Sacramento Kings Rumors: Kosta Koufos Joins Kings On Four-Year Deal
Sacramento Kings rumors have the team signing free agent center Kosta Koufos. The Kings will have Koufos play center for the 2015-16 NBA season and beyond, allowing DeMarcus Cousins to play power forward. A report from Marc Stein at ESPN states that the Kings extended a four-year deal worth $33 million. That’s a big raise for Koufos, who made $3 million per season during his last three years in the NBA. He earned the big paycheck by coming through for the Grizzlies a number of times in clutch situations.
Last season, Koufos played 81 games for the Memphis Grizzlies, averaging 16.8 minutes a night. He averaged 5.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and about a block a night for the team. Koufos was limited in minutes due to Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph being ahead of him on the depth chart. It’s possible he could play more minutes than that for the Kings, especially if he gets the nod as the starting center. He just turned 26-years-old, so Koufos still has youth on his side.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, earlier Sacramento Kings rumors revealed that the team had signed All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo for the 2015-16 NBA season. In order to sign Rondo and Koufos, the team has to clear a lot of space under the salary cap. In a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Kings traded Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, and 2014’s No. 8 overall draft pick Nik Stauskas. That freed up about $16 million in guaranteed salaries from the roster. The money has now been spent, leaving some fans to wonder if the incoming free agents are better than what the front office gave up.
The Kings will still have some more work to do this offseason, as they don’t have a full roster for the upcoming NBA season. Key players still under contract are DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Darren Collison, and Ben McLemore. A smaller deal was reported on NBA.com, revealing that the Kings offered Marco Belinelli $19 million over three years. They also selected Willie Cauley-Stein with the sixth overall selection of the 2015 NBA Draft. That’s a good core to work with, especially since the team could still have a lot of money to spend during the 2016 NBA offseason.
This is likely the final large contract that the team gives out during the offseason, but fans should expect more Sacramento Kings rumors when it comes to acquiring roster “filler.” Kosta Koufos was a huge signing, especially since he is much better than his numbers show.
[Image Source: Patrick Smith/Getty Images]
