Putting a close to their free agency, the Sacramento Kings have agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with veteran Vince Carter.
After making a flurry of moves earlier in the week, the final piece of the puzzle has been found in regards to the Sacramento Kings‘ roster.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Kings have agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with eight-time All-Star Vince Carter.
Earlier in the week, ESPN‘s Chris Haynes reported that the Kings met with the 40-year-old Carter and seeing as it clearly went well, he’s set to reunite with his former coach Dave Joerger as well as former teammates in Zach Randolph and Kosta Koufos, who Carter played under/with while playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
The one-year deal will help bring Carter to play his 20th season in the league, a feat that only a handful of all-time players can say they achieved.
By adding Carter, the Kings keep hitting on their theme in free agency by adding and fortifying a veteran presence around their expansive nucleus of young players they’ve either drafted or acquired over the last year-plus.
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But for how much experience he brings to a young Kings roster, Carter’s fit on the court makes sense for numerous reasons as well.
In the latter stages of his career, Carter has transitioned incredibly well, acting as a role player for teams like the Dallas Mavericks and the aforementioned Grizzlies.
Although his tenure in Memphis started rough, Carter has since bounced back in the last two seasons, showing that he still has something left in the tank.
In the 73 games he played last season, Carter averaged 8.0 points per game on 37.8 percent shooting from three and averaged a true shooting percentage of 54.2 percent.
In addition to those numbers, Carter averaged an effective field goal percentage of 57.6 percent in spot up situations and ranked in the 88th percentile in the same category, per NBA.com.
With the Kings in the market to shore up their small forward depth, Carter checks both boxes of bringing the leadership the Kings have coveted along with still being able to perform at an acceptable rate to warrant a place in the league.
Although you could definitely make the case that Carter will wind up being the starting small forward on opening night, there will be enough wiggle room to let fellow Tar Heel Justin Jackson get the development he needs as he acclimates to the NBA level in his rookie season.
As Marc Spears of ESPN notes, the Kings’ roster is now full and they’re reportedly not expecting to make any further moves, barring a trade coming to fruition at a later date. Whether that goes for players they could sign to two-way contracts remains to be seen.
Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
For a team that has been widely criticized in how they’ve constructed their roster in the past, the Kings have now turned a new page with how they’ve assembled the pieces that are needed to help their growing rebuild flourish, and Carter is just the latest example of this.
Final Grade: B+
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