4 Underrated free agent forwards the Sacramento Kings should sign
By Logan Struck
3. Yuta Watanabe
Yuta Watanabe, a lefty 6’8″ forward born in Japan, has emerged as a rotational player in the NBA while making a name for himself. Although many know him from being on the wrong side of some nasty dunks, Watanabe is a lights-out shooter and would be a fantastic bench piece for this Kings team.
Watanabe might be the most underrated shooter in the NBA. This season for the Brooklyn Nets, he shot 44.4% from deep, including 51.4% on corner threes, while appearing in 58 games. He had a few games where he knocked down 4+ threes while only missing one or two. Watanabe, unfortunately, was out of the Nets rotation most of the time, but when he played, we wondered why he did not get more minutes.
The sharpshooter does it on both ends of the court as he is a very pesky defender and uses his length to his advantage. Watanabe would be a fantastic 3&D guy coming off the bench for this Kings squad, and I would love to see him have more volume in Sacramento.
Yuta was fifth in the NBA in three-point percentage (min. 100 attempts) this season and was snubbed out of a three-point contest appearance. Getting the chance to be a backup wing in Sacramento is not only a fantastic scenario for him, but it would be close to a perfect fit for the Kings.