Sacramento Kings reach preseason roster limit with signings of Kent Bazemore, Quinn Cook
The Kings reached their preseason roster limit Wednesday when general manager Monte McNair officially announced the signings of guard Quinn Cook and forward Kent Bazemore.
Sources told The Sacramento Bee the Kings had agreed to one-year deals with Cook and Bazemore in early August, but the contract signings weren’t finalized until this week as the team prepares for the start of training camp on Tuesday.
The Kings now have 20 players under contract going into training camp. Teams can carry up to 20 players during the preseason, but they are limited to 17 during the regular season with 15 players under standard contracts and two two-way players.
Bazemore, 33, is returning to Sacramento after spending part of the 2019-20 season with the Kings. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound wing is expected to compete for a backup role at the small forward position.
Bazemore is a 10-year NBA veteran who has played for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers and Kings. He averaged 10.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 25 games for the Kings in 2019-20 after being acquired in a trade with the Blazers.
Cook, 29, is a five-year NBA veteran who played for the G League Stockton Kings last season. He will compete with Matthew Dellavedova for Sacramento’s third point guard spot behind De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell.
Cook has averaged 6.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 14.1 minutes per game over 188 career games with the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Warriors, Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. He is a career 40.8% 3-point shooter who hit on a career-best 46.2% with the Cavaliers in 2020-21.
Cook, Bazemore, Dellavedova, Sam Merrill, KZ Okpala and Chima Moneke are expected to compete for the last three roster spots in Sacramento, where the Kings are hoping to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 12:05 PM.
