Recent trade rumors are out that the Sacramento Kings are willing to trade sophomore center Willie Cauley-Stein to interested teams as he is already deemed dispensable by the club.

The Kings have been the subject of many trade rumors these past weeks as both of their most popular players, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, are recently linked to several teams.

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Another Sacramento player has just entered the rumor mill, and he is last year's sixth overall pick, Cauley-Stein.

ESPN reported that the Kings' management "had high expectations" for Cauley-Stein as the team hoped he can be a reliable frontcourt complement with fellow former Kentucky standout Cousins.

It was also speculated that Cauley-Stein was selected as an "insurance" should Cousins decide to leave the franchise.

However, the 2016 NBA All-Rookie Second Teamer has not met all expectations and is currently being under-utilized by Kings head coach Dave Joerger, leading to rumors that Sacramento is now open to trading him when an opportunity comes.

In his rookie year last season, Cauley-Stein played 21.4 minutes per game for then head coach George Karl. He averaged 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds and even started 39 of the 66 games he played in.

This season, Joerger has used him for only 13.8 minutes a night in nine games so far. He is only averaging 4.7 points and 1.8 boards as a result.

Joerger has chosen seven-footer Greek-American Kosta Koufos to start at the number four spot with Cousins while his primary backup is veteran Anthony Tolliver. Joerger prefers Tolliver's ability to space the floor with his outside shooting than Cauley-Stein's height and youth, which left the sophomore big man the third option at the power forward position.

However, recent reports have emerged that the Kings are really "planning to keep" Cauley-Stein contrary to the latest trade rumors, as per CSN California.

Cauley-Stein had acknowledged that his veteran teammates have been getting the minutes and he is fine with that.

"Just trying to figure out where you fit in with our team, we've got a lot of vets and I'm still young, so it's different," Cauley-Stein said. "You've got to try and gain everyone's trust again with new coaches and new players."

Joerger's system is said to be difficult for a lot of players to master and the young big man is "no exception" to it.

TagsNBA Trade Rumors, NBA Trade Rumors 2016, Willie Cauley-Stein, sacramento kings, Sacramento Kings rumors