"I'm just out there longer," Whiteside told reporters in January. "I'm just out there playing 30 minutes a game. I never felt like my production changed. You guys know better than me. Y'all can run the 36 per minutes. You can run it every year for my NBA career and it's going to pretty much stay around the same, but I just think it's just more minutes and we need every one of them."

Whiteside's arrival in Sacramento represents a homecoming, as the Marshall product was a second-round pick to the Kings in 2010. He played three seasons with the franchise before beginning a two-year odyssey that nearly saw his career end before he latched on with the Miami Heat.

Whiteside's market in free agency was always going to be somewhat limited due to his skill set and reputation for inconsistent effort. Seven footers who can't stretch the floor are less valued now than at any time in NBA history given the proliferation of three-pointers and emphasis on spacing.

Nevertheless, Whiteside proved he can still be effective last season and locking him to this type of deal minimizes the risk.