NBA free agency: Each team’s worst signing in franchise history

Worst free agent signing in Sacramento Kings history: Zach Randolph

2 years, $24 million

In the summer of 2017, the Sacramento Kings had a large amount of cap space available and a few options with which to use it. No star player was coming to Sacramento, so the Kings could either use their space to take on money and therefore accumulate assets, or sign veteran players to a team with little hope of competing for the playoffs.

Sacramento chose the latter, adding George Hill and Zach Randolph to help “mentor” their younger players and help them compete. Randolph received a two-year, $24 million contract after leaving the Memphis Grizzlies for Sacramento.

Beloved in Memphis for his part with the “Grit’N’Grind” Grizzlies, Randolph has done significant work to rehabilitate his reputation after some immature activities as a younger player. Whether the Kings needed to spend $24 million on Randolph to be a mentor it at least made sense to sign him.

The big man then promptly was arrested on a felony charge of possessing marijuana with the intent to sell, although his charges were reduced to misdemeanor drug possession and he was sentenced to community service. While the exact details are unknown, whatever happened is not a good look for someone hired to be a role model.

On the court, Randolph was not any better, playing in 59 games for the Kings and scoring 16.6 points per game to go with basically nothing else. At that point in his career, he was little more than a warm body, unable to recapture his post play of old.

The team did not even bother playing him in year two, eventually tossing him into a deal that brought back Harrison Barnes. Randolph was worth nowhere near the salary he was paid by Sacramento.