SACRAMENTO, CA ---- The Sacramento Kings announced today that the team has traded center/forward Keon Clark and two future second-round picks to the Utah Jazz in exchange for a future second-round draft pick.

“We want to thank Keon for his contribution this past season,” Sacramento Kings President, Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie said. “This was a very difficult decision, but we have to consider the overall economic ability of our team in this market. With this trade, we think we found a good situation for Keon, while reducing our economic exposure for the upcoming season.”

At 6-11 and 221 pounds, Clark, a five-year NBA veteran, averaged 6.7 ppg (.501 FG%, .656 FT%), 5.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, a team-leading 1.88 bpg, and 22.3 mpg in 80 games played last season (started 11). In the 2003 NBA Playoffs, Clark averaged 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per contest in 12 games off the bench.

Signed by the Kings as a free agent prior to the 2002-03 season, Clark, began his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets after being traded by the Orlando Magic, which selected him in the first round (13th pick overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft. He played two and a half seasons with Denver before being traded to the Toronto Raptors, where he spent a year and a half prior to joining Sacramento. Clark has career averages of 8.2 ppg (.500 FG%, .645 FT%), 6.0 rpg and 1.63 bpg in 351 contests.