The Sacramento Kings have reached a five-year, $40 million deal with restricted free agent Marcus Thornton, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard. The deal makes Thornton the Kings' second highest paid player behind John Salmons, and seems to be a bit more than most observers were ready for. (I had pegged a potential deal at $35 million over five years.) The deal ensures that Thornton will be with the team for a while, either way, and the Kings certainly have plenty of cap space left over.
Depending on how the deal is structured, the Kings could have up to $20 million left under the cap. If the Kings are concerned with reaching the salary floor of $46 million, Sacramento could have frontloaded the deal or offered a signing bonus. We'll wait on those details to crunch the numbers.
What do y'all think? Excited about Marcus Thornton at an average of $8 million a season, or wary?