Jason Thompson will return to the Kings after an agreement was reached on a multi-year deal Sunday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed and Kings basketball president was limited in what he could say because of NBA rules during the moratorium on signing free agents that ends Wednesday.
The deal is expected to average $6 million per season.
Having Thompson's deal completed frees Petrie to look at other areas. Petrie said trades and other free agents are possibilities.
"We're going to look at (trades and free agents) and pursue some things," Petrie said.
The Kings need to continue to improve their shooting and team defense and have different avenues to do so.
And with news former All-Star forward Andrei Kirilenko plans to stay in Russia one more season, he won't be an option.
Nor will any other "name" free agents because the Kings will not spend big and tie up future cap space to lure a player to Sacramento.
The team is set on saving future cap space for when it's time to negotiate with players like Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins.
And based on the offers some players are receiving in free agency, retaining Evans could cost the Kings $10 million or more a season. And if Cousins continues to develop, he figures to be a maximum-salary player.
That means any long-term money isn't likely to be spent on adding any more veterans unless they are impact players on a team that already has John Salmons, Chuck Hayes and Travis Outlaw signed beyond the 2012-13 season.
The Kings will have about $6 million left under the salary cap with rookie Thomas Robinson and Thompson's deal when it becomes official. The Kings will have 13 players, two below the league maximum
That gives the Kings options of re-signing Terrence Williams, who presumably would not cost $6 million, and save money for a possible addition later.
Williams is still available and not on the verge of agreeing to a contract with another team.
The Kings could monitor the amnesty waiver wire, too. So far the only name that has come up is Philadelphia's Elton Brand. The Kings have no need for another power forward, much less an aging one.
The only other way the Kings could clear more salary space would be to use the amnesty clause on one of their players. But the Kings aren't interested in hoping someone claims a player they waive to pick up the remainder of his salary, only to pay a player that is not in Sacramento.
Now we wait to see what might happen in the next few days.
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