NBA draft: Trade gives Kings cap space, free agent options; Mavericks get Holmes, Prosper

The Kings traded their first-round pick in Thursday’s NBA draft in a move that will clear tens of millions of dollars from their books as they try to turn a playoff team into a championship contender.

A league source confirmed to The Sacramento Bee the Kings were trading the draft rights to 24^th overall pick Olivier-Maxence Prosper to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a deal that will be finalized at a later date. The Kings are also sending veteran center Richaun Holmes to Dallas in the deal, a move that will give them more than $30 million in salary cap space this summer.

Holmes served the Kings well as their starting center after coming to Sacramento in 2019, but he fell out of the rotation after the Kings made a blockbuster trade to acquire All-Star Domantas Sabonis in February 2022. Holmes has two years left on a four-year, $46.5 million contract. He is owed $12 million this season and has a player option for nearly $12.9 million in 2024-25.

The Kings can now use that money in a variety of ways, whether they pursue a major trade, a big free agent or a contract extension with Sabonis. They could also choose to retain free agents such as Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles or sign EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov.

Kings general manager Monte McNair met with the media at 10:30 p.m. Thursday to address his team’s draft night, including second-round selections Colby Jones, a guard from Xavier, and Jalen Slawson, a forward from Furman. McNair could not discuss specifics of the Dallas trade because it had not been finalized, but he acknowledged the financial flexibility the Kings had created.

“I think, for us, we always value the optionality and flexibility when we can acquire it,” McNair said. “This was a great season for a lot of reasons and we want to have a long playoff run here and continue to compete. To do that in today’s NBA, you have to be able to build your team out, not just in the very near term, but over the course of many years.

“So, we’re always having that balance. What can we do to add to the team now and how does that affect what we do going forward? We think what we were able to do tonight, and what we’ve done going back to the deadline in past years gives us a lot of options, not just this summer but as we get into next year.”

McNair was asked about the possibility of signing Sabonis to an extension now instead of waiting until he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.

“Domas is obviously an incredible player and we want him here long term, and when the appropriate time comes, we’ll be talking about those ways to keep him here,” McNair said.