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Sacramento Kings: The Offseason’s Curry Aftertaste

By John von Volkli

September 27, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors shooting guard Seth Curry (3) stands in front of a green screen during media day at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
September 27, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors shooting guard Seth Curry (3) stands in front of a green screen during media day at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors have had divergent fates over the last half-decade, but it seems there is now something to hold their neighboring together. In short, northern Californian basketball is largely flavored by an overwhelming flavor — Curry.

With the Kings signing free agent guard Seth Curry, Sacramento filled its need for point guard depth while adding some scoring pedigree, if in a slightly oblique way. Seth, 24, has been toiling away in the Development League and on NBA 10-day contracts for the last two seasons after having gone undrafted following his graduation from Duke in 2013.

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During the Erie Bayhawks’ 2014-2015 season, he averaged nearly 22 points per game along with 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 3.9 total rebounds.

Those are impressive numbers, but gleaming D-League spectacles can often be taken with a grain of salt. (Seasoning comparisons will permeate this writing — you are forewarned.) What apparently sealed the deal for the Kings was Curry’s performance in the just-completed NBA Summer League.

This is what drove Vlade Divac and company to properly welcome Stephen Curry‘s little brother to the NBA:

Curry, who led the Summer League in scoring, averaged 24 points over his six games in Las Vegas, while managing an impressive 3.17 steals per contest. At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, he is smaller than his older brother, but shows a similar knack for shrugging such things off and making the most of what he’s been given.

Mar 11, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Seth Curry (10) against the Minnesota Timberwolves at US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Timberwolves 106-97. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Seth Curry (10) against the Minnesota Timberwolves at US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Timberwolves 106-97. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

At this point, he’s not the shooting savant that his brother has become — which seems obvious, but Kings fans will need to keep in mind that this is a lesser Curry than the one parked in Oakland. Curry’s three-point shooting is currently nothing which would cause Steph to look over his shoulder — during his Vegas reign, Seth shot .222 from behind the arc.

Though his D-League lifetime average from three is .429, his most recent experience against some of his big league contemporaries shows that he has yet to master that skill against opponents who are now savvy to Warrior-like play.

Defensively, Curry had yet to really be pushed to his physical limits. The D-League, despite the sound of its abbreviated name, is a better home for development of scoring skills, pace-pushing, and sometimes teammate facilitation. Seth will have his work cut out for him as he trains to cover league-leading assignments, including one with whom he shares his Thanksgiving dinners.

So, while rookie Willie Cauley-Stein hones his respectable but under-buffed offense to complement his defensive prowess this year, Curry can give a new level of effort to his defense while applying his promising point guard skill set.

For now, we know that these caveats to his competitiveness couldn’t muddle Curry’s heat in the Summer League, however. Curry shot 18 times per game during his run, relying on his midrange game and dips into the paint to make up the difference.

As he comes into the league full-time with the Kings, Curry will have the opportunity to build himself into an offense that has yet to be defined outside of head coach George Karl‘s press musings.

Along with David Stockton, whose praises I’ve previously sung, the Kings now seem to have a promising young point guard pool. With Darren Collison and Rajon Rondo likely jockeying for the starting role before the season gets under way, the two newcomers may have to spend some quality time as depth players.

Should Andre Miller return for 2015-16 (something Karl would likely prefer), there will be plenty of examples of the point guard position available for Curry and Stockton, from young to … quite old.

How these four (or five) will shake out will be one of the more interesting developments of the season, and each of the players involved is at a critical pivot point, with a lot to prove as each moves into their Karl-led season while many questions abound.

As we’ve seen, Seth may have some answers.

Certainly, Curry has great potential to become an underdog success story. No, not likely to the extent of his older brother. For Sacramento, an underdog among underdogs may be more than a flavor of the week. As the Lazy Susan continues to spin in the Sleep Train Arena, maybe there is something special enough to spice up an entire next generation of Kings basketball …

Let’s get some purple Curry on the stove. (Forgive me.)

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