Sacramento Kings: Grading The Offseason

Jan 13, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Rajon Rondo (9) knocks the ball out of the hands of Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings 108-104. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jan 3, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Marco Belinelli (3) reacts after a shot against the Washington Wizards during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

Adding Marc-smanship

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, the signing of Marco Belinelli was a direct result of Rondo’s request for a shooter, which means one of two things: 1) Rajon Rondo is not aware of the importance of developing 22-year-old Ben McLemore or 2) he just doesn’t give a s**t.

By signing the Italian three-point sniper to a three-year, $19 million deal, the Kings probably overpaid a little bit. But now it’ll be interesting to see how the minutes shake out at the shooting guard position.

Belinelli was (mostly) a terrific bench presence for the San Antonio Spurs the past two seasons, averaging 10.4 points per game on 40.5 percent shooting from downtown. In a potential elimination Game 6 last April, it was Belinelli who nearly carried San Antonio to the second round of playoffs with 23 points (on 7-of-11 shooting from deep) off the bench.

He brings perimeter shooting and veteran experience as an eight-year pro, but again, this represents a pretty drastic drop-off from Monta Ellis or Wesley Matthews, and it does little to reassure fans that the massive salary dump sacrificing the future was the right move.

Grade: B-

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