By admin 
Sacramento Kings general manager Scott Perry has vowed to slash his team’s exorbitant payroll to get below the luxury tax threshold.
Read more FIFA World Cup 2026: where to watch on TV, online if you live in Sacramento area
The Kings took a step in that direction in a cost-cutting move Monday. A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings traded former lottery pick Devin Carter and a second-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks for salary cap relief, confirming a report from ESPN.
The Hawks can trade Carter, release him or absorb his contract using either the biannual exception or the $6.7 million trade exception they created last summer when they sent Clint Capela to the Houston Rockets as part of the Kevin Durant trade. Sacramento will save $5.158 million for the 2026-27 season.
The Kings are now about $11 million over the luxury tax line, $8 million over the first apron and $5.1 million under the second apron. They can avoid the luxury tax if they waive and stretch DeMar DeRozan, whose $25.7 million contract is only guaranteed for $10 million.
Read more What can Kings do with LaVine now that he has exercised his $49 million option?
Getting below the luxury tax line would allow Sacramento to utilize the $15.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, part of which could be used to re-sign free agent forward Precious Achiuwa. The Kings would also avoid crippling apron penalties, which limit the spending tools a team can use to build its roster.
Carter, 24, spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings after coming out of Providence as the 13th pick in the 2024 NBA draft. There were high hopes for the 2024 Big East Conference Player of the Year when former general manager Monte McNair drafted Carter, but his growth was stunted by a shoulder injury and a logjam in Sacramento’s backcourt.
Carter, a 6-foot-2 guard, appeared in 36 games as a rookie after recovering from shoulder surgery, averaging 3.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 38 games last season, shooting 41.4% from the field and 26.3% from 3-point range.
Read more Kings linked to young star in potential trade for Sabonis on eve of free agency
This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 1:18 PM.