2017–2018 NBA Offseason Review: Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings got lucky and moved up 5 spots in the NBA draft lottery. That’s about where the good news ends when it comes to the team’s offseason.
The Sacramento Kings are widely regarded as one of the worst-run franchises in the league, with multiple poor decisions being made at the highest levels, including last season, when the team threw money at veterans like Vince Carter, George Hill and Zach Randolph.
Seeing as the Kings had almost no one on the roster (other than perhaps De’Aaron Fox) that is pegged as being a core member of the team going forward, the decision to sign those veterans was a supremely curious one.
On top of that, the Kings traded away the #10 overall pick (with which they could have drafted Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo or John Collins) for the #15 and #20 overall picks, which were used on Justin Jackson and Harry Giles, respectively.
Predictably, the Kings were among the worst teams in the league in 2017–18, finishing with a 27–55 record, which was actually an improvement on the team’s expected win-loss record of 23–59. That means those cagey veterans that were signed help lead the Kings to a few key victories, when the team might’ve been better served by tanking their tails off.
Either way, it worked out, as the Kings were lucky enough to zip into the lottery, ahead of multiple teams with worse records than them, and snag the extraordinarily valuable #2 overall pick in an absolutely stacked draft class.
Though it seemed clear that DeAndre Ayton was the consensus #1 overall pick, the sky was the limit in terms of who the Kings would take #2 overall: Perhaps the Kings could right all the wrongs they’ve committed over the years in the draft (Pappa G anyone?) and select a generational prospect like Luka Doncic, who was one of the most decorated European prospects ever and had just turned 19 years old.
Maybe the team would opt for a multi-faceted and high-upside big man like Jaren Jackson Jr., even though they already had multiple bigs on the roster, none of them would’ve had the combination of size, speed and youth on their side quite like JJJ did.
It seemed like the Kings could not lose with the #2 overall pick in the buildup to the NBA Draft.
Soon, however, it became clear that the Kings had already made their decision on who to draft at #2 — Marvin Bagley III out of Duke University. While Bagley was certainly a talented big man with a sterling pedigree, the Kings had multiples of players like him already on the roster, making the team’s decision to choose him over, say, Doncic seem downright ludicrous.
Apparently, Bagley was one of the few players who seemed devoted to playing for a franchise as downtrodden as the Kings, but should that have made the decision that simple for Sacramento? With every prospect save for Ayton on the board, maybe Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and General Manager Vlade Divac should’ve taken a step back and pulled the trigger on a player who had not expressed interest in playing for the Kings.
Perhaps, after getting better and bringing the team back into the national conversation, that player would change his tune and learn to love the city of Sacramento and the Kings franchise.
As it stands, none of that happened, and the Kings seem stuck in the same purgatory they’ve existed in for years. Sorry Kings fans.
Offseason Additions
· Nemanja Bjelica (signed 3-year/$20.5 million deal)
· Yogi Ferrell (signed 2-year/$6.2 million deal)
· №2 Marvin Bagley III
· Deyonta Davis (traded by the Grizzlies for Garrett Temple)
· Ben McLemore (traded by the Grizzlies for Garrett Temple)
· Kosta Koufos (exercised $8.74 million player option)
· Iman Shumpert (exercised $11 million player option)
Offseason Subtractions
· Garrett Temple (traded to the Grizzlies for Deyonta Davis, Ben McLemore, a 2021 second-round pick and $1.54 million
· Vince Carter (signed with Hawks, 1-year/$2.4 million)
· Nigel Hayes (waived)
While the Kings and cap space haven’t been a particularly good match in the past, it must be noted that Sacramento is the only team left in the NBA that has any substantial space left (roughly $9 million at last estimate) — though they would’ve been completely hamstrung if the Bulls hadn’t matched the team’s ludicrous 4-year/$80 million offer for Zach LaVine in restricted free agency.
Dropping the Bagley
As has already been explored, the Kings pulled the trigger and went against the consensus by drafting Marvin Bagley out of Duke with the #2 overall pick.
While Bagley’s production and pedigree in his lone season at Duke were peerless, there are serious questions about the modernity of his game as well his less-than-attractive jump shot. A natural athlete with ferocious finishing ability, a hard-nosed rebounding style and an indefatigable motor, Bagley should certainly serve as an important part of the Kings’ core going forward — alongside point guard De’Aaron Fox and sharpshooters Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic. We will have to see how productive an offense led by a player like Bagley can be.
Defensively, Bagley brings even more question marks to the table. As the league gets smaller and smaller, defensive versatility is paramount, and Bagley has never shown any real skill on that end of the floor — at least beyond his tenacious rebounding.
With a rather uninspiring showing in Summer League and some alarming quotes coming from GM Divac about playing Bagley at the three (Lord have mercy), clearly the team doesn’t know where to hide Bagley either, downplaying his defensive deficiencies through wild ideas about him being a wing.
Influx of Veterans (again)
Much like last season, the Kings were able to obtain multiple productive veterans on good deals, including Yogi Ferrell from the Mavs and Nemanja Bjelica from the Wolves.
The case of Bjelica is entertaining to say the least. He had originally agreed to sign a deal with the 76ers before reneging and claiming that he wanted to back to his family by playing overseas. Then when a multi-year offer worth over $6 million a year was put on the table by the Kings, Bjelica changed course and agreed to the terms of that three-year deal. While an amusing case, Bjelica won’t necessary be the salve the Kings are looking for.
Ferrell should make for a steady backup to De’Aaron Fox with Frank Mason serving as the team’s third-string PG, and since he’s only on a one-year deal, a quick and easy flyer made sense for the erstwhile Maverick. If all else fails, Ferrell can be included in a future trade as salary ballast, as any expiring contract has value in the NBA.
Tanking Is Not The Answer
Normally, when a team has very little to cheer about, fanbases can at least latch on to the fact that the team might land a potential future superstar in the NBA Draft — making the tanking race as fun (if not more so) than the more mainstream race for the playoffs.
In the Kings’ case, through some inept front office management, the Kings have absolutely no incoming first round pick in the 2019 draft. Based on where the ping-pong balls fall, the Kings pick will either go to the Philadelphia 76ers or the Boston Celtics (as if either of those teams need more help).
While the inclusion of Bjelica and Ferrell to the roster as well as the continued development of Fox, Bogdanovic, Hield and Willie Cauley-Stein that should contribute to a few wins here and there, the Kings don’t have the benefit of playing in the watered-down Eastern Conference like, say, the Atlanta Hawks.
The Kings will have to play the Warriors four times, LeBron’s Lakers four times and last year’s Western Conference top seed Houston Rockets three times, and that’s not including the rest of the Western Conference, which is a veritable murderer’s row of teams that are better than the Kings.
Though next season will likely be one of the hardest in Sacramento Kings history (especially for the fans), nabbing two future franchise cornerstones in Fox and Bagley in back-to-back drafts can’t hurt, and the “Wet Bandits” combination of Harry Giles and Bagley (Harry and Marv, get it?) should make for some entertaining ball.
Contract details courtesy of Spotrac
