Report: Jabari Parker Agrees to 2-Year Contract with Celtics After Kings Release

Jabari Parker will try to revitalize his career in Boston.

The 26-year-old forward, who was released by the Sacramento Kings on March 25, has agreed to a two-year deal with the Celtics, according to Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic on Friday.

Parker, the No. 2 overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014, had a strong start to his career, but things slowed down once he joined the Kings in February 2020. The team utilized his player option to keep him around for 2020-21, but he rarely made it onto the court. 

The Duke product appeared in three games, though he was limited by the league's health and safety protocols on two separate instances and missed one game for personal reasons. In his brief appearances, he averaged 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds through an average of nine minutes on the hardwood, a year removed from his six-game campaign in his half season with the Kings. 

Sacramento was open to trading him leading up to this year's deadline, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst, but it wasn't able to find a willing partner. 

Parker came to Sacramento off of 32 games in Atlanta, where he had averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds. It was a hint of the fine form he showed in 2016-17, when he averaged 20.1 points on 49.0 percent shooting with 6.2 rebounds per game for the Bucks. 

While he never hit his stride in Sacramento, Parker will have the chance to start fresh alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and others in Boston.