10% trade kicker. A trade kicker is a sort of indication from a team that the organization does not intend to trade a player, because that fee must be paid out to the player if he is traded by the team.
High-profile Kings targets like Kyle Kuzma and Jerami Grant would have been expensive options but could elevate the Kings to the next level and fit into the Kings’ offense in better ways than Harrison Barnes. It would be silly to pay Kuzma $30 million per year, but negotiations could easily have gotten that number down.
If Barnes were to re-sign, it needed to be for a discounted price and a bench role. While $18 million per year may not seem like a lot to some people, in a free agency period like this, and with the uncertainty of signing Sasha Vezenkov, every number matters. Getting a contract under $15 million could have made a massive difference for the rest of the Kings’ free agency.
What the Sacramento Kings need to do now
It appears that the Kings are attempting to use freshly acquired Chris Duarte as a cheap option at the backup 3, and there also could be a possibility that the Kings put together a package for Raptors stars Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby. However, there is no way of telling what will happen in the remainder of this off-season, or what the Kings would have to give up to make such a trade happen.
One thing is still clear – the Kings need to put a final plan into solving their wing depth and desperately need a backup center (something that has been largely ignored). One Sabonis injury can easily send the Kings into a spiral of losses, and discredit an incredible year after an NBA-record 16-year playoff drought.
One option at the center could be two-way player Neemias Queta, who was recently offered a new two-way contract. Queta is a 7-footer and has dominated the G League with Sacramento’s affiliate Stockton Kings. Letting Queta get his chance at proving himself in the league could be the direction the Kings take, and while this is ultimately a great and cheap play, it obviously is coming with risks of adapting to a faster level of play instead of acquiring a proven NBA-level center.
The Kings have some room to target some lower-profile free agents, so for now, we wait to see what moves they make.
After all that has happened, it is clear that there are details behind the scenes that we are unaware of, and Kings fans should put their trust in Monte to make the best decisions available. The Kings may just have to go through a bit more growth before they can be a contending team.
Grade the Trade: Sacramento Kings trade for Pacers’ Chris Duarte
After a week of surprising decisions from the Kings, Sacramento has agreed to a deal to acquire Pacers' Chris Duarte on Friday morning.