NBA free agent news: Another backup big man re-signs to remain with Sacramento Kings

Free agent center Alex Len will be back to reprise his role as a reserve in Sacramento next season.

Len has agreed to remain with the Kings on a new one-year, $3.2 million contract, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Saturday.

Len, a 30-year-old native of Ukraine, appeared in 26 games last season, averaging 1.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.4 blocked shots in 6.2 minutes. He played sparingly during the regular season, but coach Mike Brown called on him to play a bigger role as the Kings made their way to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

At 7-foot-1 and 250 pounds, Len gave the Kings more size and a stronger defensive presence than the small-ball centers they used behind All-Star Domantas Sabonis throughout the season. Len averaged 3.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 13.7 minutes per game over the last seven games of the regular season. He logged double-digit minutes three times in a seven-game series loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.

Len came out of Maryland as the No. 5 pick in the 2013 NBA draft. He spent five seasons with the Phoenix Suns and three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, where he averaged a career-high 11.1 points per game in 2018-19.

The Kings acquired Len in a trade late in the 2019-20 season. Len averaged 5.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 15 games for the Kings, but he spent the 2020-21 season with the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards before returning to Sacramento as a free agent in 2021-22.