Sacramento Kings: Bargain Free Agents Team Should Target

Ish Smith, Point Guard, Philadelphia 76ers

Apr 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard

(5) pumps his fist in reaction to a score against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Kings seem like the heavy favorites to sign Rondo. With no other team being linked to him and the Kings trading away Landry, Williams, and Nik Stauskas in an effort to clear salary, it seems like only time before Rondo is a King. The Kings already have a point guard in Darren Collison, but he is getting paid slightly over $5 million, which is somewhat pricey for a backup point guard. The team could look to ship out Collison’s contract in an effort to clear more cap space.

If the team does decided to ship out Collison, then they would be in need of a new backup point guard. One player many people could be overlooking is Smith, formerly of the 76ers.

It is hard to call Smith a journeyman, as he has only played in the league for five years. But in those five years he has played for eight different organizations. He never really performed well, usually managing somewhere near 10 minutes, peaking in 2014 with 14.4 minutes per game, up until the 2015 season.

He started the year with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he appeared in 30 games, but was then shipped to the 76ers, where he appeared in 25 games and actually started 14 of them. He saw a huge spike in minutes after his arrival in Philly. After averaging just over five minutes with the Thunder, he averaged 27.1 minutes per game with the 76ers, a 21.9 minute upgrade. The 27.1 minute average was the highest of his career.

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Not only minutes, but Smith set career-highs in points (12.0 PPG), assists (6.1 APG), rebounds (2.9 RPG), and steals (1.3 SPG). He also managed to become somewhat of a focal point for the team as he attempted just about 13 shots per game.

Whatever it was, whether it was just a change of scenery or a better sense of the 76ers playbook, Smith proved he can be a feasible guard in the NBA. His breakout at the end of 2015 propelled him to being a worthy signing by another team. And while just 27 years old, he most likely doesn’t fit into the 76ers plans, and can be a sneaky pickup for the Kings.

Smith would not be seeing the 27.1 minutes he saw in Philly, but as the backup, he would see decent time to perform. He would most likely se just a one-year deal as consistency has not been key for Smith.

Not many view Smith as an asset, but he could come at very sneaky value for the Kings and actually provide valuable minutes.

Next: Gerald Green