Sacramento Kings: Grading The Darren Collison Signing
By Evan Massey
The Sacramento Kings agreed to a three-year deal worth $16 million with point guard Darren Collison, and they are very excited with the prospects for the future. Collison was expected to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers when the offseason began, but the Kings were able to offer him the possibility of starting and a contract that was fair as well.
Los Angeles was busy focusing on wing players and frontcourt players, and the Kings were able to swoop in and steal Collison away.
There is no doubt that Collison has a good chance to start for the Kings at point guard, and that is a very exciting thought after seeing the type of basketball that he played last season. He was able to fill in very nicely for Chris Paul when he went down with injury, and he also played well alongside of Paul at the end of the season and into the playoffs.
If he does end up starting at point guard in Sacramento, he will get the chance to prove himself to the NBA once again.
Collison played in 80 regular season games with the Clippers last season, averaging 11.4 points, 3.7 assists, and 2.4 rebounds, and he also chipped in with 1.2 steals per game. He is an excellent all-around point guard, but could still use some work on being a consistent playmaker for his teammates.
It was very obvious that he was learning different things from Paul, and that could be the main reason for his improved play throughout the course of the season.
He did have a chance to start with the Dallas Mavericks in 2012, and he was able to play at a consistent level. After that season, he decided to opt out of his contract and test the free agent market.
Now that he is with the Kings on a long-term deal, he will have much more stability and confidence to play his game and be a core piece of the Kings.
It will be very difficult for the Kings to make any noise in the difficult Western Conference, but adding pieces like Collison will help them get back into contention. They will have DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, and Collison, and that is a very talented five players.
There will be some competition between Collison and second-year point guard Ray McCallum this offseason, but that is a battle that Collison shouldn’t have much difficulty winning for now.
Overall, this was an excellent signing for the Kings and it should pay off very well over the next three seasons. The Kings were able to sign a potential starting point guard for a very team friendly contract, and he is still showing improvement each and every season.
All that being said, Collison will be a very interesting player to keep an eye on throughout the course of next season and into the future.
Darren Collison Signing Grade: A-
Evan Massey is a Staff Writer for HoopsHabit.com.