The Indiana Pacers are close to sending swingman Chris Duarte to the Sacramento Kings for “draft compensation,” according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
No word yet on what the draft compensation will be. Duarte struggled throughout his sophomore season from hell after a fantastic start to his NBA career in his rookie season. He started with a shooting slump, finally broke out of in with a 30-point performance but immediately got injured and never seemed to fully recover from the sprained ankle.
He went from averaging 13.1 points per game as a rookie to just 7.9 per game in year two as he shot just 36.9% from the field. Moving Duarte also opens up some room in the Pacers crowded 2/3 wing rotation especially as they consider signing options like Max Strus and Bruce Brown. It also opens up a roster slot if they are not taking back any players in the proposed deal.
With how much his stock has fallen, it would be unsurprising if Duarte is only worth multiple seconds or at best a heavily protected future first-round pick.
He never seemed to fit quite as well without Domas Sabonis to play off of and now he’ll be reunited with the Kings big man if the deal does indeed go through and hopefully that jump starts his career as he adds further depth to Sacramento’s wing lineup.
iPacers - Indiana Pacers News 
[…] Pacers are also reportedly “nearing a deal” to send Chris Duarte to the Kings which would open up a roster slot and some minutes on the wing […]
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