Kings Waive Nigel Hayes

The Kings have placed the contract of forward Nigel Hayes on waivers, reports James Ham of NBC Sports California. Hayes’ deal was non-guaranteed until January 10, so the Kings will not be on the hook for any of Hayes’ salary, nor will the team incur a cap hit.

Hayes, who was scheduled to earn $1.38MM this season, was a casualty of the Kings’ offer sheet to Zach LaVine. To clear the required $19.5MM in cap space to fit LaVine’s offer, the Kings were also forced to renounce their rights to Vince Carter and Bruno Caboclo, whose combined cap holds totaled nearly $17MM.

It’s also likely that the acquisition of Marvin Bagley and Harry Giles’ expected return from injury made Hayes expendable; however, per Ham, Hayes remains a member of the Kings’ Las Vegas Summer League team. Accordingly, Sacramento may still plan to bring him back at a later date.

Hayes, 23, played nine games during his rookie season in 2017/18, where he averaged 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.

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