Report: Kings sending two picks to Pacers in Duarte trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
It appears that the Kings got backcourt help to ease the load off of De’Aaron Fox.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday, citing sources, that Sacramento is acquiring Chris Duarte of the Indiana Pacers for two second-round draft picks, one in 2028 and another in 2030.
Back on June 30, The Athletics’ Shams Charania reported that the Kings and Pacers were “nearing a deal” to send the 26-year-old to Sacramento for unspecified draft compensation.
Now, it is clear what Indiana will get in return for Duarte, a promising young guard in need of a fresh start.
The Pacers initially drafted the 6-foot-6 guard 13th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft and almost immediately, he made an impact. In his rookie year, Duarte played in 55 games — 39 starts — and averaged 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 28.0 minutes per game.
Duarte saw his playing time decrease during the 2022-23 NBA season though, as the guard play began to center around Bennedict Mathurin, the No. 6 pick in the 2022 draft.
Still, Duarte was effective in his limited role.
Despite playing almost nine fewer minutes in his sophomore year compared to his rookie season, Duarte still averaged a respectable 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 46 games. Though his shooting percentages were lower last season, having to deal with inconsistent playing time tends to do that.
And after a year, Duarte will finally be in Sacramento.
Before the 2022 draft, Indiana reportedly approached Sacramento and offered Duarte and the sixth pick in exchange for the fourth pick, which the Kings used to draft Keegan Murray, whom the Pacers also wanted to select.
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With EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov joining the Kings this summer to go along with their addition of Duarte, it seems as if Sacramento is primed to have another successful regular season.
And if all goes well for the Kings and their new additions, they might be in line for a deeper playoff run next season as well.