SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kings forward Jabari Parker has exercised his player option and will remain in Sacramento for the 2020-21 season.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday that Parker is picking up his $6.5 million option for next season, confirming a report from The Athletic's Shams Charania. The move comes as no surprise. Parker is still only 25 years old, but his career has been plagued by injuries since the Milwaukee Bucks selected him from Duke with the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NBA draft.
The Kings acquired Parker and center Alex Len in the trade that sent Dewayne Dedmon back to the Atlanta Hawks in February. Parker, a 6-foot-8, 245-pound power forward, appeared in only six games for Sacramento, averaging 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 13.3 minutes per contest.
Parker enjoyed his best season with the Bucks in 2016-17, when he averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Parker appeared in 76 games in 2015-16 and 64 games in 2018-19, but he has not played more than 51 games in his other four seasons while battling a series of knee injuries and other ailments.
