Who is the most recent Sacramento King Jalen McDaniels? A look at their trade addition
Who is Jalen McDaniels? We look into the most recent player to join the Sacramento Kings after Thursday’s trade.
By Chris Biderman
Jun 27, 2024 02:15 PM
The Sacramento Kings made a trade with the Toronto Raptors on Thursday ahead of Round 2 of the NBA draft, which answered a number of questions about their roster structure during the offseason.
According to a source from the league According to a source in the league, the Kings have sent guard Davion Mitchell, forward Sasha Vezenkov, and the no. 45 overall selection to the Raptors in exchange for forward Jalen McDaniels. ESPN was the first to announce the deal on Thursday in the afternoon.
The move opens the door for the No. 13 selection Devin Carter to assume Mitchell’s position as a back-up to De’Aaron fox, while also putting an end to the offseason drama surrounding Vezenkov whom was the source of multiple reports on his future as a player following a rocky start to the 2023-24.
The move also frees up spaces in the cap and will see Toronto accepting Mitchell’s $6.5 million salary and Vezenkov’s $6.7 million in 2024-25. McDaniels is coming to Sacramento expected to earn $4.7 millions, According to the Spotrac. The move creates an opportunity for cap space that could assist Sacramento to attract more veterans to help.
Who is Jalen McDaniels?
McDaniels 27, who is about to begin the sixth NBA season. He will be playing for the Kings is his fourth squad following being selected 52nd overall during the 2019 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He attended college with San Diego State after going to high school in Federal Way, Washington.
The forward, who stands 6 feet 9 inches tall, had an all-time low 10.8 minutes per contest for the Raptors this season, while hitting an all-time low of 17% of his 3-pointers. He averaged 3.4 score per game. In his previous four seasons she was averaging 20.2 minutes and 7.7 points. He also made 34.5 percent of his shots at distance.
The Raptors hired him prior to the start of the season, with vice-chairman and President Masai Ujiri writing that in his announcement “Jalen has a steady defensive player that is believed to have tremendous potential to grow. He has a wide range of skills at both sides of the court and we’re thrilled to watch him grow as a part of the Raptors.”
McDaniels could be an alternative forward who can be a contender for playing time behind Keegan Murray or Harrison Barnes. The Kings last season were lacking depth in the forward position and left Trey Lyles as the only backup in the regular rotation. This forced head coach Mike Brown to rely heavily on guards in the back of his starters. Kessler Edwards, whom Sacramento purchased at the deadline for trades in 2023, was not a huge player and is currently a free agent.
McDaniels”path to Sacramento
McDaniels was transferred between Charlotte to Philadelphia as part of a four-team trade before the deadline for trades in 2023 during the third year of his. The 76ers purchased him along with second-rounders between 2024 and 2029. They also the defense player Matisse Thybulle over to the Portland Trailblazers in an effort to improve his offensive dynamism.
McDaniels played in 23 games with Philadelphia that included three starts. He recorded a career-high 40 percent of three-point attempts. He was a part of eight playoff games, averaging around 13 minutes as well as 2.4 points. In the offseason, he signed a two-year $9.3 million contract with the Raptors during the offseason of last season, following his run in Philadelphia which was thought to be to be one of the most impressive ever in the history of his.
Are the Kings be able to make a second move?
Sacramento has been mentioned to trade talks over Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma and Cameron Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets, The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson reported Wednesday. However, any increase in size comes with financial consequences.
Kuzma has three seasons left of a 4-year, $90 million contract which he signed in the offseason. Johnson is also signed to the fourth year of a deal that was signed this season, and will pay $94.5 million until 2026-27. They’re expected to earn $23.5 millions and $23.6 millions this year and $23.6 million in the following seasons.
The Kings might be facing financial difficulties. Fox is a candidate to extend his contract in the coming offseason, which could cost $349 million should he make an All-NBA team in the coming season. Murray could also be qualified for a new contract this offseason that could be worth $30 million in the annual amount. Domantas Sabonis will be entering into the inaugural year under a 4-year, $186 million extension that he negotiated during the offseason.
According to Spotrac according to Spotrac, the Kings are able to access $15.7 million of salary space prior to hitting the first apron. This is a punishment for not having the ability to accept more money from trades than the team’s salary (non-apron teams can receive 125% of salaries that are owed when they trade) and being prohibited from signing players during the regular season, if their earnings exceed the upper limit of.
It is in the best interest of Sacramento to be careful regarding their salary in their quest to upgrade their roster in order to get into the playoffs following their loss to the team in their first game, and then failing to make it through the play-in tournament over the past two seasons.
Chris Biderman covered the 49ers from 2013 until 2021. He was hired by The Sacramento Bee in August 2018. He was previously working for The Associated Press and USA Today Sports Media Group. He is a Santa Rosa native, he received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Ohio State University.