Feb 3, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Dario Saric (9) on the bench in the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The Kings have finally made their first official move of free agency, and it’s not what you might have been expecting. While Dennis Schröder is almost certainly set to be a Sacramento King (now in a rumored sign-and-trade for Malik Monk), and Russell Westbrook might join as well, the first actual move Scott Perry’s regime has made is sending backup Center Jonas Valanciunas to the Denver Nuggets for Dario Saric. The deal was [first reported by Shams Charania](https://x.com/shamscharania/status/1940077515974029420?s=46&t=bJRGqD8GMKtbAg5yEd81iA).
Valanciunas was acquired by the Kings at the trade deadline for two future second round picks and Sidy Cissoko. He played 32 games for the Kings, primarily as a backup Center to fellow Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis and averaged 8.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in just 16.9 minutes a game. Saric on the other hand played just 16 games all season last year with Denver and not even because of injuries, but just because he wasn’t in the rotation. For his career, Saric has averaged 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 36% from three.
On the surface, this appears to be mostly a cost cutting move for the Kings as Valanciunas is owed $20.4 million over the next two seasons while Saric is on the final year of his deal at just $5.4 million. That’s fine in a vacuum, especially if Scott Perry is prepping to clean house in the foreseeable future. But adding guys like Schröder and Westbrook seem to indicate otherwise and that the Kings are still looking to be competitive. If so, that means they’ll likely need to look at getting another backup for Sabonis, or rookie Maxime Raynaud is slated for a much bigger role early on in his career than initially anticipated. It also could have simply been about clearing money for some other deal that the team is looking to make. Maybe Monk isn’t on his way to Detroit anymore and the Kings opted to save some money another way. We’ll just have to wait and see.