Sacramento Kings: Complete 2017 offseason grades
Signing George Hill
This summer two immovable forces collided in the NBA world. The free agent class of point guards was stronger than any other position group. From a prior MVP in Stephen Curry to All-Stars Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague, there were a lot of players expecting to receive a lot of money.
George Hill belonged among that group based on talent and production, but also failed to fully reach that level due to to missed time recovering from injuries. Even so, Hill and the remainder of the list all expected massive pay days
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The skyrocketing cap of last year fell back to earth, with a much smaller increase setting the salary cap at just $99 million. There were fewer teams with cap space than last season, and the value of a dollar was much different. Players wouldn’t be able to expect the same level of payouts.
In addition, a strong rookie point guard class meant there were fewer teams that needed point guards. Philadelphia, Dallas and Los Angeles took themselves out of the running, limiting the potential suitors for these point guards wanting major paydays.
Curry got his payday, and Paul took himself off of the market. Holiday used his leverage over New Orleans to extract a major contract. Jeff Teague signed a valuable but surprisingly short deal to join the Timberwolves. Suddenly the money and the landing places were all but dried up.
Kyle Lowry re-signed with Toronto for a much smaller deal than would have been initially predicted, both in annual value and length. Hill was unable to do the same, as Utah moved on quickly and traded for Ricky Rubio in their quest to convince Gordon Hayward to stay.
That climate was such that George Hill found himself signing a three-year, $57 million contract, with just $1 million guaranteed in 2019-20. The Kings should be applauded for not giving away the farm for Hill when he was the last high-end option available. On the other hand, their money was some of the only money remaining, and with Fox and Mason in tow and no realistic playoff aspirations, they weren’t hard-pressed to add a point guard.
If Hill stays relatively healthy then he will be worth the money in a vacuum. But in signing him the Kings are hurting themselves on both ends, blocking Fox and Mason from playing time while improving their overall team enough to worsen their draft pick. The effectively two-year contract may seem to come without long-term damage, but the truth is that there is damage potential in multiple areas.
The Kings have made worse mistakes in the past, and this is a defensible move. Signing George Hill to be a veteran presence and guide the offense as Fox comes along makes sense, even if they could have spent significantly less to cast Raymond Felton or Ramon Sessions, or to bring back Ty Lawson.
George Hill is a talented player, and if he can stay healthy he also becomes a potential trade piece down the road. On the scale of Sacramento mistakes this is light enough to approach not being a mistake at all. It’s a start.
Grade: B-