Report: Kings ship Mitchell, Vezenkov, pick to Raptors for McDaniels originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Kings are parting ways with two players ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season.
Sacramento has traded guard Davion Mitchell and forward Sasha Vezenkov to the Toronto Raptors for sixth-year wing Jalen McDaniels, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Thursday afternoon, citing sources.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, citing sources, that the Kings also will add the No. 45 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft as part of the trade.
Sources: Toronto is sending Jalen McDaniels to the Kings for Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
Mitchell, 25, was drafted by Sacramento No. 9 overall in 2021. Mostly praised for his defense, the Baylor product has shown glimpses of his shooting ability and playmaking.
As a rookie, he averaged 11.5 points on 41.8 percent shooting, with 2.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 27.7 minutes. He started 19 games that season — the most of his career — mostly to fill in for an injured De’Aaron Fox. He made the most of the opportunity, but things changed in his sophomore season.
The Kings added guards Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter to the squad, and Mitchell saw his minutes significantly decrease by nearly 10 minutes and even more during the 2023-24 season.
In just 15.3 minutes off the bench last season, Mitchell averaged 5.3 points on 45.2-percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent from 3-point range, with 1.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 72 games.
Sacramento reportedly retained Monk, who intends to sign a four-year deal to stay with the Kings, and with the Kings’ 2023 draft pick Colby Jones, their 2024 draft pick Devin Carter, and the inspiring surge of Keon Ellis — Sacramento had to offload its guard depth and find Mitchell a new home.
Meanwhile, conflicting rumors surrounded Vezenkov and the Kings this offseason.
Vezenkov grew frustrated with his lack of playing time in his first NBA season with the Kings, but several sources told FOX40’s Sean Cunningham that there was “no truth” to the report of his desire to leave the NBA, with one source calling the report “off base.”
That appears to ring true for Vezenkov, who rather than leaving the league will instead just leave the place he called home for just one year.
Vezenkov averaged 5.4 points on 44-percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range in 12.2 minutes, adding 2.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.5 steals.
McDaniels has had an up-and-down career thus far, bouncing around three teams in six years.
His best season came with the Charlotte Hornets during the 2022-23 season, when he averaged 10.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting, adding 4.8 rebounds, two assists and 1.2 steals in 56 games before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
He hasn’t found as much NBA success as his brother, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, but at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds, he could be exactly what Sacramento has longed for in a wing.
