The Sacramento Kings have felt omnipresent this offseason as they were reported to have interest in, what felt like, the vast majority of available free agents. The Kings were able to bring in a few players and because of that, they also were going to have to make some cuts. The first casualty is reported to be Eric Moreland, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
Moreland reportedly had a clause in his deal that made the second year of his contract fully guaranteed after Aug. 1. The Kings liked Moreland as a player but reportedly felt he was too similar to their most recent first round pick Willie Cauley-Stein to keep around. Moreland's original contract with the Kings was for three years with the first year partially guaranteed and he was able to stick with the organization all year.
Moreland only appeared in three games last season with the Kings playing just two minutes, but he was back and forth from the D-League a lot. In seven D-League games, he averaged 13.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Moreland also impressed people in this year's summer league when he averaged 6.4 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 21 minutes per game.
Moreland is a 6-foot-10 forward out of Oregon State, and although he wasn't great in college, he has always been a very good rebounder and shot blocker. Moreland will now go through waivers where teams with cap room or a trade exception will be able to claim him. A return to the Kings is also not out of the realm of possibility if they want to bring him in as another training camp body on a non-guaranteed deal.
Moreland went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, but he has impressed enough between the summer league and the D-League that he will likely have plenty of interest from teams around the league, according to former NBA GM Bobby Marks. While Moreland being waived by the Kings means he won't be getting guaranteed money this upcoming season, there is still a strong likelihood that he gets into training camp with a team, and if he continues to play the way he has been, he will have a realistic shot of cracking a roster.
