The Kings are in an ideal position with the NBA trade deadline coming up. With a league low salary of just $44.58 million, the Kings are $13.45 million under the salary cap. They also have an additional $16.43 million in expiring contracts: Samuel Dalembert ($13.43 million) and Carl Landry ($3 million).
Cap space is a luxury most teams don’t have. In fact, the only other team with any cap space in the league is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cap space is useful because a team with it can take back more salary than they send out. Otherwise salaries have to be within 125% of each other.
The big question however is whether or not the Kings will in fact use this money. With a new CBA that will likely cut back salaries and force some teams to dump contracts so as to avoid stricter penalties, the Kings are primed to take advantage.
There are a few needs for Sacramento however. It has been no secret around the league that the Kings have been looking for an upgrade at the Point Guard position. The Kings could also use a veteran presence; This is one of the youngest teams in the league, with no players over the age of 29, and most in their early 20s, including stars Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins and Evans are considered untouchable by the Kings front office, and swingman Omri Casspi is probably not too far behind, although he could probably be had for the right offer. Rumors have already abounded that the Kings might be amenable to parting with Casspi if another team was prepared to take on one of the long term contracts of either Beno Udrih or Francisco Garcia.
Carl Landry is among the players most likely to be moved. He will be an unrestricted free agent next year, so the Kings will probably try to move him for something before the deadline in order to avoid possibly being left high and dry if he signs somewhere else in Free Agency.
For more information about Kings trades, check out these articles on Sactown Royalty:
Kings Trade Possibilities: Western Conference
Kings Trade Possibilities: Eastern Conference
Ranking the Kings Assets