NBA Rumors: Sacramento Kings Possibly Signing Kent Bazemore From Atlanta Hawks
From the archive: published May 21, 2016, 10 years ago. Details may have changed since.
NBA rumors have been swirling around Kent Bazemore. The Atlanta Hawks’ dream of winning an National Basketball Association Championship faded away when they got swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, the Hawks are turning their attentions to their pending free agents. Bazemore is one of those players who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The 26-year-old small forward wants to be the next Hawks player to receive a big contract offer for his play this season. There will be several teams looking to sign Bazemore. According to FanSided, one of the teams that could come calling will be the Sacramento Kings.
During the 2012 NBA Draft, Kent Bazemore went undrafted. The former Old Dominion Monarchs star didn’t give up on his dream of becoming a player in the National Basketball Association. Bazemore signed a contract with the Golden State Warriors. He played in a total of 105 games with the team. Bazemore was then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers during his second season with the Warriors. He got to play 23 games with the Lakers and started 15 of those games. Bazemore averaged 13.1 points, 3.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds.
This season, Kent Bazemore was inserted into the starting lineup with DeMarre Carroll leaving the team. Bazemore had to fill some big shoes. He accepted the challenge of guarding the best player on the opposing team. Bazemore also started improving on his three-point shot. He was trying to earn himself the 3-and-D role for the Atlanta Hawks. Bazemore did just that this season. This year, he averaged 11.6 points, 2.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds.
The Sacramento Kings selected Ben McLemore with the seventh pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. They were hoping that he would be their 3-and-D player, but his future with the team is now starting to look cloudy. He has all the tools and skills to be a good player. McLemore hasn’t been able to live up to his potential since joining the National Basketball Association.
The Sacramento Kings will be looking to add some key free agents to help the team win an NBA Championship. They are currently building a team around superstar DeMarcus Cousin. The Kings have been lacking on the perimeter defense for the past several years. Acquiring a talent like Kent Bazemore could help fix that problem.
