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"Drew Gooden's Sacramento stay is over.
The forward acquired Feb. 18 in a six-player trade with Chicago agreed to a buyout from the Kings and was waived Sunday night. The move was yet another financially motivated decision by the Kings, who are believed to have saved $2 million while allowing Gooden to possibly join a playoff contender.
For a player to be eligible for a playoff roster, he had to be waived by 9 p.m. PST Sunday. According to Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie, the negotiations nearly went down to the wire.
"It's something going forward that we think made sense for us given where we are, and it made sense for him," said Petrie, who confirmed the deal at 8:11 p.m. after The Bee first reported it. "It got done about 25 minutes ago."
Gooden has an expiring contract and was owed $7.1 million this season and wanted to be in a more ideal setting for free agency. The Kings, meanwhile, seem determined to let rookie forward Jason Thompson grow in his starting role."
The forward acquired Feb. 18 in a six-player trade with Chicago agreed to a buyout from the Kings and was waived Sunday night. The move was yet another financially motivated decision by the Kings, who are believed to have saved $2 million while allowing Gooden to possibly join a playoff contender.
For a player to be eligible for a playoff roster, he had to be waived by 9 p.m. PST Sunday. According to Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie, the negotiations nearly went down to the wire.
"It's something going forward that we think made sense for us given where we are, and it made sense for him," said Petrie, who confirmed the deal at 8:11 p.m. after The Bee first reported it. "It got done about 25 minutes ago."
Gooden has an expiring contract and was owed $7.1 million this season and wanted to be in a more ideal setting for free agency. The Kings, meanwhile, seem determined to let rookie forward Jason Thompson grow in his starting role."
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