Jason Ross: The Kings Big 4th of July Fireworks
For the first couple of days of the NBA Not so Free Agency Period the Kings were in the mix but coming up empty. That was until the 4th of July and the Kings made a big splash.
Sacramento has been looking to add more professionals to their mix of very young players. On Tuesday they did just that.
The Kings will welcome veterans George Hill and Zach Randolph to the squad.
These are two of the biggest names the Kings have added in their free agency history.
Hill and Randolph join the short list of names like Vlade Divac and Rajon Rondo. All of them picked Sacramento over other opportunities which is very rare.
The Kings in their history had better success in free agency in keeping existing big names like Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins and others.
Getting players to come to Sacramento has been a huge challenge for any of the front offices that ran things for the Kings.
In George Hill the Kings get a player that is coming off his best professional season.
When the Jazz added Ricky Rubio last week it opened the door for Hill to be on the move.
The Kings swooped in and expect him to play stellar defense, score efficiently and mentor rookie point guards De'Aaron Fox and Frank Mason. Hill has been a solid professional for teams like the Spurs, Pacers and the Jazz and should fit in very nicely in Sacramento.
Zach Randolph is reuniting with his former coach in Dave Joerger. ZBo is tough, and authentically tough, no fake tough guy stuff here. Randolph had a bad reputation early in his career and that is long gone.
He deserves a lot of credit for that. Many times it is said that people can't change. In this case Randolph has shaken that label and is a veteran that a lot of teams desired. The Kings will benefit from his presence, his rebounding, his experience and his attitude.
We are all excited about what these young guys can do but let's not forget what the veterans like Randolph, Hill, Koufos and Temple will provide on a daily basis. All these guys have won, they can teach, they can still play and will be great role models for the young Kings players.
In the end it will be difficult for coach Joerger not to play these vets because they will provide a lot for him.
For the first time in a long time it feels like the Kings are going in the right direction.
I have mentioned before that this team may need to go backwards before they go forwards but it does feel like the needle is pointing up on the Kings. The national media is actually saying nice things about how they drafted and the new acquisitions. Fans are pretty excited about what this team can become.
This is all still in its infancy but it does have the feeling of something that could have some staying power. There is still work to do like addressing the small forward position but piece by piece this team is being built. Their identity is starting to form and the culture is starting to change. All these things are difficult to execute but the Kings are trying to do it right before our eyes.
With the addition of Hill and Randolph this team may just be on their way to bigger and better things. Lets sure hope so.
