Kings Forward Jabari Parker Exercises Player Option For 2020-21 Season
Nov 17, 2020, 7:54 AM | Updated: 7:55 am
(Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
Parker picked up his $6.5 million player-option for the 2020-21 season on Tuesday
Sacramento Kings forward Jabari Parker exercised his $6.5 million player option for the 2020-21 regular season on Tuesday morning, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Parker, the second-overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, had a strong season for the Atlanta Hawks last season before being dealt to Sacramento in a deal for center Dewayne Dedmon.
Over 32 games with the Hawks, Parker averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 50-percent from the field.
Once he arrived in Sacramento, head coach Luke Walton buried Parker in the bench, only playing the 25 year-old in six out of the remaining 21 contests left in the season.
Parker was super efficient in his limited time with the Kings, averaging 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 58-percent from the field over 13.3 minutes per game.
Translate those numbers to 36 minutes per game, and Parker’s numbers look even more impressive: 23.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists.
It’s unknown how Walton and the rest of the front office view Parker’s skillset, as the 6’8 forward is not an outside threat–something that the Kings have used Nemanja Bjelica at the power forward spot for over the last two seasons.
Since coming into the league after a huge freshman-year at Duke University, Parker holds career averages of 14.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists over six seasons.
