The Sacramento Kings have been one of the worst teams in the league and one of the most active at the trading deadline and now Jimmer Fredette has been waived and is a free agent and teams like the NY Knicks, Boston Celtics, Timberwolves, Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs or Chicago Bulls could go after him.
Fredette has been stuck in Sacramento for the past few seasons and has been unable to break through into the rotation on a consistent basis and now as the trade deadline gets closer he could finally be moved. The Kings have been an active team already this season in trades, as they acquired both Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams in deals and now many think they could start moving again. Fredette is a name that has come up, as has Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton along with Jason Smith and teams motivated to add a shooter could look to the Kings for options.
The New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards have all been mentioned as teams looking to add at the deadline, while the San Antonio Spurs may be more motivated than ever, as they have dealt with a high amount of injuries and now they will be without Tony Parker for the foreseeable future as well. The Timberwolves have been looking to make a trade to add depth and so have the Washington Wizards, as they would love some more bench scoring for John Wall and Bradley Beal.
Fredette's biggest strength comes from the fact that he is a good shooter and he has been performing well from long range his entire career and with the Kings not interested in his fourth year, they appear ready to part ways and now they could try and get something for him. Fredette has never averaged much playing time and he is playing a short amount this season at under 20 minutes, but he is shooting very well from three and he nearly is at 50 percent and while that likely cannot be sustained through a whole season, it could be a huge boost for a number of teams heading into the playoffs.
Fredette has a $2.5 million salary this season and that could make things easier for some teams, but unless the cap space works out that could keep him in Sac-town. Fredette had a career high performance against the Knicks last week and put in 24 points and he has been killing it from three, putting in long shots and tough shots and now he could carve out a nice niche for himself in the league.
The Cavaliers could be an option coming up, as the team is working on trading Jarrett Jack and his four-year, $25 million contract and adding Fredette would bring back shooting at a much lower price. This season Jack is averaging eight points in 25 minutes per game, while Fredette is averaging 6.0 points and 1.5 assists in 11.5 minutes a game and obviously hit shooting would be front and center. Many have argued that more time for Fredette means he would be able to get much better and if he has a change of scenery, he could find himself starting somewhere.