Sacramento Kings: Bargain Free Agents Team Should Target
By Dan Fappiano
Alexey Shved, Shooting Guard, New York Knicks
Mar 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; New York Knicks guard
Alexey Shved(1) prepares to pass the ball against the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
While Green would provide a pseudo-backup shooting guard, Shved would provide the Kings with an actual backup shooting guard. After struggling to start his career, he may actually be a valuable acquisition to come off the bench.
Shved started his career with the Timberwolves in 2012 with very mediocre numbers. He barely passed the 20-minute threshold and didn’t average ten points. He bounced around the NBA in 2015 taking stops in Houston and Philly before ending up with the New York Knicks.
Much like Smith, Shved took advantage of his new opportunity. Shved played 26.4 minutes a game with the Knicks over 16 games, and starting nine. He averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 three-pointers made while with the Knicks. Overall for 2015, Shved averaged 10.3 points, 2.5 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.1 three-pointers per game.
Shved’s upsides comes predominantly from the three-point line. He is one of the more willing shooters on the open market, having taken 139 three pointers last season, averaging 3.3 per game. Making 47 at a 33.8 percent rate isn’t necessarily that bad either. For the Kings to have a solid shooter off the bench is key for a team looking for more shooting.
The Kings decided to trade away Stauskas, one of the team’s more active three-point shooters, leaving a void in the three-point category. Stauskas took 149 threes and made 48 of them at a very similar 32.2 percent rate. If the Kings decided to not sign Shved, they’d be losing out on all that three-point proficiency.
Shved would become a cheap option to come off the bench behind McLemore. He would provide the team with much needed shooting, like Stauskas, but at a much lower rate.
If nothing else, Shved provides the team with three-point shooting, something the team suddenly needs. The Kings averaged a pretty solid 101.3 points per game, good for 14th in the NBA, adding Shved would allow them to only improve upon that number moving forward.