Sacramento Kings: Complete 2018 offseason grades

Signing Yogi Ferrell

The B-movie reboot of 2015’s The Battle For DeAndre Jordan premiered this summer, starring a significantly smaller player and a significantly smaller contract.

On July 20, it was reported by Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports that free agent guard Yogi Ferrell had agreed to sign with the Kings for $6.2 million over a two-year contract. That happened one day after Ferrell had originally agreed to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks for two years and $5.3 million, but then changed his mind.

It wasn’t nearly as dramatic and lacked the big-name appeal, but it was reminiscent of a few summers ago when the Mavericks had come to an $80 million agreement with All-NBA center DeAndre Jordan, only for Jordan to change his mind and opt to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers. (Post-script: Jordan finally joined the Mavs this summer as a free agent.)

Ferrell averaged 10.2 points and 2.5 assists per game last season as a part-time starter, making 42.6 percent of his field goals and 37.3 percent of his 3-pointers. But he was destined to be a backup in Dallas, as the team used its two most recent lottery picks on a backcourt of the future in Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic.

The path to a starting role won’t be much easier in Sacramento, however, as the Kings have pegged De’Aaron Fox as their point guard of the future. The competition is a bit less stiff at shooting guard, where 2016 lottery pick Buddy Hield has yet to lock down the spot Bogdanovic currently occupies. Ferrell is only six feet tall, but he has the strength and shooting ability to play 2-guard in a small lineup.

At 25 year old, Ferrell provides depth in the backcourt for the Kings and can be a valuable piece of the team’s young core.

Grade: B-