Sacramento Kings Dump Salary, Send Three Players To Philadelphia

In efforts to dump salary for potential free agents, the Sacramento Kings will send Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry and Jason Thompson to the Philadelphia 76ers. 

The Kings will also send a protected first round pick to Philadelphia.

In return, the Kings will receive rights to overseas players; these players might not make an impact, but the goal to open cap space has been achieved. The Kings also acquire a second round pick in the deal. 

According to Marc Stein of ESPN, this deal gives the Kings enough cap to outbid the Indiana Pacers in the Monta Ellis race.

The Kings, after completing this trade, will have the salary-cap space to outbid Indiana for a free agent they've long coveted: Monta Ellis

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 2, 2015

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports also reported the Kings’ attempt to clear space is for Wes Matthews and Rajon Rondo, which would fill out a scary starting lineup that is Rondo, Matthews, Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins and rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein.

The Kings clearing the salary cap space to pursue free agents Rajon Rondo and Wes Matthews, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015

Whichever free agents they will chase, it seems they will have a huge impact on the team next season. The Kings are in desperate need of a guard capable of running the offense and the free agents being targeted can do so effectively.

Stauskas is the main piece to this deal, as Philadelphia agreed to take on the salaries of Thompson and Landry to acquire the shooting guard. The former eighth overall pick failed to make an impact in his rookie season, averaging just 4.4 points on 36.5 percent shooting from the field. However, Stauskas has shown flickers of potential and could be a solid shooting option off the bench in the near future.

Thompson and Landry are two solid reserves that will provide a fresh pair of legs as well as some solid rebounding. Both can fill their roles well and even provide some leadership for young big men Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor.