In the midst of the Sacramento Kings’ ongoing rebuild, fourth-year center Willie Cauley-Stein has largely been the forgotten piece of their young core. Though Cauley-Stein did start all but one game for the Kings last season, he still believes he’s not being utilized in the most effective manner.
As a result, Cauley-Stein now appears ready to move on from the team who drafted him less than five years later. In fact, his agent, Roger Montgomery, says Cauley-Stein needs to go elsewhere at this point of his career and also expressed that he hopes the Kings don’t extend a qualifying offer to the Kentucky product this offseason.
“I really think Willie needs a fresh start,” Montgomery told Sac Bee’s Jason Anderson. “Based on how things have gone for him there in Sacramento, I just think it’s time for Willie to move on and we’d really like him to move on.”
“We’ve kind of hoped that things would change over the years and Willie would get a chance to expand his game, get a chance to get some consistency there in terms of the roster turnover and the coaching turnover and the things that have not been steady there,” Montgomery said. “That being said, I’m hopeful they will not even give Willie his qualifying offer so Willie can be an unrestricted free agent.”
As Montgomery specified, Willie Cauley-Stein would have the ability to enter unrestricted free agency if Sacramento doesn’t extend a qualifying offer. With his rookie contract expiring, Cauley-Stein would get the chance to earn his first major payday elsewhere.
There are a number of teams in the market for a center, with teams such as the LA Clippers and Brooklyn Nets linked to some of the marquee big man names becoming available this summer. If teams are seeking a younger, and likely cheaper, option than some other star free agents such as Al Horford and Nikola Vucevic, Cauley-Stein makes for an extremely intriguing option if he gets his wish and is able to move on from Sacramento.
