3. Sacramento Kings
I only put the Sacramento Kings on this list because they have enough cap space to give Smart the contract he wants. Also, it’s the Kings. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that they gave Smart a bunch of money when no other teams were bidding for his services, especially after the massive offer they presented Zach LaVine.
Surprisingly, the Kings seem intent on taking a smarter route, as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reported that the Kings plan on using their cap room to take on some bad contracts in order to accrue draft assets. That’s a startling level of discipline for a team that has no first round pick in 2019 and thus no incentive to tank.
Signing Smart to a multi-year deal could add some toughness and edge to the young and inexperienced Kings. Plus, it could force the Celtics to decide how much they value Smart on their team. But do the Kings really want to break open the piggy bank for a defense-first point guard who can’t shoot?
I find it hard to believe that the Kings would bring Smart aboard for the salary that he desires. At those figures, he would have to take De’Aaron Fox‘s starting job, which could hinder the former Kentucky Wildcats’ development. I don’t see the Kings signing Smart, but it wouldn’t surprise me.