July 10: Len’s new deal is official, the Kings announced (Twitter link via James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com).
July 1: Alex Len will stay with the Kings on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. It will pay him $3,196,448.
The 30-year-old appeared in just 26 games last season, averaging 1.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per night. He claimed a role as the team’s backup center late in the season, but his playing time was sporadic in the seven-game playoff series against the Warriors.
There may be a clearer path to regular minutes for Len in 2023/24 following Sacramento’s trade of Richaun Holmes and the free agent departure of Chimezie Metu.
However, with the offseason far from over, the team also may still bring in another big man to be Domantas Sabonis‘ primary backup.
Len was the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, but he has never been able to live up to that status. He returned to the Kings as a free agent in 2021 after briefly playing for them during the 2019/20 season.
This must be the impact player they were talking about
This is why they traded their pick this year to shred Holmes contract to offer Barnes, Lyles and Len more. SMH .
Always liked Len. Old school rim defending center. Always commits to setting picks and not afraid to get rough around the hoop regardless of whether you are a star or not.
Gotta sign a decent backup for Sabonis already
Should just sign Giles, cousins, I Thomas or WCS