The Sacramento Kings are releasing shooting guard Arron Afflalo, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania. The move isn’t a surprise, as today was the deadline for the Kings to release Afflalo before his contract for the coming season became fully guaranteed. If the Kings didn’t release Afflalo today, he would be owed $12.5 million this season. By releasing Afflalo today, the Kings only owe $1.5 million.

The Sacramento Kings are releasing guard Arron Afflalo, league sources say. Afflalo had contract guarantee trigger today.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2017

This option in Afflalo’s contract is a big reason the signing wasn’t a disaster for the Kings. However, it’s disappointing that the Kings weren’t able to use the contract as a trade chip. The Kings, theoretically, could have dangled Afflalo to teams seeking cap relief. Afflalo’s deal could make salaries match in a trade, and then Afflalo could be released by his new team.

Afflalo was signed by the Kings last summer to help fill the shooting guard role with a veteran and stablizing force in the locker room. In the aftermath of the DeMarcus Cousins trade and subsequent rebuild, there was little need to keep Afflalo.