NBA free agency Day 1: Kings discuss trade, re-sign Trey Lyles, lose Chimezie Metu to Suns

The Kings were relatively quiet while other NBA teams shelled out over $1 billion in new contracts in the first hour of free agency.

Sacramento re-signed veteran forward Trey Lyles and entered trade talks with the Indiana Pacers, but no trades were announced and nothing else materialized on the free agent front.

A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings and Pacers were discussing a trade involving guard Chris Duarte, but there was still no deal as of late Friday night.

Lyles, a key reserve who helped the Kings reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006 as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, reportedly agreed two a two-year, $16 million deal with bonuses. The Kings re-signed Lyles a day after agreeing to keep Harrison Barnes on a new three-year, $54 million contract.

ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks speculated the Kings will use their remaining $18 million in salary cap space before signing Lyles under the mid-level room exception. They could still sign EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov while renegotiating and extending All-Star center Domantas Sabonis’ contract.

Chimezie Metu, another backup big man who was part of Sacramento’s playoff team, will not be back next season. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Metu has agreed to a one-year deal with the Phoenix Suns. The 26-year-old forward spent the past three seasons in Sacramento, where he averaged career highs of 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 2021-22.

The Kings had about $35 million to spend in free agency before re-signing Barnes at an average salary of $18 million. Most of the free agent forwards the Kings might have pursued instead ended up re-signing with their current teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton, Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, Portland Trail Blazers’ Jerami Grant and Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma.

Lyles, 27, came out of Kentucky as the No. 12 pick in the 2015 NBA draft. The Kings acquired him in February 2022 trade that sent Marvin Bagley III to the Detroit Pistons.

Lyles appeared in 74 games for the Kings last season, averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds. He shot 45.8% from the field and 36.3% from 3-point range, helping the Kings space the floor as a stretch big who can play the power forward and center positions.

Lyles also showed some fire as part of a high-energy bench unit. He was ejected from one game and suspended for another after punching Bucks center Brook Lopez in the face and grabbing him by the neck.

Lyles made no secret of his desire to stay in Sacramento during exit interviews after the Kings lost a seven-game series to the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.

“Returning is honestly my No. 1 priority,” Lyles said. “The fellowship, the relationships I’ve been able to create with these guys, has been above and beyond anything I’ve had in the past. … This is the most at home I’ve felt, so it’s definitely something I want to continue to be a part of.”