by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings sent guard Isaiah Thomas to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the draft rights to Alex Oriakhi and a $7-million trade exception. Thomas has signed a four-year, $28-million contract with the Suns.

The Kings have been looking for a “pass first” point guard to run their offense. The team believes they have found that point guard in the person of Darren Collison who signed as a free agent. The Kings were looking for Thomas to return to a sixth-man role. Thomas reportedly was not enthusiastic about coming off the bench after having been a starter in Sacramento.

The Kings selected Thomas in the second round (60th overall) in the 2011 draft. He averaged 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 29.1 minutes per game for Sacramento. Thomas started 153 times for the Kings.

“We welcome Isaiah Thomas,” Suns president Lon Babby said in a statement to Yahoo!Sports. “His addition to our backcourt makes it one of the deepest and most dynamic in the league. We have enjoyed getting to know him during his visit to Phoenix this week. He will quickly become a fan-favorite.”

Alex Oriakhi was drafted by the Suns in the second round (57th overall) in the 2013 draft. The 6-9, 225-pound forward played for the Sioux City Skyforce and the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA D-League last season. Oriakhi was named to the All-Rookie First Team in the D-League after averaging 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 43 games. He also has played internationally in France and Israel.

With Thomas gone, the Kings will be relying on Collison and second-year player Ray McCallum to run the point on offense. Sacramento will be looking to rookie Nik Stauskas and second-year shooting guard Ben McLemore to fill the scoring gap that has been created with the trade of Thomas.