The Sacramento Kings came very close to snapping their lengthy postseason drought last season, emerging as one of the league’s most fun teams in the process.
Vlade Divac and company plan on this upcoming season being the one that they break into the playoff party, and are putting their money where their mouths are to start free agency. Harrison Barnes and the Kings agreed to an $85 million deal for him to stay in Sacramento, and Dewayne Dedmon will join the squad on a three-year, $40 million deal to bolster their frontcourt rotation.
The Kings weren’t done there, as they have apparently added further wing help in the form of Trevor Ariza on a two-year deal, per Shams Charania of The Athletic, with only a partial guarantee for year two, per Sam Amick.
Free agent Trevor Ariza has agreed to a two-year, $25M deal with the Sacramento Kings, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2019
This deal has a partial guarantee in the second year, I'm told. https://t.co/nsbXp676Gl
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 30, 2019
Ariza didn’t have the best season in Phoenix and Washington, but is just a year removed from being a key member of Houston’s Western Conference Finals squad. The Kings will hope he can bring some stability to their wing rotation and add much-needed depth behind Barnes and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
While Sacramento has never been a free agent destination, they’ve done well to open this year with quality signings, even if they likely had to give up a bit more money to get those players than their market value may dictate. That can be the price you pay as a small market squad that’s seeking to be a successful franchise, and for now it appears the Kings are taking the necessary steps to do that.
