The Kings have agreed to trade guard Davion Mitchell and forward Sasha Vezenkov to the Raptors, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Toronto is also receiving the No. 45 pick in tonight’s draft, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link), as well as Portland’s 2025 second-round pick, according to Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link).
Sacramento will acquire forward Jalen McDaniels from Toronto in the swap, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).
The ninth overall pick in the 2021 draft, Mitchell averaged 11.5 points per game as a rookie but is primarily known as a defensive specialist. In 2023/24, he averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 assists in 15.3 minutes per game across 72 appearances for the Kings, almost exclusively in a reserve role.
Keon Ellis‘ emergence last season and the arrival of No. 13 pick Devin Carter created a crowded backcourt picture in Sacramento and it appears Mitchell will be the odd man out.
Vezenkov, the 2022/23 EuroLeague MVP, was selected 57th overall in the 2017 draft but didn’t make the move to the NBA until last summer, when he signed a three-year, $20MM contract with the Kings. It was an up-and-down NBA rookie year for the 28-year-old, who converted 37.5% of his three-point tries but averaged just 12.2 minutes per game in 42 contests, contributing 5.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG.
A series of June reports suggested that a trade involving Vezenkov was a possibility for the Kings, who projected to be up against the luxury tax after agreeing to re-sign Malik Monk to a four-year, $78MM contract. As cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets, swapping out Vezenkov’s $6.66MM salary and Mitchell’s $6.45MM cap hit for McDaniels’ incoming $4.74MM salary will give Sacramento about $7MM in spending flexibility below the tax heading into free agency.
The move will also open up a spot on the Kings’ 15-man roster and should generate a pair of trade exceptions for Sacramento, including one worth Vezenkov’s salary ($6.66MM).
McDaniels had a poor season in Toronto in 2023/24, averaging just 3.4 PPG on .344/.169/.730 shooting in 50 games (10.8 MPG). But the athletic 6’9″ wing is only one year removed from scoring a career-high 9.4 PPG, and he had a career shooting line of .465/.345/.784 prior to last season.
As for the Raptors, they’ll take on some extra salary for 2024/25 but neither Mitchell nor Vezenkov is owed guaranteed money beyond next season, and both players could vie for rotation minutes if they remain on the roster. Mitchell is extension-eligible this offseason before potentially reaching restricted free agency in 2025, while Vezenkov’s deal includes a $6.98MM team option for 2025/26.
Toronto now controls the No. 31 and No. 45 picks on Thursday after selecting Baylor’s Ja’Kobe Walter at No. 19 on Wednesday.
The Raptors have multiple options for how to complete the deal. If they intend to operate over the cap, they could use McDaniels’ outgoing salary to match Vezenkov’s incoming figure, then take Mitchell’s salary into a $10MM+ trade exception they created in January’s Pascal Siakam deal. If they plan to operate under the cap, they’ll simply absorb the two incoming salaries using their room. Taking the former route would hard-cap them at the first tax apron for 2024/25.