Sacramento Kings Close to Signing Free Agent Guard Aaron Brooks

The Sacramento Kings are close to a two-year deal with free agent guard Aaron Brooks, according to Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld.com:

"

Free agent Aaron Brooks is on the verge of signing a two-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, according to sources close to the situation.

— Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA July 16, 2012"

Brooks himself somewhat broke the news this afternoon with this tweet:

"

Sacramento Kings....

— Aaron Brooks @Thirty2zero July 16, 2012

"

Brooks played in China during the NBA Lockout, and was contractually ineligible to return to the NBA until his deal with the Guangdong Southern Tigers finished. He played his first three seasons with the Houston Rockets, before being traded to the Phoenix Suns in February of 2011 for guard Goran Dragic. In 2010-2011, he averaged 10.7 and 3.9 assists per game but shot just 37.5 percent from the field

The Kings have two second-year point guards on the roster, with Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette likely to compete with Brooks for minutes.

Thomas, the incumbent starter, was the 60th overall pick in the 2011 draft, but finished with a strong rookie season, averaging 11.5 points and 4.1 assists per game. In the 37 games last season in which he started, he averaged 14.8 points and 5.2 assists a contest.

Fredette, the 10th overall selection in the 2011 draft, struggled his rookie year and averaged just 7.6 points on 38.6 percent shooting.