Kings GM says that Domantas Sabonis was part of the reasons why they traded in Chris Duarte this summer

Back in the 2021 season, Chris Duarte entered the NBA as a first-round pick with the Pacers and landed on the All-Rookie Second Team by the end of the campaign. Unfortunately, his sophomore year saw a reduced role mostly due to injuries and he only averaged 7.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 46 appearances.

However, this setback didn’t affect his reputation too much as Sacramento‘s general manager Monte McNair still believes that the third-year player deserved a chance, sending a 2028 and 2030 second-round pick to Indiana for him.

One of the main opportunities that encouraged the Kings to bring him in, was reuniting Duarte with Domantas Sabonis, as they were teammates during the first half of the 2021/22 competition. This was right before the All-Star headed to California in exchange for Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield.

Monte McNair explained to @KyleDraperTV why he felt Chris Duarte was worth taking a chance on this summer

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— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) August 17, 2023

In a recent interview with NBC Sports, McNair explained in detail why he thought brining in Duarte was a smart choice, besides the fact that he played his best basketball alongside their star center during his rookie season.

“The fact that he’s played with Sabonis and has had success certainly added to that comfort level there,” McNair told Kyle Draper. “But [he’s] somebody with size, with shooting, with the ability to defend, can make a play, I think he’s going to fit in with how we play on both ends of the court. He’s going to have to fit in with some other teammates besides Domas but we think he will.”

The six-foot-six wing was the No. 13 overall pick in the draft two years ago, who went four selections after Sacramento took in Davion Mitchell at No. 9.

According to McNair, the Kings scouts have done their homework on Duarte and have valued his profile for some time now.

“Our evaluation of a player starts before they get into the league and even though we may draft one, two, three guys in a given year, our group’s doing work on guys for years before that and then certainly during the draft process,” the GM said. “So that was really the base for us on Chris, somebody we liked in the draft and had been tracking.”

Last month Duarte explained why he feels excited to be reunited with Sabonis in Sacramento

Right after Duarte’s trade was confirmed by Sacramento, the young player talked to the press and was outspoken about his relationship with Domantas. He remembers how he was one of the first players who helped him adapt to the NBA.

“Domas took me under his wings since Day 1,” Duarte said. “When I got to Indiana, he just walked me through … This is what it’s like to be in the NBA. Make sure you do this, make sure you do that.”

The third-year player shared that his relationship with the Kings big man goes beyond the basketball court. “So I really appreciate him and great dude, great person. I met his family. I can sit here and talk about him for hours. So just so you know, we have a good relationship,” he said.

No doubt that having a friendship inside the squad will help Duarte’s transition into the Sacramento team, as the Kings are expecting that the 26-year-old will become an important asset off the bench for coach Mike Brown in their search for a second succesful campaign.