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Who Is Going To Occupy the Sacramento Kings’ Final Roster Spot?

By Ti Windisch

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When I wrote yesterday that Vlade Divac was done signing players, it did not mean he’s done making decisions. He’s got a pretty tough one left but it revolves around releasing, not signing another player. It seemed as though there would be more competition for an extra roster spot, as just a few days ago only 13 players were guaranteed:

More on the small ball comment later, although that does have an impact on who the Kings decide to keep around. But this Bobby Marks (who is a must-follow for NBA nerds like myself) tweet is from a few days ago.

That was before we found out yesterday that Duje Dukan’s contract–along with Seth Curry’s, Quincy Acy’s and Caron Butler’s–was guaranteed for this season. It’s a little surprising that Acy and Dukan both got guaranteed money considering they didn’t have too much demand.

Curry and Butler were more expected to get guaranteed contracts, seeing as the guaranteed money was a big part in luring Curry away from the Pelicans and Butler is an experienced vet who’s been around for a while. I suppose Vlade Divac didn’t want to lose Acy or Dukan to a different team the way the Pelicans wound up losing Curry, so he decided to not play around and instead get the guys he wants under contract.

The result of that is that now there are 14 guaranteed contracts on the Sacramento Kings’ books, meaning only one roster spot is currently open. The most likely targets for the spot are Eric Moreland and David Stockton, both of whom currently have guaranteed deals with the Kings.

Although it would seem like keeping Stockton around makes more sense because he can be quickly dumped if another option arises before mid-January, it is important to note as Akis Yerocostas pointed out earlier that the Kings and Moreland can renegotiate when his money becomes guaranteed, to potentially move it back to after training camp at least.

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That still might make Stockton’s deal more appealing, simply because he already has a late date and I doubt Moreland would move his that far back. There are advantages to keeping Moreland though, the biggest being related to an earlier linked Tweet–these Kings are pretty small. Moreland and his 6’10” frame would be handy to have around as bench depth, which is all you really look for in your fifteenth man anyway.

I don’t really see either of these guys getting much playing time should they become the Kings’ last man off the bench. Moreland would be behind several talented big bodies, including DeMarcus Cousins, Willie Trill Cauley-Stein, Kosta Koufos and Rudy Gay if George Karl decides to go small.

On the flip side, Stockton would now be the fourth point guard behind Rajon Rondo, Darren Collison and Seth Curry (although Curry is technically a combo guard). So it seems like either way Sacramento goes, they’ll be adding nothing but a bench player with potential (considering both Stockton and Moreland are pretty young).

Of course it’s possible neither of the two sticks around and the Kings go with an outsider for the fifteenth spot, but I’m not sure how likely it is. I’d rather have a young guy with potential than Luc Mbah a Moute, who the Kings apparently are still in talks with despite his failed physical.

I don’t know how accurate the Kings’ interest is, because if they wanted to go big it seems more logical to keep Moreland around and simply pay the modest sum he’s owed–it’s somewhere between $800,000 and $900,000–then to let him go and bring back Mbah a Moute yet again.

Plus Vlade did make it seem like he was done signing players, and Vlade Divac doesn’t seem like the kind of man to go back on his word. I suppose we’ll find out after training camp if Divac has a different player in mind, or if Stockton or Moreland will be Kings to start the NBA season.

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Next: Who Should Be The Kings Starting Point Guard?

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