And no I'm not talking about Carlos Boozer, I'm talking about this guy:

Kyrylo Fesenko, Utah's third string Center from the Ukraine.

Fesenko was set to be a free agent this summer if Utah hadn't picked up his option, but they did, for $870,000.  Now though, Utah is in a bit of a pickle with Korver, Okur and Boozer all staying in their contracts.  Utah also has another nice young center prospect that they picked up in the draft last year in Kosta Koufos.  So wouldn't it just be better for the Jazz if we sent them a future 2nd rounder to take him off Utah's hands?  It also happens to take his 870,000 off the cap, which should help alleviate at least a little of the pain of Booz opting-in.

So why should we pick up Fesenko? The guy is huge - 7'1 and 290 lbs.  He's also young at only 22 years old.  DraftExpress sees his best case scenario as Andris Biedrins, and I think that's a fair assesment.  Fesenko is an excellent rebounder and shotblocker, averaging almost 1 block a game for the measly 7 minutes he averaged in 21 games.  Per 40 minutes, he averages almost 3.7 blocks and 14 rebounds.  His field goal shooting is also above 50% because most, if not all, of his shots involve him close to the rim or on put backs.  He's not meant to be an offensive threat.  But on defense and for rebounding, he can help you.  

In the times when he did get some playing time, he performed well, including his career night against Houston and some guy named Yao Ming: 12 points on 6/8 shooting, 11 boards, and 3 blocks in 34 minutes.  Thats not bad for a 21 year old going against one of the best centers in the league.  That's the thing about him. For a relatively cheap price ( I really don't think Utah will ask for more than a future 2nd rounder. They really need money off the cap right now) you get a big, real center to back up Spence.  

So why would the Kings be interested? Well for one he fills one of their biggest needs with his rebounding and defense.  Coach Westphal has expressed that teams need someone to do those things if they want to win, and thats our goal.  Fes is also young, and also cheap. We can pick him up for a one-year trial and have the option to sign him for longer if we think he's working out for us.  And he fits with the "toughness" theme that the Kings unveiled during the draft.  And it should be mentioned that Fesenko's first agent was current Assistant GM of the Kings, Jason Levien.

Personally, I think that getting Fesenko would be a better pickup than any of the available free agents.  We need a tough BIG, and thats a key word.  Fesenko is BIG.  Nobody else available in Free Agency really is. Gortat was, but he's going to Dallas for way more than he's worth.  Powe wouldn't be able to help us until February. Diogu is an anomaly to me. I wouldn't miss him at all if those last two games of the season didn't give me pause.  So to me, Fesenko is the best solution.  If things don't work out, fine, we tried him out for a year, didn't work.  We might go another route and pick up a guy like John Bryant, who could end up providing the same things for even cheaper than Fes.  But Bryant hasn't had a couple years of seasoning.

Young. Cheap. Potential. Tough.  All things the Kings are interested in. I say we need to give this a try.