Restricted free agent Jason Thompson is close to reaching an agreement with the Kings to remain with the team, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). The former first round pick averaged 9.1 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 64 games for the Kings during the 2011/12 season. Thompson, 26 later this month, earned $3MM last season with Sacramento.
The power forward had been taking a wait-and-see approach with the Kings as the franchise drafted Thomas Robinson in June and pursued Magic big man Ryan Anderson as recently as last week. Regardless, Kings president Geoff Petrie reiterated his stance that re-signing Thompson was the team's top priority and could foresee Anderson playing small forward if he signed with Sacramento.