George Hill has agreed to sign with the Sacramento Kings on a three-year deal worth $57 million, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania.
Free agent George Hill has reached agreement on a three-year, $57M deal with the Sacramento Kings, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 4, 2017
Hill battled injury issues while appearing in only 49 games during the 2016-2017 season for the Jazz. However, it was his most productive season as a professional, as Hill averaged 16.9 points, 4.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 40.3 percent from three-point range.
When the Jazz traded for Ricky Rubio, it signaled that Hill was likely headed elsewhere. Hill is the final big point guard to sign this offseason, and his reported deal is the same as what Jeff Teague agreed to with the Timberwolves. Hill joins a Kings roster that was without a veteran presence at point guard, but Sacramento spending that much on a three-year deal for Hill comes as a bit of a surprise considering they used the No. 5 overall pick this year to select De’Aaron Fox.
Hill wasn’t the only veteran the Kings scooped up on Tuesday, though, as Sacramento also reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with Zach Randolph.
Free agent Zach Randolph has agreed to a two-year, $24M deal with the Kings, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2017
Randolph had been reportedly linked to some contenders, but getting two years at $12 million per year is too good of a contract to pass up for the soon to be 36-year-old power forward. Randolph has been with the Grizzlies for the past eight seasons, where he was a crucial part of their emergence as one of the West’s most consistent playoff contenders and the Grit and Grind era.
The moves are a bit curious for the Kings, particularly Hill, who have done nicely over the past year in acquiring some interesting young players and, without their 2019 first round pick, need to hit on their 2018 pick to continue adding young talent. Hill is a starting caliber point guard and is an immediate upgrade for Sacramento, but isn’t someone that will be part of their future. In a Western Conference playoff race that has gotten even tougher to crack the top 8 this summer, the Kings’ moves likely aren’t enough to make them a playoff team in the stacked West, but could be enough move them into the middle of the lottery rather than the top of the lottery.
