The Kings actually managed to make a little bit of breathing room under the luxury tax with their recent trade.
The Kings' trade of Travis Outlaw and Quincy Acy yesterday wasn't a particularly thrilling trade because it wasn't necessarily about acquiring assets, but rather about saving a little money and creating a little bit of flexibility. Acy was a fan favorite in Sacramento, but with so many forwards already on the roster and Eric Moreland added to that bunch, it was unlikely that he would have been able to make an impact here anyway. We reported a couple weeks ago that the Kings were considering waiving him outright a couple weeks ago in order to make room for Omri Casspi and Moreland, but this trade allowed them to move Outlaw as well.
The Kings received Jeremy Tyler and Wayne Ellington in the trade back, and are almost certainly expected to waive both; Tyler is a completely unguaranteed contract and Ellington is eligible to be stretched whereas Outlaw was not since Outlaw's contract was signed in the last CBA.
Assuming that Tyler and Ellington are waived, and also that Omri Casspi's deal is all but done in name (he has yet to officially sign his contract but it's safe to say he will be a King), here's what the Kings current roster and salary situation for the next two seasons looks like right now (all salary information courtesy of ShamSports):
| Player | 2014/2015 | 2015/2016 |
| Rudy Gay | $19,317,326 | |
| Carl Landry | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 |
| Jason Thompson | $6,037,500 | $6,431,250 |
| Jason Terry | $5,850,313 | |
| Derrick Williams | $6,331,404 | Qualifying Offer |
| Darren Collison | $4,797,664 | $5,013,559 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | $14,746,000 | $15,851,950 |
| Wayne Ellington* | $923,780* | $923,780* |
| Ben McLemore | $3,026,280 | $3,156,600 |
| Reggie Evans | $1,768,653 | |
| Ray McCallum | $816,482 | $947,276 |
| Nik Stauskas | $2,653,080 | $2,772,480 |
| Omri Casspi | $915,243 | |
| Eric Moreland | $507,336 | $545,386** |
| Total Guaranteed: | $74,191,061 | $42,142,281 |
| Room under Tax: | $2,637,939 | ~$38,857,719 |
| Room under Cap: | $0 | ~$24,357,719 |
| 2014-15 Salary Cap | $63,065,000 | |
| 2014-15 luxury tax | $76,829,000 | |
| 2015-16 cap projection | $66.5 million | |
| 2015-16 tax projection | $81.0 million |
*cap hold due to stretch provision
** an estimate, and also likely unguaranteed
This cap sheet assumes that the Kings will guarantee Eric Moreland and Ray McCallum next season, and also that the Kings will not give Derrick Williams his Qualifying Offer, which is worth about $8.2 million. Ellington's cap hit will remain on the sheet for this season and the next two as per the stretch provision, which gives Sacramento some breathing room this year.
Before the trade, the Kings were actually set to be over the tax and have a full 15 man roster. After the trade, the Kings have two open roster spots (assuming Tyler & Ellington are both waived) and a $2.6 million chunk of breathing room under the tax. This breathing room is important as it allows the Kings to take back a little bit more salary back in future trades and/or sign other minimum contract players (like Terrence Williams or Dahntay Jones perhaps?) while avoiding the tax.
So while this trade wasn't exactly exciting, it was a smart move for the Kings to create a little bit of extra flexibility.