The Sacramento Kings are reportedly closing in on a trade to acquire Indiana Pacers guard Chris Duarte in exchange for draft picks.
Duarte, the 13th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors in 2022 as a key figure in Indiana’s rotation. As a rookie, he averaged 13.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, shotting 36.9 percent from the perimeter across 55 contests.
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- Chris Duarte stats (2022-’23): 7.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 31.6% 3PT, 1.2 3PM per game
However, the 26-year-old regressed in his second NBA season. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged just 19.5 minutes per game, shooting 31.6 percent from the perimeter and averaging 7.9 points per contest.
As first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Duarte will be headed to the Kings on the day NBA free agency opens. The move is expected to dip into Sacramento’s remaining cap space, per Keith Smith, lowering it from $17.5 million to approximately $13.5 million.
- Chris Duarte contract: $4.124 million salary (2023-’24), $5.89 million club option for 2024-’25 season
Duarte rated below-average last season in both Offensive RAPTOR (-1.7) and Defensive Raptor (-0.1). However, he earned an on-court +2.8 RAPTOR rating during the 2021-’22 campaign. Across 46 games last season, per Basketball Reference, Duarte shot 33.3 percent on corner three with 32.8 percent of his three-point attempts coming from the corner.
He’ll be reunited with Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento. Before Sabonis was traded to the Kings in advance of the NBA trade deadline, Duarte shot 43.5 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from beyond the arc.
With Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk projected to be Sacramento’s primary shooting guards this upcoming season, Duarte will serve as additional depth for the rotation.