SACRAMENTO -- The roster is filling up. In an expected move, NBC Sports California has confirmed that Garrett Temple opted in to the final season of his 3-year, $24 million contract that he signed in July of 2016.
The 32-year-old defender will make $8 million this season with the Kings, although his role on the team is unknown at this time.
Temple played in 65 games last season, averaging 8.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 24.8 minutes per game. He shot an impressive 39.2 percent from behind the arc and provided stability as a player and mentor throughout the year.
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With Temple sticking around, the Kings now have 13 players on guaranteed contracts once rookie Marvin Bagley III inks his rookie scale deal.
Veteran Presence
Temple is known for his work behind the scenes in the Kings locker room and in the community. He’s a pro’s pro that has helped change the culture in Sacramento during his previous two seasons.
As of now, he’ll be joined by a small group of veterans, including Zach Randolph, Kosta Koufos and Iman Shumpert. This core four will be taxed with helping to develop the young players into professionals both on and off the court.
NBA
Fight for Minutes
The wing position is crowded in Sacramento. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield are expected to eat most of the minutes at the shooting guard position. Both will likely steal time at the small forward spot as well, where Justin Jackson is likely to play.
Sacramento is also expected to address the small forward position via free agency, which will further complicate matters for Temple in his quest to see time on the court. Although he is still the best perimeter defender on the team, he will likely have to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to open up.
Financial Impact
Before opting in, the Kings were honest with the veteran about their intentions regarding playing time. But the NBA landscape is brutal this summer with very few teams having available cap space to spend.
Temple is a player that spent years fighting his way into the league. He more than doubled his career earnings in his first season in Sacramento. There is no way he could walk away from an additional $8 million without a guarantee of making some of that money up with a new deal in a new location.
Sacramento still sits roughly $19 million under the salary cap as they move towards Sunday’s free agency period and it’s possible they will shop Temple, as well as the remaining veterans. Temple, Randolph, Koufos and Shumpert are all in the final year of their deals and may have value as expiring contracts.
If the Kings can’t find a new home for their veterans, the quartet will likely be asked to watch from the bench as the franchise goes with their planned youth movement.
The Out
With very little competition for players in a cash poor market, there is an outside chance that the Kings hit the free agent period hard. With an estimated $65-70 million in cap space next summer, Sacramento could use the stretch provision on any of their veterans to open up more flexibility under the NBA’s $101 million salary cap this summer.
In this scenario, the team could waive a player and extend his salary over three seasons. For a player like Temple, that would open roughly $5.3 million in additional cap space this season, while committing $2.7 million in salary for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Marc Spears of the Undefeated was first with the news of Temple opting in.