George Hill Brings Profusion Of Experience To Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings stunned everyone by signing George Hill to a three-year contract, and he will help the Kings change on and off the court.
On Tuesday, the majority of NBA fans were sat furiously refreshing Twitter, while awaiting the decision of Gordon Hayward. However, it was another move that caught the eye of NBA fans across the globe, as George Hill signed with the Sacramento Kings on a three-year, $57 million deal.
Many did not expect the Kings to go for a player like Hill, as they looked to be committed to a rebuild on the back of their young backcourt of Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox, so the move took everyone by surprise.
Hill is an excellent player and is among the most underrated of his generation, but the fit is weird, considering he will just obstruct the development of De’Aaron Fox. In addition to this, Hill would have been a nice fit on a contender, which makes one think his market was not as big as most expected it to be.
The Kings have been a subpar team since Rick Adelman departed back in 2006, so the fact they are making moves to push toward a playoff spot is hardly surprising. Despite Hill’s timeline being a strange one in comparison to the likes of Skal Labissiere and De’Aaron Fox, he fits the Kings schematically, and will be a great veteran leader for Dave Joerger’s locker room.
George Hill 2016-2017 Stats:
16.9 Points (47.7 field goal percentage, 40.3 3-point percentage), 4.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals
Fit:
On the surface, the George Hill signing is puzzling, purely because the Kings used a top-five pick on a point guard in the 2017 draft. Many thought Fox would lock down the point guard spot from day one, which would have given the Kings the youngest backcourt in the league. This would have left the young players with a free reign to make mistakes and learn from them. The signing of Hill, however, signals that the Kings are going in a slightly different direction, and this is not necessarily a bad thing.
The Kings have been a team that has lacked roster competition in recent years. This is a huge reason the likes of Nik Stauskas and Thomas Robinson struggled as rookies, as they did not have to earn a spot in the rotation. The signing of George Hill is a statement from the Kings’ front office to the likes of De’Aaron Fox, a statement showing they will not be guaranteed a starting spot just because they were selected in the lottery.
Fox may turn into an excellent player, but he needs a lot of work, especially on the offensive end. He struggled running a half-court offense in college, and Dave Joerger is not the type of coach who is going to run a pace offense just to accommodate him. Hill can show Fox the ins and outs of running a slow half-court offense, and he could turn out to be an amazing mentor for the former Kentucky guard.
Even before one dives into the schematic fit of Hill in Sacramento, it is clear his signing is about more than an on-the-court contribution. Joerger is the right coach for the Kings, and with their latest move, they are attempting to change the culture after the departure of DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans.
To call Fox and Hill similar players would be wrong at this point, because we do not yet know the type of point guard Fox will be in the NBA. Hill also entered the NBA as a near 50 percent shooter from beyond the arc, whereas Fox has a very limited jump shot, especially in half-court situations. Hill however shares Fox’s hunger to defend the best player on the other team, and they are both excellent facilitators. Hill will contribute on the court, but his most important contribution down the line could be in the invaluable work he does with Fox.
The Sacramento Kings were a rather surprisingly good perimeter-shooting team last year, as they were fifth in percentage, and Hill obviously fits in with this philosophy. Hill has shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc in his last two seasons, and it is clear he can play a variety of roles, as Indiana and Utah both ran very different schemes.
Sacramento was 26th in pace this year, and there is very little indication this is going to change, as Sacramento has not targeted guys with speed or athleticism who can get down the court quickly. Hill is the perfect fit for the Kings’ offense, as he has been used to running a slow-it-down type system for the majority of his career, and his pinpoint passing should help the likes of Buddy Hield and Justin Jackson get good looks on the perimeter.
Another area Hill could help offensively is in the pick-and-roll. As a team, the Kings were in the bottom five of pick-and-roll usage, but this was largely because they did not have a point guard capable of running such a system. George Hill ranked in the 91st percentile as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, and the Kings will likely use more pick-and-roll concepts now that Hill has arrived. This is good news for Willie Cauley-Stein, who ranked in the 67th percentile as a roll man.
The great thing about Hill in Sacramento, is he is an unselfish veteran who is happy to put others before himself. The Kings have a really exciting young core, and while the move to sign Hill made no sense at first, he is the type of point guard who can lead this team on and off the court. He could form an exciting pick-and-roll tandem with Cauley-Stein, and the Kings should have a really solid perimeter defense next season.
The Kings have finally delivered a good offseason to their long-suffering fanbase, and things may be changing for the better in Sacramento. At minimum, Hill will help Joerger change the culture in Sacramento, which is the first step it needs to take in order to become a better organization.
Grade: A
