Barring a trade before then, the dominant storyline going into 2013 free agency for the Sacramento Kings will be Tyreke Evans. Because the Kings aren't offering an extension this offseason, he'll be a restricted free agent on July 1, 2013. The Kings will retain the option of matching any contract offer sheet that he signs, but as we've seen this summer, teams are all too willing to extend max offers to borderline players (Roy Hibbert, Eric Gordon) and make things as difficult as possible (Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin).
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The salary cap should be $60 million, so the max contract for Evans would start at $15 million. Adding that to the Kings' prior commitments puts the team salary at $61 million, just barely over the cap. It'd give the Kings 11 roster players, not including any draft picks. Depending on his performance this season, Johnson would be the team's only other free agent of note.
Evans isn't likely getting a max deal from the Kings, though. If he gets $12 million, based on his first three seasons, I'll be surprised. That puts the Kings under the cap by $2 million before accounting for picks and Johnson. If the contract starts at $10 million, the Kings would have $4 million of cap space.
The only way to have the space for a big free agent splash or lopsided trade next offseason: let Evans walk (a horrible idea) or amnesty John Salmons, the last contender remaining (as described this morning). Amnestying Salmons and re-signing Evans to a deal starting at $12 million would give the Kings $10 million in cap space before accounting for draft picks or Johnson. That space could be used to nab a small forward or, if needed, point guard. Remember, Brooks could also decide to opt out, freeing up another $3.3 million but also opening up another hole in the rotation.
But that poses problems for 2014-15, when DeMarcus Cousins' extension kicks in. (That is projected to be a max deal.) Salmons and Garcia are the last whale contracts expiring before extensions to Evans and Cousins kick in. Using the space created by their expiration for non-current Kings involves going well over the cap or not retaining Evans or Cousins. Given what we know about the Maloofs, that is not feasible.