A day after striking out on free agent shooting guards Wesley Matthews and Monta Ellis, the Sacramento Kings have found a much cheaper alternative. CBSSports’ Ken Berger has reported the Kings and Marco Belinelli agreed to a three-year, $19 million contract Friday morning.
A former member of the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Hornets, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, Belinelli won a championship with San Antonio in 2014. The eight-year veteran was drafted out of Italy 18th overall by the Warriors in 2007 and holds career averages of 9.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals and 22.8 minutes played in 502 NBA appearances (209 starts).
Belinelli will breathe new life into the Kings’ outside offense, which ranked 28th in 3-point makes last season. The 29-year-old is a career 39.2 percent shooter from downtown and made 37.4 percent of his triples in 2013-14. Belinelli hit a career-high 43 percent from deep in the 2013-14 campaign, the same season he won the NBA Three-Point Shootout at All-Star Weekend.
The 6-foot-5, 192-pound off guard will join 2013 seventh overall pick Ben McLemore and the recently signed James Anderson at the position. The financial investment in Belinelli suggests he’ll have the inside track to start when the 2015-16 season begins.
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