The Sacramento Kings missed the playoffs again last season but they came out of the 2020-21 season with a few rays of hope. They are pretty well set in the guard rotation as they have the franchise cornerstone De’Aaron Fox, last year’s rookie sensation Tyrese Haliburton, and sharp-shooter Buddy Hield.
The team is going into their third season under head coach Luke Walton so we should expect to see some of his schemes for the team coming into fruition. Given that he has had some issues in the past, which ended in the charges being dropped, it appears that management has confidence in Walton to deliver on the team’s potential.
The team struggled with injuries to key players at all the wrong times last season. Had they not have suffered these and had a run of good luck for a change, the longest playoff drought in the NBA might now be over. The draft was kind to the Kings, so the free agency period was crucial for this time
Sacramento Kings’ free agent signing No. 1: Alex Len.
Alex Len is the type of player who fills a need most nights. He is not the type of player who is going to win you many games but as he showed in his stint with the Toronto Raptors, he can help you lose games. However, that just looked to be a bad fit for Len.
When he signed with the Washington Wizards he looked like the player from when he had his first stint with the Kings when Len played 15 games in the COVID-19 shortened season and he rebounded well while scoring 5.9 points per game at 59.3 percent from the floor.
Grade: C+
Sacramento Kings’ free agent signing No. 2: Terence Davis re-signs
After spending one and a half seasons with the Toronto Raptors, Terence Davis was a trade deadline deal. The Raptors traded him to the Kings for a 2021 second-round pick. When Davis got to Sacramento he showed that he fits their system really well.
In his 106 games with the Raptors, Davis averaged 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.5 steals in 16.1 minutes per game. In his 27 games with the Kings, Davis averaged 11.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steals in 21.5 minutes per game.
This production allowed the Kings to trade Delon Wright away, meaning that they were able to get some insurance at the center position by getting Tristan Thompson back in the deal. More on that signing later.
Davis signed on for two years at only $4.0 million a season. This helps to ease the pressure on the salary cap which was one of the main reasons they lost Bogdan Bogdanovic last offseason. They could not afford to pay him what he was worth in the open market due to the deals signed by Hield, Harrison Barnes, and the fact they needed to pay Fox big money to keep him at the end of his rookie deal.
Grade: B+
Sacramento Kings’ free agent signing No. 3: Richaun Holmes
After spending three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and a single season with the Phoenix Suns, Richaun Holmes has found a home with the Kings. The best thing for Holmes is that the Kings seem to rely on his interior play.
To put it simply, the Kings look like a much better team when he is on the court. Holmes fills the box score in every category, averaging 13.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 0.8 steals in 28.8 minutes per game in the two seasons that he has played with the Kings.
However, his impact is not just in raw numbers. Yes, they are impressive but his efficiency is also noteworthy, going at 64.1 percent from the floor over these two seasons. He also has collected 2.6 offensive rebounds per game which is extremely beneficial for the offense.
Defensively, the 1.4 blocks per game during his Kings tenure does not tell the whole story. He challenges a high number of shots in the paint and this changes the way that teams have to play the Kings. The only issue is that he has averaged 3.6 fouls per game which is something that he will have to improve on.
Grade: A+
Sacramento Kings’ free agent signing No. 4: The Delon Wright trade for Tristan Thompson
Prior to re-signing Holmes, the Kings looked to secure their center position in case the incumbent big man chose to take his talents elsewhere. To this end, the Kings traded Delon Wright to the Atlanta Hawks as their part of the three-way trade with the Boston Celtics, receiving Tristan Thompson in return.
Fortunately for the Kings Holmes came back and this means that they have the talents of Thompson to come off the bench and anchor the defense of the second unit. This is crucial as it gives Holmes the chance to rest. If he gets in foul trouble then the Kings have a quality backup to take over.
Thompson brings a level of experience to the Kings squad. He was part of the Cleveland Cavaliers championship team in 2016 so knows what it takes to win. While he is limited offensively, Thompson hits his field-goal attempts at 51.8 percent from the floor.
This is helped by the fact that Thompson is one of the best offensive rebounders in the game today. He has only had one season in his career where he has averaged less than 3.1 offensive rebounds per game which will certainly help the Kings at that end of the floor.
Grade: B+
Sacramento Kings’ free agent signing No. 5: Maurice Harkless
After playing 11 games for the Miami Heat last season, Maurice Harkless was traded with Chris Silva to the Kings for Nemanja Bjelica. While there was not much difference between the two offensively, Harkless is a much better defender.
The other benefit for the Kings is that Harkless is five years younger. He is going to turn 28 during the coming season where Bjelica is going to be 33 years old. This fits the Kings timeline a lot better as most of their core is under 30 years old, with seven players under 25.
Harkless has also signed a two-year deal with the Kings. He is going to average $4.4 million a season which again keeps the Kings salary cap from feeling too much pressure. Harkless will also be a good piece if the Kings need to make a trade throughout the season.
Harkless is also a really good size to play either wing position where the only other player who can really do that is Barnes. This gives coach Walton some more flexibility with his lineups. This is going to be one of the keys moving forward for the Kings as they try to move into the playoffs in the incredibly competitive Western Conference.
Grade: B