The Sacramento Kings have had enough of the jokes and the losing. It's been 16 long years for Kings fans since they made the NBA playoffs. But the Kings have arguably had their best offseason during that tough stretch. That continued again Sunday as they signed former Lakers wing player Kent Bazemore to a one-year contract, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Bazemore spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers during their massively disappointing season. However, that did not have much to do with him. He played just 14 minutes per game, his lowest since his second season in the NBA back in 2013.
The Kings have not had a hard time scoring the basketball the last few seasons. But defensively they have been a nightmare. That's likely why they hired Mike Brown to be their new head coach. They followed that up by landing Malik Monk in free agency. Monk is one of the better on-ball defenders in the NBA. The Kings also signed Kevin Huerter through free agency, who is one of the better 3-p0int shooters in the NBA.
But it was the 2022 NBA Draft where they might have really hit a home run. The Kings drafted Keegan Murray out of Iowa with the fourth overall pick. It might have only been summer league, but he looked like the best rookie and it was not even close.
Bazemore is likely to get much more run with the Kings second unit than he did with the Lakers. He's proven in the past to be an effective three-and-D guy. Sacramento is making a serious push to end that playoff drought.