Sacramento Kings big man Jason Thompson has been involved in trade rumors before and it all started when the Kings front court suddenly became crowded with the arrival of Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams:
"League sources told ESPN.com that the Kings will be trying to find a new home for forward Jason Thompson, who presumably wouldn't quibble with a fresh start after the arrivals of [Rudy] Gay and [Derrick] Williams to play alongside [DeMarcus] Cousins," reported ESPN.com's Marc Stein in December of last year.
The fact of the matter is there is not just enough minutes to go around the Kings front court and Thompson is too skilled to be the odd man out according to Adam Fromal of Bleacher Report. And while he did start 61 games in the 2013-14 season, he only managed to log 24 minutes per contest, depriving him precious minutes to develop his game and maximize his rebounding prowess and scoring ability from the mid-range areas. Fromal adds:
Plus, there's the matter of his contract, which was a five-year deal for $30 million signed back in the 2012 offseason. He's being paid too much money to sit on the bench for large portions of the game, but his salary situation is reasonable enough that he wouldn't be viewed as an albatross on another team.
The Sacramento Kings have made it known that they want the Boston Celtics star point guard Rajon Rondo but for the time being, they seem to be searching for practical ways to upgrade their roster for the coming season. Local beat writer Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reported that Thompson is one player the Kings are trying to move but is not sure what kind of impact player the team will receive in return.
But nevertheless, Thompson will surely draw some interest around the league from teams looking for a quality big man like the Houston Rockets who have lost Omer Asik this offseason and the Cleveland Cavaliers who are in serious need of adding a serviceable big man in their rotation especially if Anderson Varejao goes down with another injury. And if Williams ends up living his potential in Sacramento, then trading Thompson would just make a lot more seasons this season.
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