NBA Rumors: Veteran Center Could Be Bought Out

For two seasons, he'd been a solid contributing member of the Sacramento Kings' frontcourt. But things began deteriorating last season for center Richaun Holmes, and after the Kings' acquisition of Domantas Sabonis at last year's trade deadline, he's been essentially out of the rotation. The Kings are looking to move him by February 9th.

But according to NBA Insider Marc Stein, there's no certainty that they find a buyer, as teams are hoping for a freebie:

Rival teams in need of size are monitoring Kings center Richaun Holmes as a potential buyout candidate in the event that Sacramento is unable to trade him before the deadline, sources say.

Holmes has two years and $25M left on his deal after this season, but the Kings could look at a buyout, which would make Holmes a free agent and available to any team in the NBA.

From 2019 through 2021, Holmes had averaged about 13 points per game and just over eight rebounds for the Kings, with about 1.5 blocks per contest. But the Kings weren't winning, and their decision to make the big move to trade for Sabonis last year left Holmes as essentially the forgotten man in the middle.

But it was only last week, perhaps in a bit of a trade showcase, that Holmes was called on for 30 minutes of action (more than three times his season average of 9.6 minutes), and he posted a solid line of 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Richaun Holmes explains what it means to have worked his way back into the rotation 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kD5qaG0hzE
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 24, 2023