SACRAMENTO - When the NBA free agency flood gates opened at 3:00 PT on Sunday, general manager Vlade Divac acted quickly to bolster the Kings roster for next season.
Within minutes, the Kings had agreements in place to sign free agent center Dewayne Dedmon and forward Trevor Ariza, as well as re-signing forward Harrison Barnes, according to league sources.
Those sources, spoke to ABC10 on the condition of anonymity because the deals were not yet official, as free agent contracts cannot be signed until Saturday, when the NBA moratorium ends.
The 29-year-old Dedmon, who played the last two seasons in Atlanta, agreed to a three-year contract with Sacramento worth $40 million. According to a league source, the third year of his deal is not fully guaranteed.
Dedmon is a six-year veteran who will be joining his sixth NBA team. He went undrafted out of USC in 2013 and played for three teams in his rookie season.
Dedmon seemed to have found much more of a solidified role with the Hawks over the past two seasons. He averaged 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest last year with Atlanta, and started in 52 of the 64 games he appeared in.
Ariza, who turned 34-years-old today, adds a much needed veteran presence for the Kings. His deal with Sacramento is a two-year contract worth $25 million, however only the first year of the deal is fully guaranteed, according to sources.
Entering his 16th NBA season when training camps open in October, Ariza spent last season in Phoenix and Washington, playing in 69 games, where he posted combined averages of 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest.
New Kings head coach Luke Walton was a teammate for two seasons in Los Angeles and the duo won a championship with the Lakers in the 2008-09 season.
Ariza will provide great depth at the small forward position, behind Barnes, who as expected, agreed to return to the Kings on a four-year deal worth $85 million.
Divac made no secret of his desire to retain Barnes’ services, shortly after sending Zach Randolph and Justin Jackson to Dallas to acquire the 27-year-old. He opted out of his final season with Sacramento to seek the security of a longer term contract.
Barnes, a seven-year veteran, who won an NBA championship in 2015 with the Warriors, started all 28 games with the Kings. A career 13.6 point-per-game scorer, Barnes averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists in the 77 games played with both the Kings and the Mavericks.
Walton, when introduced as the Kings’ new head coach to replace Dave Joerger back in April, said that his team will be shooting a lot of three’s next season. All three players – Barnes (39.5 percent), Ariza (33.4 percent) and Dedmon (38.2 percent) – provide assistance to Sacramento’s perimeter threat, alongside the likes of Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica.
Before the free agency period opened up Sunday afternoon, the Kings also decided not to extend qualifying offers to forwards Corey Brewer and Troy Williams, according to sources. Williams was a two-way player with the Kings last season, sharing time between Sacramento and G League Stockton, and Brewer inked two 10-day contracts back in February before signing to remain with the team for the remainder of the season on Feb. 28.
Follow Sean Cunningham on Twitter: @SeanCunningham
