SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- When Keon Clark was cut loose by Toronto three weeks ago, he could have gone almost anywhere in the NBA -- so he decided to go with a winner.

	Clark

Clark, the 6-foot-11 forward whose acrobatic blocks and dunks have made him a staple of NBA highlight reels, signed a one-year contract with the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday for the $4.5 million mid-level salary cap exception.

The deal has an option for another season, said Clark's agent, Jim Mourer.

Clark became an unrestricted free agent last month when the Raptors, fearful of paying a luxury tax, pulled their qualifying offer from the table. Clark's surprising availability sparked a three-week derby during which Mourer's phone never stopped ringing.

"Winning is what it comes down to,'' Clark said at a news conference at Arco Arena, where he showed off his new white-and-purple No. 7 jersey. "I don't think there's a lot of times when a free agent gets to go from a good team to a better team.

"I was surprised to be able to leave Toronto after the season I had, but I'm glad to go to a team that has a better shot at winning a championship.''

Adding the high-flying Clark to a roster already considered the NBA's most exciting group should make for plenty of highlights, but the Kings coveted Clark just as much for his ability to match up with other lanky forwards such as Kevin Garnett, Darius Miles and Tracy McGrady.

Clark also adds another option in the Kings' quest to beat the three-time champion Los Angeles Lakers and Shaquille O'Neal. Clark won't start -- which won't bother him, he said -- but he'll be in a frontcourt rotation with Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard.

Clark played the last 1½ seasons with Toronto, averaging 11.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and a team-leading 1.5 blocks in 2001-02. He played his first 2½ NBA seasons with Denver after Orlando drafted him with the 13th overall pick in 1998 and traded him to the Nuggets.

"You'll see that his game and the type of game we play are made for each other,'' said Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie.

An athletic forward with impressive jumping abilities and a solid inside game, Clark was one of the more attractive forwards on the market this summer. But the impending luxury tax and Clark's citation for marijuana possession last month might have scared off a few suitors.

Not the Kings, who called Mourer on the first day of free agency. Kings owner Joe Maloof said Petrie's sights were set on Clark when the organization had its season-ending evaluation meetings in Las Vegas in June.

"A player of his caliber is hardly ever available in a situation like this,'' said Maloof, who knows he'll almost certainly be paying a luxury tax next summer. "It was the best for the organization. Money didn't matter in this case.''

Clark, who played at UNLV, made $2 million last season. On July 22, the Raptors rescinded a $3 million qualifying offer that would have given them the right to match any offer to Clark.

With his dramatic blocks and dunks, Clark was one of the Raptors' most popular players during his time in Toronto. Clark thought he had earned more respect from the Raptors.

"Some guys are willing to take the risk to better themselves, and some teams aren't -- and I don't think it was that big of a risk, either,'' Clark said.

Clark's shot-blocking and rebounding abilities should shore up two of the Kings' weaker points last season, when they finished with the NBA's best regular-season record and won their first Pacific Division title.

Of course, at 221 pounds, Clark is probably too thin to defend O'Neal by himself -- though he's hardly alone.

"I don't think anybody can cover Shaq,'' Clark said. "It's like moving a refrigerator with all the food in it.''

The Kings lost to Lakers in the Western Conference finals, stretching the champs to overtime in Game 7. The Lakers called to inquire about Clark's availability -- but only after Clark had been sold on Sacramento in his first free agent visit.