Kings Waive Filip Petrusev

10:30pm: Petrusev has been officially waived, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

10:05pm: The Kings plan to waive big man Filip Petrusev, a league source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski, the Kings intend to keep their 15th standard roster spot open “for the foreseeable future” once the move is official. Petrusev is expected to sign a contract overseas, Woj adds.

James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com reports (via Twitter) that the Serbian forward/center will be signing with EuroLeague team Olympiacos — there were rumors linking Petrusev to the Greek club last week.

Petrusev, 23, was the 50th pick of the 2021 draft. He was stashed overseas for a couple years before signing a two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Sixers this offseason. Philadelphia traded him to the Clippers in the James Harden deal, and he was immediately flipped to Sacramento for cash.

Although Petrusev was on a two-year deal, only his salary for 2023/24 included guaranteed money — he’ll make $559,782, half of the rookie minimum (or the equivalent to a two-way salary). That will also be the Kings’ cap hit when Petrusev clears waivers, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Petrusev, who played college ball at Gonzaga, won a EuroLeague championship with Anadolu Efes in 2022, earned a Serbian League title with Crvena Zvezda in 2023, and was part of the Serbian national team that finished second at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Now he’ll be heading back to Europe after what must have been a frustrating NBA experience — he was on three different rosters just a week into his rookie season.

Overall, Petrusev appeared in three games this season — one with Philadelphia, two with Sacramento — for 10 total minutes.

The Kings will have 17 players under contract once Petrusev is released, with all three of their two-way spots filled.