The Kings have trimmed their 20-man preseason roster to 18 players, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento, who reports that the team has waived swingman Kent Bazemore and guard Quinn Cook.
Both Bazemore and Cook were in camp with the Kings on non-guaranteed deals attempting to earn regular-season roster spots. However, it appears both players missed the cut.
Bazemore, 33, is coming off a disappointing 2021/22 season with the Lakers. He averaged just 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 39 appearances (14.0 MPG), though he still shot 36.3 percent on three-point attempts.
Cook, meanwhile, was out of the NBA last season after appearing in 188 games across the previous five seasons. He spent a chunk of the 2021-2022 campaign with the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, where he averaged 23.7 PPG, 5.8 APG, and 5.0 RPG with an impressive .524/.446/.885 shooting line in 11 games (35.3 MPG).
Cook was on an Exhibit 10 contract with Sacramento this fall, so he would earn a $50K bonus if he returns to Stockton and spends at least 60 days with the team. Bazemore’s deal didn’t include an Exhibit 10 clause.
The Kings now have 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with KZ Okpala, Matthew Dellavedova, Chima Moneke, and Sam Merrill on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals. The club will have to waive or trade one more player before next Monday’s roster deadline to get down to 15 players for opening night.
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