Free Agency Possibilities For The Sacramento Kings
Jun 22, 2020, 10:17 AM | Updated: 10:58 am
(Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
(Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
With the season restart approaching, Sacramento has one open roster spot to fill for their postseason push
With the restart of the 2019-20 NBA season approaching, all participating teams will be able to execute roster moves starting Tuesday, June 23rd.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, all 22 teams that will be heading to the ‘bubble’ site at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida will be able to do the following on Tuesday afternoon:
- Players can be signed to rest-of-season contracts.
- Substitute players can be signed for players opting not to report to Orlando.
- Two-way contracts can be signed or converted to standard deals.
- Players can be waived
Trades will not be permitted during the transactional window.
Each team will be allowed a 17-man roster when play resumes in July, offering more flexibility than the 15-man rosters from earlier this season. In all likelihood, the Sacramento Kings will have one open roster spot to fill once the transaction window opens on Tuesday.
The team will almost assuredly convert two-way players Kyle Guy and DaQuan Jeffries into full contracts, bringing the roster to 16 players.
With an open roster spot to play with and plenty of options on the free-agency market, let’s take a look at who Sacramento should take a look at to bolster a rotation that will be fighting for a playoff spot.
Gerald Green (SF, SG)
6’6, 205 lbs
2018-19: 9.2 PTS, 2.5 REB, 35% 3PT
After a strong season as a bench wing for the Houston Rockets, Green re-signed with the Rockets last summer before breaking a bone in his foot that required a sixth-month recovery.
Green was traded by Houston to Denver in February, and then waived by the Nuggets shortly after the deal.
The 34 year-old has played in the NBA for 12 seasons, making his presence known with his incredible athleticism and three-point shooting ability.
Sacramento could use more bench scoring, as Green could compliment Buddy Hield and Kent Bazemore in the second unit if head coach Luke Walton opts to go with small-ball.
It’s possible that some players stay home from Orlando, as Washinton’s David Bertan’s opted to sit out in order to protect his recently repaired knee.
While we will not know if any Kings players are sitting out until later this week, Green is an intriguing choice to fill any void that Sacramento could encounter during its postseason push.
Isaiah Thomas (PG)
5’9, 185 lbs
2019-20: 12.2 PTS, 3.7 AST, 41% 3PT
Return of the ‘IT Factor’?
Two-time All-Star and former Sacramento Kings guard Isaiah Thomas was enjoying a solid season in Washington before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in February.
Los Angeles waived Thomas immediately following the trade.
After only playing in 44 of 164 games from 2017-2019, Thomas signed with the Wizards to fill in at point guard while superstar John Wall recovered from multiple injuries.
Thomas found his three-point stroke, knocking down his three-point attempts at a 41-percent clip while scoring 12.2 points per game.
From 2011 through 2014, Thomas played in Sacramento, becoming a fan-favorite that went from the last pick in the 2011 draft to the starting point guard during the 2013-14 season–a season where Thomas enjoyed a breakout season that saw him average 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game.
Sacramento currently has De’Aaron Fox, Cory Joseph and Yogi Ferrell on the roster, with Kyle Guy likely being added into the fold as well.
Adding Thomas could possibly mean less minutes for Joseph, but Walton could use the guards as assigned: Joseph for defensive purposes, Thomas for adding to the offense.
A lineup of Thomas, Hield, Bazemore, Harry Giles III and Alex Len could be a great balance of inside/outside play with elite outside scoring in Thomas and Hield.
Interest on Thomas’ side seems to be clear, with the former All-Star ‘liking’ this tweet over the weekend:
CJ Miles (SG, SF, PG)
6’6, 220 lbs
2019-20: 6.4 PTS, 1.2 REB, 1.2 AST
If Sacramento wants more veteran leadership on its roster, they can look to 15-year veteran CJ Miles.
Miles, 33, has played for six teams during his tenure in the league, most recently with Washington this season. Miles was waived in January after only playing in 10 games to have surgery on a torn ligament in his left wrist.
With more than six months having past, Miles will likely generate some interest in the free-agent market this week.
The 6’6 guard-forward could slide into Sacramento’s second unit and play small-forward behind Harrison Barnes, moving Kent Bazemore to the power-foward position in small-ball scenarios.
Jamal Crawford (PG, SG)
6’5, 185 lbs
2018-19: 7.9 PTS, 3.6 AST, 33% 3PT
One of the best bench scorers of all time wants to play.
Jamal Crawford has been a staple in the NBA sincethe 2000-2001 season, winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award three times (2010, 2014, 2016). Over 19 seasons in the league, the 40 year-old guard holds career averages of 14.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Just last season, Crawford showed the rest of the league that he still has plenty left in the tank.
Crawford had a respectable season, scoring 7.9 points per game off of the bench for Phoenix. The then-39 year-old had one of the most incredible performances of the season last April when he dropped 51 points on 18-of-30 from the field.
The Kings could use Crawford as backup point guard, moving Cory Joseph to a defensive specialist role.
If a current player in the rotation opts to stay home from Orlando, Crawford could get an even greater opportunity to bolster the lineup. The veteran does his best work over a large workload, with a career per 36 minutes average of 17.9 points per game.
Iman Shumpert (SG, SF)
6’5, 215 lbs
2019-20: 4.2 PTS, 2.6 REB, 0.9 AST
The Scores are…back?
Last season, the Sacramento Kings played their best basketball in over decade. A massive part of that play was the team chemistry, headed by veteran guard-forward Iman Shumpert.
Shumpert was seen as the leader of the locker room while also starting at the small-forward position where he averaged 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game for the Kings.
To the dismay of Kings fans, Shumpert was dealt to Houston last February in a deadline move that cleared the way for Sacramento to acquire Harrison Barnes.
Shumpert signed with Brooklyn in November, only playing in 13 games before being waived in December.
Sacramento could sign Shumpert to re-ignite the team chemistry while also having another perimeter defender and scorer on the roster. If one thing is for sure, Kings fans would be elated to have Shump back in the fold for a playoff push.
Who else should Sacramento look at in Free Agency? Let us know on our social media accounts!
