Kings lose rookie Eric Moreland for the season

It's always just a little more disappointing when an injury is cutting a freshman season short.

The Sacramento Kings will be without Eric Moreland for the remainder of the season, as the rookie has suffered a left shoulder labral tear. He will have surgery this week to fix the issue, which has been a problem since his days at Oregon State.

Moreland went undrafted this June but quickly caught on with the Kings, who were impressed with his Summer League performance. He appeared in just three games for Sacramento, scoring two points in two minutes, spending most of his time instead with the Reno Bighorns of the D-League.

In seven games with Reno, Moreland averaged 13.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks while shooting 59.2 percent from the floor. Those numbers are inflated some by the ridiculous pace Reno plays at, but it was an encouraging stretch for the 6-foot-10 power forward nonetheless.

Given his limited role, the injury news doesn't move the needle much for the parent club, though it's disappointing to lose a development year.