NBA trade talk: Breakdown of 5-player deal between Kings and Portland Trail Blazers
The Kings have some important roster decisions to make in the weeks and months ahead. They made their first move Saturday, reaching a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers to obtain expiring contracts, future assets and an open roster spot that could be utilized in a subsequent move before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings had agreed to send Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan to Portland in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two second-round draft picks. The trade cannot be finalized until Gabriel is eligible to be traded on Tuesday, which left the Kings shorthanded as they opened a five-game road trip with a 123-101 loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
The Kings will visit the Miami Heat on Monday. Bazemore and Tolliver could join the team in time for Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, but neither should be viewed as a savior for a team that went 15-26 over the first half of the season.
Who’s in?
▪ Bazemore, 30, is a 6-foot-4 swingman in his eighth season in the NBA. He was thrust into the starting lineup for the Blazers after Rodney Hood went down with a season-ending Achilles injury in December, but he will play a backup role in Sacramento.
Bazemore averaged 7.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting just 34.7 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from 3-point range in 43 games for the Blazers. Bazemore shot 42.4 percent from beyond the arc in December, but he made just 9 of 44 (.205) in nine games in January. Bazemore scored in double figures and was known as a capable defender over the past four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, but he hasn’t been as good offensively or defensively since moving from shooting guard to small forward this season in Portland.
Bazemore is in the final year of a four-year, $70 million contract that pays him $19.3 million this season. He logged 86 percent of his minutes at small forward in Portland, according to basketballreference.com. He will likely see spot duty at shooting guard and small forward with the Kings.
▪ Tolliver, 34, is a 6-8 power forward who was averaging 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game for the Blazers. He is a career 37.4-percent shooter from 3-point range, but he was shooting just 33.7 percent from beyond the arc for the Blazers.
Tolliver spent the 2016-17 season in Sacramento, averaging 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range in 65 games for the Kings. Tolliver is also on an expiring contract after signing a one-year, $5.75 million deal with the Blazers over the summer.
Tolliver is not expected to get major minutes in a crowded Kings frontcourt. The power forward position is pretty well spoken for with Nemanja Bjelica and Harrison Barnes. Barnes is the team’s starting small forward, but he has logged 55 percent of his minutes at power forward in small-ball lineups. Marvin Bagley III could also see more minutes at power forward when center Richaun Holmes returns from a shoulder injury.
Who’s out?
▪ Ariza, 34, signed a two-year, $25 million free-agent deal with the Kings in July. He was brought in to be a veteran mentor and locker room leader for a team that was expected to contend for a playoff spot, but the Kings have fallen well short of expectations after being decimated by injuries over the first half of the season.
Kings general manager Vlade Divac executed similar moves with other respected veterans last season when he traded Iman Shumpert to the Houston Rockets and Zach Randolph to the Dallas Mavericks. This trade gives Ariza an opportunity to join a playoff contender in the twilight of his career.
Ariza averaged 6.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.7 minutes per game for the Kings. No one envisioned that many minutes for Ariza in Sacramento. Coach Luke Walton’s reliance on Ariza became a point of frustration for fans as Ariza shot just 38.8 percent from the field, but he was second on the team in defensive field-goal percentage (.394) and fifth in 3-point shooting (.352).
▪ Gabriel, 22, was converted to a standard NBA contract at the start of the season after the Kings signed him to a two-way contract as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2018. Gabriel has been a standout for Sacramento’s G League affiliate in Stockton, where he scored 37 points in a game Jan. 11, but he appeared in only 11 games in Sacramento this season, averaging 1.7 points and 0.9 rebounds in 5.5 minutes per contest.
▪ Swanigan, 22, will reunite with the organization that selected him with the 26th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Kings acquired him in the deal that sent Skal Labissiere to Portland last season. Swanigan appeared in 10 games over parts of two seasons with the Kings, averaging 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game.
Dollars and sense
This move made sense for both teams. The Kings took on about $2.5 million in additional salary, but they acquired two players who are known as good locker room presences, both on expiring deals.
Sacramento continued to stockpile second-round picks that can be used as sweeteners in future trades. The Kings now have 13 second-round picks to play with over the next six years, including four this summer and three in 2021. They also opened up a roster spot that might be needed in a deal for center Dewayne Dedmon, who has publicly requested a trade.
The Kings want to see point guard De’Aaron Fox and Bagley on the floor as much as possible over the second half of the season after both missed much of the first half due to injuries. Under the collective bargaining agreement, guard Buddy Hield can’t be traded this season after signing a four-year, $86 million extension in October, but aside from Fox, Bagley and Hield, Sacramento would likely listen to offers for anyone else on the roster.
The Kings have to decide what to do with guard Bogdan Bogdanovic. They have offered him a four-year, $51.4 million extension, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, but he hasn’t accepted that deal. The Kings are confident they can keep Bogdanovic even if he becomes a restricted free agent this summer, but that might not be the case if the price tag rises too high.
Ariza will give the Blazers a defensive-minded wing behind Carmelo Anthony. The Blazers still have a chance to push for a playoff spot with big men Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins expected to return from injuries. Ariza has one more year remaining on his contract at $12.8 million, but only $1.8 million is guaranteed for 2020-21 if he is released by June 30.
Furthermore, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Blazers will shed $12.5 million in salary, dropping their luxury tax bill to $7 million. Portland also reportedly created $7.2 million and $1.7 million trade exceptions as part of the deal.
This story was originally published January 19, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
