Sources: Free agent Hassan Whiteside signs 1-year, minimum deal with Sacramento Kings

Free-agent center Hassan Whiteside is coming back to Sacramento.

The shot-blocking 7-footer reached an agreement with the Kings on Wednesday, returning to the team that drafted him in 2010, sources told The Sacramento Bee, confirming a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Kings signed Whiteside to a one-year minimum deal, which is worth $2.32 million for a player with eight years of NBA service, sources said. Whiteside made $27 million with the Portland Trail Blazers last season in the final year of the four-year, $98.4 million deal he signed with the Miami Heat in 2016.

Sources said the Kings also signed Chimezie Metu to a training camp deal Wednesday. Metu, 23, is a 6-foot-9, 225-pound power forward who spent the past two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. He appeared in 47 games, averaging 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds.

Whiteside, 31, is coming off a strong season after averaging 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots in 67 games for the Portland Trail Blazers. Listed at 7 feet tall and 265 pounds, Whiteside will add significant size, rebounding and shot-blocking ability to a team that has lacked rebounding and rim protection in recent years. The aging Whiteside could be an odd fit for a team that wants to play uptempo and spread the floor around dynamic young point guard De’Aaron Fox. There are also questions about Whiteside’s attitude and work ethic, but general manager Monte McNair’s first free-agent signing is an inexpensive gamble and the Kings could cut ties at any time.

Kings draft Whiteside in 2010

Sacramento selected Whiteside out of Marshall with the 33rd overall pick in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft. Whiteside had a disappointing run with the Kings over his first two seasons in the league but flourished after a couple of years overseas.

Whiteside picked up two fouls in two minutes in his NBA debut in Sacramento’s season opener in 2010 and didn’t appear in another game all season. He spent time with the Kings D-League affiliate in Reno before missing the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Whiteside appeared in 18 games for the Kings in 2011-12, averaging 1.6 points and 2.2 rebounds, before he was waived in July 2012.

Whiteside went back to the D-League, had a brief stint in Lebanon and then signed with the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese NFL. He posted 28 points and 21 rebounds in his first game for the Blue Whales and went on to average 25.7 points, 16.6 rebounds and 5.1 blocks in 27 games.

Whiteside had another big season in the NBL in 2014 before returning to the United States, where he bounced around on summer league and D-League teams with the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies.

Whiteside gets paid

Whiteside signed with the Miami Heat in November 2014. He finished fourth in Most Improved Player voting after averaging 11.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks for the Heat in 2014-15. After averaging 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks in 2015-16, Whiteside signed a massive new deal with the Heat.

Whiteside spent five seasons in Miami before he was traded to Portland after being relegated to a backup role following a hip injury. Whiteside remained healthy in Portland, appearing in 67 games for the Blazers.

He posted eight points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a Nov. 29 win over the Chicago Bulls, breaking the franchise single-game record for shots blocked. The previous record was held by Bill Walton, the father of Kings coach Luke Walton.