Sacramento Kings: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season

3 of 11

Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

9. Thinking long-term with trade deadline deal

After over a decade in the wilderness, the Sacramento Kings seemed to enter the 2017-18 season with a real plan for the future. The team stocked up on high-upside rookies and veterans that could show them the ropes while also producing nightly.

More from Sacramento Kings

Point guard George Hill was one of those veterans. On July 10, 2017, he signed a three-year, $57 million contract, with $20 million of it owed to him in 2017-18. However, unlike fellow signees Vince Carter and Zach Randolph, Hill came to Sac-Town under the impression that this team would compete for a playoff spot. That obviously turned out not to be the case, and Hill immediately sought out opportunities to move on and play with a playoff contender.

On Feb. 8, the Kings participated in a three-team deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz that brought in Iman Shumpert, Joe Johnson, $3.2 million in cash, a 2020 second round draft pick and the rights to Euro stretch big Dimitrios Agravanis. Johnson was waived three days later and Shumpert never suited up for the Kings due to Plantar Fasciitis in his left foot.

This deal was big for Sacramento on a number of fronts. It obviously freed the Kings from Hill’s big contract and cleared up cap room for the summer, but it also opened up more playing time for rookies De’Aaron Fox and Frank Mason III.

Most notably, Hill’s departure helped maintain a culture where vets were focused on helping the younger players grow instead of focusing on personal stats. As we’ll see in upcoming slides, focusing on the youth movement paid dividends on multiple occasions.

Home/Sacramento Kings