NBA Free Agency Trade Rumors: Kings interested in dumping Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes

The Sacramento Kings are interested in dumping Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes in order to sign guard Monta Ellis, so they have been in contact with the Cavaliers about a three-way sign-and-trade deal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.

Sources say that the Kings, meanwhile, have been shopping the likes of Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes to the Cavaliers to create the requisite salary-cap room to try to sign Ellis comfortably. Hard to see Cleveland wanting Hayes, whose contract runs through 2014-15 and thus potentially cuts into Cleveland's reserves earmarked for a free-agent run at LeBron James next summer. Fredette's $2.4 million salary is a virtual expiring deal.

As Stein mentions, it's hard to see the Cavaliers interested in Hayes at all due to the nature of his contract. On top of that, he'd simply create an even larger log-jam in the front court. For a player of Hayes' caliber, it's probably not even worth considering adding his salary.

Fredette is obviously the more interesting name here, but even then I can't see the Cavaliers having much interest in him. He's a no-defense shooter, which is something they possibly drafted in Sergey Karasev and signed in Jarrett Jack. While Karasev and Jack both bring more elements to their game than that, Jimmer really doesn't. It's hard to envision him overtaking either of those players for playing time -- even Karasev because of the size he brings. While Fredette showed some signs of improvement last year, this entire circumstance seems like a report released by the Kings in order to drum up interest in their guys, or by Ellis's agent in order to try and lock down that lucrative contract in Sacramento.

I'd be totally okay with adding Jimmer as complete bench fodder if the price was cheap because he's at least a fun player and his deal expires at the end of the season. But I see no actual, tangible benefit in making this move on the Cavaliers' behalf.