What The Sacramento Kings Must Do To Gain NBA Relevance

Jan 17, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Spencer Hawes (10) shoots the ball between Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) and center Ryan Hollins (5) during the second quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Past Free Agency Signings

2007: Dahntay Jones, Beno Udrih, Darryl Watkins, Orien Greene, Justin Williams, Mustafa Shakur, Mikki Moore

Moore had one of the best years of his career in 2006-2007. However, his best was still only to the tune of 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG. He played one more year with the Kings before being released in 2009.

Shakur went undrafted after having a pretty solid college career. He signed with the Kings to play for their Summer League team, but was then waived that same year.

Williams played a total of 48 games for the Sacramento Kings. He had averages of 3.4 PPG along with 3.4 RPG. He was waived in 2008.

Greene seemed to have a long NBA career lined up for him, starting his tenure backing up Delonte West with the Celtics. He also had a stint with the Pacers before being signed by the Kings. He played only seven games with the team before being waived.

Watkins had a solid college career playing for Syracuse. He signed a partially guaranteed deal with the Kings in 2007 after having a promising summer league. He was waived in 2007 after appearing in nine games.

Udrih played the best ball of his career with the Kings. He filled in for an injured Mike Bibby and had averages of 12.6 PPG and 4.7 APG. He was a solid add, but not a game-changing signing, and not a player the Kings franchise and their fans could gush over. He is probably one of the more notable Kings’ free agents signees, but with career averages of 8.9 PPG and 3.6 APG he wasn’t that great. He was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2011.

Jones was a first round draft pick by the Celtics. He played in just 25 games for the Kings with averages of 3.2 PPG and 1.4 RPG. He was waived in 2008.

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2008: Bobby Jones, Noel Felix, Bobby Brown

Jones and Felix were both in the Kings training camp in 2008. Neither of them made the team as they were both waived before the season started.

Brown performed well in the summer league which led to him signing a two year deal with the Kings, after having lucrative offers elsewhere. He played 47 games with the Kings with averages of 5.2 PPG and 1.9 APG before being traded to the Timberwolves in 2009.

2009: Ime Udoka, Melvin Ely, Desmond Mason, Sean May

Udoka bounced around the NBA spending extended stints in the D-League. He played 69 games with the Kings, averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG. Ime left as a free agent after the season.

The Kings signed Ely on September of 2009. He was waived in October of 2009, never appearing in a game for Sacramento.

Mason signed a league minimum contract with the Kings. He lasted five games before being waived. Mason only averaged 2.6 PPG and 2.6 RPG in his short lived Kings tenure.

May signed with the Kings in 2009 and only lasted one season. He played 37 games with the Kings, which is surprisingly, his career best for games played in a season. He only averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.9 RPG and was let go at the end of the season.

2010: Pooh Jeter, Antoine Wright, Luther Head, Marcus Landry, J.R Giddens, Joe Crawford, Donald Sloan

Jeter played 62 games with the Kings in 2010, averaging 4.1 PPG and 1.1 RPG. 2010 was Jeter’s only season in the NBA.

Wright was a first round pick in 2005. He only played seven games for the Kings averaging 0.3 PPG and 0.4 RPG. He was waived in November of 2010.

Head started his Kings career off with a bang, scoring 14 points off the bench in his debut. After that, he fell off with averages of only 5.6 PPG and 1.7 RPG. Head was waived in March 2011.

Landry signed with the Kings in 2010, but was waived the same year. He was acquired by the team’s D-League affiliate, but never played a minute for the Sacramento Kings

Giddens seemed like a budding prospect out of New Mexico after having some behavioral issues early in his career. His basketball career fell off though, and he was waived by the Kings only one month after signing.

After playing well for the Orlando Magic’s summer league team, Crawford signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Kings. He never saw any regular season playing time with the team and was waived in October.

Sloan went undrafted in the 2010 draft. He signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Kings after playing for their summer league team. He didn’t make the roster and was cut in October.

2011: Chuck Hayes, Travis Outlaw

Travis Outlaw entered the draft out of high school becoming the 23rd pick in the 2011 draft. He took trips from Portland to Los Angeles to New Jersey before being waived by the Nets and signed by the Kings. He averaged 5.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG. He was traded to the Knicks in 2014.

Hayes signed a lucrative four year deal with the Kings in 2011. He never really lived up to the deal with averages of 2.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG in the first three years of the deal. He was traded during the fourth year of the deal to the Raptors in 2013.

2012: Willie Reed, Tony Mitchell, Hamady N’diaye, Aaron Brooks

Reed signed with the Kings in September of 2012. He was waived in October of 2012, not playing a single regular season minute for the Kings.

Mitchell played for the King’s summer league team in 2012. He was then acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, never playing in the regular season for Sacramento.

N’diaye was a 2nd round pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He bounced around the NBA before ending up with the Kings. He was signed after a Summer League stint with the Bobcats, and was waived a month later.

Brooks signed with the Kings after taking a NBA hiatus to China. He averaged 8.0 PPG and 2.3 APG. Both were way under his career averages. He was waived in March of 2013.

2013: DeQuan Jones, N’diaye, Carl Landry

Jones signed with the Kings in September of 2013. He played in just one preseason game before being waived in October.

Ndiaye made a second stop to Sacramento, this time actually playing in a regular season game. He appeared in 14 games with the Kings averaging an abysmal 0.4 PPG and 1.3 RPG. Ndiaye was waived in January 2014.

Landry was a fantastic trade asset when the Kings dealt for him in 2010. He averaged 11.8 PPG and 4.8 RPG, but the Kings still did not make the playoffs. Landry’s second stint with the Kings, this time as a free agent signing, has not worked out as well. Signed to a lucrative four year deal, Landry was expected to perform to his level of play in 2010.

His 2013-14 season though, was cut short due to an injury and he was limited to just 18 games. In 2014-15, he has averaged 6.8 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 62 games so far. He still remains on the team, but the Sacramento Kings aren’t getting their return on investment with Carl Landry.

2014: Trey Johnson, Omri Casspi, Ryan Hollins, Deonte Burton, Ramon Sessions, Sim Bhullar, Eric Moreland, Darren Collison

Johnson was signed by the Kings in September 2014. He was them promptly waived by the team a month later.

The Kings actually drafted Casspi with the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. He was the first Israeli born player to be drafted, and to play in an NBA game. After spending some time with the Cavaliers and Rockets, he returned for his second stint with the Kings.

He has played decently this season, but only averages 7.4 PPG and 3.6 RPG. He has been something of an asset for the Kings this season, but in no way is this a free agent signing the Kings franchise needs.

Hollins has played for six different franchises before coming to the Kings. This season, he has averaged 2.6 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 41 games. His stats are lackluster and he is nothing more than an end-of-the-bench piece.

Burton signed with the Kings in September 2014, and was waived in October 2014.

In theory,  Sessions should’ve been one of the Kings’ better signings. Coming off a year in which he averaged 15.8 PPG with the Bucks, he was expected to be a vital bench piece with the trade of former point guard, Isaiah Thomas. That plan never came to fruition as Sessions flopped in his first year with the Kings. He only averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.7 APG. He was shipped out to Washington after playing just 36 games with the Kings.

Jan 21, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) looks on during a timeout in the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Sleep Train Arena. The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Sacramento Kings 103-100. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Bhullar made headlines during his college career for standing 7’5″ and weighing 355 lbs. He was signed by the Kings after going undrafted, becoming the first played of Indian descent to sign with an NBA. Bhullar never made the team and was waived in October 2014. Fortunately, Bhullar is getting a second shot after signing a ten day contract with the team.

Moreland was another player the Kings signed after going undrafted. He played for the Kings’ Summer League team before being signed in July. Moreland fluctuated between the D-League and the Kings multiple times before suffering a tear in his left shoulder, ending his season. He has played in three games for the Kings.

Out of all the players listed, Collison may be the best of the bunch. He signed a three year deal to become the new starting point guard with Thomas leaving town. Collison suffered an injury which sidelined him for six weeks though.

But before the injury, Collison was averaging 16.1 PPG and 5.6 APG. He has shown promise, and is the type of supplementary player the Kings need. His signing may show a willingness to sign higher tier players rather than simply digging for scraps which seems to have been Sacramento’s MO for years.

Next: Free Agency Targets