» KINGS SEND ARIZA TO TRAIL BLAZERS
SACRAMENTO — The Kings executed the first in what could be a series of moves leading up to next month’s NBA trade deadline Saturday, striking a fiveplayer deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings traded Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan to the Blazers in exchange for Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver. The Kings will also receive second-round picks from Portland in 2024 and 2025, the source said. The deal cannot be finalized until Tuesday because Gabriel still has a signing restriction that prevents him from being traded until then.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski were the first to report details of the trade. The Kings took on additional salary in the deal, but they acquired two expiring contracts and future assets, and opened up a roster spot that could be needed in a subsequent deal.
Wojnarowski reported the Kings are still looking for a way to unload center Dewayne Dedmon, who has publicly requested a trade after signing a threeyear, $40 million free-agent deal with the Kings over the summer.
Ariza, 34, was not at Sacramento’s shootaround as the Kings prepared to play the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. Kings coach Luke Walton complimented Ariza’s defensive effort during his short stay in Sacramento.
The Kings signed Ariza to a two-year, $25 million free-agent deal in July. He was averaging 6.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.7 minutes per game.
The Kings signed Gabriel, 22, to a two-way contract as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2018 and converted his deal to a standard NBA contract before the start of the 2019-20 season. Gabriel has been a standout for Sacramento’s G
League affiliate in Stockton, but he appeared in only 11 games for the Kings this season, averaging 1.7 points and 0.9 rebounds in 5.5 minutes per contest.
Swanigan, 22, will reunite with the organization that selected him with the 26th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Kings acquired him in the deal that sent Skal Labissiere to Portland last season. Swanigan appeared in 10 games over parts of two seasons with the Kings, averaging 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game.
The Blazers signed Tolliver, 34, as a free agent in July and acquired Bazemore, 30, in the trade that sent Evan Turner to the Atlanta Hawks, but neither player fulfilled expectations in Portland.
Bazemore, a 6-foot-4 swingman in his eighth season in the NBA, was thrust into the starting lineup after Rodney Hood went down with a season-ending Achilles injury in December. He averaged 7.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting just 34.7% from the field and 32.7% from 3-point range. Bazemore shot 42.4% from beyond the arc in December, but he made just 9 of 44 (.205) in nine games in January.