Examining the Kings' Free Agent Acquisitions Thus Far
- Jul 7, 2016
- 4 min read
It has certainly been a wild free agency period in the NBA up to this point. The league is flush with money due to a new television deal and in effect, the NBA's salary cap has seen a massive increase. The spending spree has everyone’s heads spinning and a couple of marquee free agents have landed in new destinations on ridiculous contracts. In contrast to the rest of the Association, the Kings have remained relatively quiet. But general manager Vlade Divac has made a handful of moves that have addressed positional needs and made them without having to throw an insane amount of cash at his acquisitions. Let’s take a closer look at the Sacramento Kings' newest additions and how they will fit the team heading into next season.
Afflalo immediately comes to Sacramento and upgrades the shooting guard position. The nine year pro spent this past season in New York where he averaged 12.8 points per game and shot 38% from long range. He gives the Kings a veteran presence who can shoot and he also can act as a mentor for rookie Malachi Richardson to model himself after. Heading into next season, fans shouldn’t expect Afflalo to consistently drop 18 to 20 points a night like he could when he was in Denver and Orlando. However, fans should expect him to do what he has always done during his career: knock down threes and be a solid positional defender within a team’s scheme. The second year of Afflalo’s two-year contract is only partially guaranteed which means the 2016-2017 NBA season could be his only one in Sacramento. Let’s hope we get the best version of him so that Vlade brings him back for another year after that.
Very little will jump out to a Kings fan upon looking at Anthony Tolliver’s statistics over the course of his eight year career other than maybe the number of teams he has played on (Sacramento will be his ninth stop). But for a player who primarily plays the power forward position, Tolliver is an excellent three-point shooter (35% for his career) who can stretch the floor for the Kings. His fit on this team is dependent on DeMarcus Cousins, who needs space to work with on the block offensively. In Tolliver, the Kings presumably will have a big who can step out on the perimeter and knock down shots so that Cousins can operate down low. Last season in Detroit, Tolliver averaged 5.3 points per game which obviously shows that he wasn’t a primary option when he was on the court. He should step into a similar role next season and be an opportunistic scorer off the bench when teams try to contain Boogie in the post. Like Afflalo, Tolliver’s two-year contract is also only partially guaranteed so hopefully he also proves he’s worthy of a second season in Sacramento.
Hey look! A former King! The Garrett Temple era was short-lived the first time around when the LSU product signed a 10-day contract with the organization in March of 2010. He only appeared in five games before signing with the Spurs when the Kings let him go. Since leaving Sacramento, Temple has evolved into a solid NBA role player, having spent his last four seasons in Washington where he filled in admirably for the oft-injured Bradley Beal frequently at the shooting guard position. In 2015-2016, he posted a career high in scoring (7.3 PPG), rebounding (2.7 RPG) and minutes played (24.4 MPG). While not a knock down three-point shooter by any means, Temple can certainly step out and hit one or two every night as his career 33% three-point field goal percentage suggests. Where Kings fans should be really excited about Temple is on the defensive end. For a team that has forever lacked any sort of perimeter defense, Temple might already be the best one on the roster as of this writing. With Afflalo in town, he’s likely to come off the bench and guard the opposition’s best perimeter threat on most nights. He finished on the plus side in regards to defensive win shares during his entire tenure with the Wizards and I’m sure that us fans will love his tenacity on that end of the floor.
Another former King! This one hails from Sacramento and thus, has been a familiar face within the community for quite a while. The Del Campo High School alum will be heading into his 14th year as a pro with the Kings and had previously played for the organization during the 2004-2005 season before being shipped off to Philadelphia as part of the Chris Webber trade. Barnes is a well-traveled veteran but the main reason why he has stuck in the league is his defensive versatility. Over his last four seasons, Barnes has posted no less than two defensive win shares per year. New Kings head coach Dave Joerger, who spent last season in Memphis with Barnes, likely played a role in his acquisition this offseason and DeMarcus Cousins has also reportedly been a fan of his for quite some time. Love him or hate him (I personally can’t stand the guy), Barnes has carved out a niche for himself as a hard-nosed wing defender and loyal teammate that players hate to play against but love playing with even when he's trying to fight other NBA head coaches. As Kings fans probably know, retreads have been hit or miss here in Sacramento (haha), so let’s cross our fingers and hope that Barnes will help the locker room chemistry rather than hurt it during his second go-round as a King.
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