Grading the 2019 NBA offseason for all 30 franchises
Sacramento Kings
For the first time certainly this decade, the Sacramento Kings are coming off a positive season that included a longer-than-expected playoff push.
They finished just 39-43, but were ninth in the Western Conference, an encouraging finish they were looking to build off of in the summer for the coming season.
With so much young talent in guys like De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III, another young stud wasn’t what Sacramento needed.
At this point in the rebuild, it’s about acquiring veterans who will not only have a powerful voice in the locker room but those who can also then go out and back up their talk with action on the court.
The first order of business was to re-sign the mid-season acquisition of Harrison Barnes, a versatile small-ball forward who averaged 14.3 points on 40.8 percent shooting from downtown in 28 games with the Kings last season.
He didn’t come cheap at four-years, $85 million, but that’s money the Kings would find difficult to spend elsewhere as not the ideal free-agent landing spot.
To fill out the rest of the roster, Sacramento was keen on well-respected vets with enough left in the tank. Dewayne Dedmon was brought in to replace Willie Cauley-Stein — who had asked to have his rights rescinded as a restricted free agent.
Dedmon is as good of an approximation as there was to Cauley-Stein on the open market, one the Kings likely paid less than they would’ve for WCS at $40 million over three years.
Cory Joseph will serve as a serviceable backup to Fox while Trevor Ariza brings his 3-and-D skill-set to a team that jumped seven spots in the standings for defensive rating last season.
Despite a perceived overpay, all have plenty of experience to bring to the table, even a couple of championship rings. The young guns will only improve over time, especially with the addition of new player-friendly head coach Luke Walton.
It’s these newly signed guys who can teach them a thing or two that may be just what Sacramento needs to keep climbing in the West.
Grade: B-