12:14pm: The deal is now official, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Sulia link).
7:28am: The Kings and Raptors have agreed to a trade that will send James Johnson to Sacramento in exchange for a future second-round pick, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The second-rounder heading to Toronto is for 2014, according to SI.com's Sam Amick (via Twitter). Stein adds that the deal could be made official as soon as today.
Johnson, 25, was acquired from the Bulls by the Raptors at the 2011 trade deadline, and started 65 of the 87 games he played for Toronto. In 2011/12, the 6'9" forward averaged 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game, good for a 14.5 PER. He'll earn about $2.8MM in the final year of his rookie contract, so the Kings are able to absorb his deal within their cap space, while the Raptors clear that amount from their books.
Zach Lowe of SI.com notes (on Twitter) that the Raptors viewed Johnson as "more of a small-ball power forward" than a true small forward, but he'll likely play at the three for Sacramento, given the presence of Jason Thompson and Thomas Robinson at the four. Small forward was considered a need for the Kings this summer, with both Donte Greene and Terrence Williams hitting the free agent market.
—–
Was one of my favorite Raptors… he wasn’t great, but he was decent offensively, solid defensively, and I believe led the Raps in steals and blocks (not that he had much competition)
I hope they use that 2.8 million in order to help out with a trade… because there’s not much value in a 2nd round pick.
so are the kings gonna keep chuck hayes ? is their back up center ?