NBA Rumors: Davion Mitchell, Vezenkov Traded to Raptors; Jalen McDaniels to Kings

As teams look to clear roster space ahead of the second round of the 2024 NBA draft on Thursday, the Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings pulled off a three-player trade.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Raptors are acquiring Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium added that Sacramento will receive Jalen McDaniels in the deal.

The deal saves the Kings almost $8.4 million against the cap in 2024-25. McDaniels is owed $4.7 million next season, while Vezenkov and Mitchell combined will earn $13.1 million.

This move comes after Sacramento agreed to a four-year, $78 million deal with Malik Monk that will be signed when free agency begins, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Monk’s contract was going to push the Kings over the first apron, but this trade will move them just over $7 million under the $171.3 million luxury tax threshold.

The Kings have the $12.95 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception at their disposal. They also won’t have any trade restrictions by staying out of the first and second apron.

McDaniels could turn into a useful rotation piece for head coach Mike Brown. He shot 46.5 percent from the field in his first three seasons, but that efficiency fell to 34.4 percent with the Raptors in 2023-24.

Toronto gets the ability to see if Mitchell can rebound in a new environment. Mitchell was the No. 9 overall pick in 2021, but his role has been reduced in each of the past two seasons after a decent rookie season in which he averaged 11.5 points per game.

Vezenkov came to the NBA last season after originally being drafted by the Brooklyn Nets in 2017. Sacramento acquired his draft rights from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022. He did fine in a limited role for the Kings with 5.4 points on 37.5 percent three-point shooting in 42 games.

There has been speculation that Vezenkov didn’t want to return to the Kings and could go back to Europe for the 2024-25 season.