2016-17 Finish: 57-25

Season Highlight:

The highlight for the Sacramento Kings was the top 3 finish in the league and a constant feature amongst the top teams in the league all season, 12-win improvement from the past season and a deep postseason run.

Season Lowlight:

Not much here, but I would have to say the team had championship aspirations, and as such, went all-in for that elusive ring. When you don’t get it, it’s a lowlight for a team that was the team to beat in the West for a good while.

Best Trade:

The Minnesota Timberwolves send James Johnson and Taj Gibson to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send Tyson Chandler, Cheick Diallo and Ron Baker to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Sacramento Kings send a 2nd-Rounder (SA) to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This trade gave the Kings more versatility, of the all-in variety as James Johnson and Taj Gibson were one-year deals and an already dangerous team become a well-rounded squad at the forward spots.

Worst Trade:

The New Orleans Pelicans send Jared Sullinger, Cheick Diallo and Ron Baker to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send Vince Carter and Marcus Morris to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Sacramento Kings send a 2nd-Rounder (Sac) to the New Orleans Pelicans.

 

Sully seemed like a fair enough idea at the time, however he soon got traded and promptly waived leaving Sacramento with the same problem it had beforehand but with less assets. Tough luck here.

 

Other Notable Trades:

The Sacramento Kings send Bismack Biyombo, Klay Thompson and Andre Roberson to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Carmelo Anthony, Nick Collison and Kyle Korver to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send a 2nd-Rounder (Sac) to the Washington Wizards.

This was the BIG one! The one that rocked the franchise in the middle of the season, for good and for bad. Opinions on this trade are split until this day between the “Wins Are Everything in 2k” GMs and the “Young Stars Are Gold” GMs. Klemmelo went for a bonafide 2k scorer in Carmelo Anthony, while giving up 3pt sharpshooter Klay Thompson and rebound-only guy Biyombo. Melo kept Sacramento on top on sheer scoring, but after what Daz paid Washington for Klay, should the evaluation of this trade be affected?

The San Antonio Spurs send Bismack Biyombo, Reggie Jackson and Hollis Thompson to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send Andrew Bogut and Mike Conley to the San Antonio Spurs. 

GM Klemmelo got way younger and unloaded a huge contract in Mike Conley. At the time, Leeroy wanted to get more defensive too and I think this got accomplished here for both parts.

The Orlando Magic send Devin Harris, Kris Humphries and Nicolas Batum to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send Kevin Love and Miles Plumlee to the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic send a 2nd-Rounder (Orl) to the Sacramento Kings.

This was another important trade that put Melo’s stamp on this roster. Batum was a player that was brought in to stabilize the wing spot and provide versatility alongside Klay, making him the centerpiece of the offense, at the time, and it worked better than for the team that got Love, so it was a win for what it was aimed to do.

Best FA Signing:

Dwayne Dedmon is his name. A very serviceable Center, who provided quality starts doing his own thing, rebounding, defending and getting out of the way for the major scorers. Due to the GMs trigger-happy nature, he was traded away, but still a great signing.

Worst FA Signing:

That would have to be Archie Goodwin. Once a highly rated prospect with A athleticism, but could never get that shot going. He had the potential, but it hasn’t panned out. He ended up getting cut very soon.

Star:

Carmelo Anthony is a bonafide star of the 2k game, a perennial danger from the mid-range and an all-around scorer. He came in with big shoes to fill from a fan favorite, and he more than pulled his weight all the way to a playoff run being the unquestioned leader of this team and go-to guy in the clutch. Melo is the resident star.

 

Surprise:

I’m giving this one to Nicolas Batum, because he wasn’t expected to mesh this well early on with Klay Thompson, and they became a great duo on the wing that people had to respect, whether they agreed to the Kevin Love trade or not. Batum made people swallow hard and came to play.

Goat:

Jared Sullinger, of course. Again, a part of the bad trade and got soon waived after that. He’s still young, got traded to a young team in the NBA and people don’t want him and his weight issues. What gives, Sully? Are you going to stay in China forever or are you going to come back and have us trade for you just so you can make us mad again?

Draft Report Card:

Sacramento didn’t really draft this player as they were doing it for Miami, so Kyle Kuzma was selected and a member of the Kings for only a few seconds.

Looking to the Future:

The Kings doesn’t have any picks until the 2019 draft and are a veteran driven team, so while I expect their nucleus to revolve around guys like Pau Gasol and, of course, Carmelo Anthony, some signs of a little bit of young movement has seemed to start as the team traded for Jahlil Okafor on a surprising move and actually demonstrating quite a bit of faith in the young fella while the league is going the other way.

Upcoming Free Agents:

While Pau Gasol and James Johnson promptly re-sign with their teams, there are some question marks as to what the GM will do with the other free agents as well as what the plan is to fill out the rest of the roster.

Next up is Kyle Korver who signed close to a near-max MLE value and could possibly walk in FA depending on what Melo decides to do. He’s getting up there in age, so I think Melo tries to go younger.

Rajon Rondo is the BIG decision Melo has to make, because he signed somewhere else in the NBA and has a low chance of staying, however he was such a great part of what he did in the postseason that I bet Melo is tempted. Besides, Reggie Jackson was traded, so they need a PG badly.

Gerald Green is unfortunately the odd-man out, because no attention is being given to him, he will surely walk despite doing a solid job off the bench.