Sacramento Kings: Welcome Back, Quincy Acy

After spending three years with the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, and the New York Fisherbockers, Quincy Acy is probably ready to make some headway and be part of a competitive team. With his recently announced return to the Kings, the Texas-born forward is not going to have the luxury of wading into the inviting waters of a ready-made playoff team just yet. That said, it seems he will be amongst a friendlier audience than the Bronx crowds he’s been surrounded by as of late.

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Though the Kings are still wet cement, they are certainly transformed from the entity that Acy encountered during his first fifty-six games with the team. This year’s Kings team holds some opportunity for Acy to prove himself and build on what he’s developed over his short NBA career. Acy’s first three years in the NBA have seen him migrate from one mediocre-to-abysmal team after another, but such experience may yet come to prove beneficial.

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Having spent four years at Baylor University before becoming Toronto’s No. 37 pick in the 2012 draft, Acy has long been known as an energy infusion coming off the bench to swipe rebounds, block shots, and create space for his team’s offense. His offensive output is largely shaped by his traditional bench role (and perhaps vice-versa). Not a modernist jump-shooting forward, Acy tends to use his fresh legs to make tip-in adjustments, break out in the weak side lane, and make quick backdoor cuts. More often than not, he is the stamp, not the envelope for a given play, let alone a given game.

His starting turns with the Knicks reached a career-high twenty-two, but as we all likely know, this was at best a character-building experience. Of course, there were some added benefits of being aboard the Knicks’ garbage barge, beyond tasting a starting spot in the league. Acy was afforded the opportunity to work on his mid- to long- range shooting without the fear of immediate punishment for imprudence. In the halcyon days of Mike Woodson and Steve Mills, Acy would have been duly punished for pushing the boundaries of his range during contests against teams like the Hornets. Faces of disappointment would abound.

When he was a part of the putty triangle that defined the early days Phil and Fish, players like Acy were given an open door to try moving the needle in ways usually confined to practice.

Now that he’ll be heading to a George Karl-led team with capable shooters like Marco Belinelli and Darren Collison, Acy will probably do most of this kind of shooting with coaches behind the scenes, less so on the floor. However, now that he’s a late addition to a forward-rich roster which – at the time of this writing – includes the likes of Omri Casspi, Rudy Gay, Caron Butler, and Willie Cauley-Stein and DeMarcus Cousins (both of whom often bleed into power forward territory despite their size), Acy will have a different cushion than last year.

Whereas last year he got the chance to contribute in a large spotlight and develop skills under its heat, Acy can now take advantage of a wealth of mentorship and player development, coming from influences like Butler, as well as from Karl and his staff. As pre-season training and autumn efforts give the latter a picture of how this sorely underutilized talent fits, perhaps Acy’s minutes will allow him to become a permanent and critical part of Sacramento’s new defensive structure.

Though this tripe is something he’s likely grown tired of, Acy may finally have an opportunity to flourish this season, given what will be around him. Perhaps, for someone who has been willing to take a backseat in so many humble wagons, well-wishing can be forgiven.

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