A Royal Pain
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Sacramento Kings Sign Vince Hunter

ByTi Windisch|

So I guess Eric Moreland is not coming back to Sacramento. On Thursday the Sacramento Kings signed undrafted forward Vince Hunter with a partially guaranteed contract, per Shams Charania:

After a lengthy Google session, I like this signing. Hunter fills the need for an extra forward at the end of the Kings’ bench, and that partially guaranteed contract means he likely costs very little, or nothing at all if he doesn’t make a good impression with the Kings organization pretty quickly.

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The 6’8″ Hunter was impressive in his final season at the University of Texas at El Paso, averaging 14.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals and one block per game at UTEP that year. Anytime a player averages at least one of each of the five main statistics it means they’re making an impact all over–Hunter is a disruptive presence on the floor.

He’s a bit slim for a power forward at like 208 pounds, but he’s long for his height–his wingspan was last recorded as 6’11”, which helps explain how he managed to rebound so well in college. Instincts are more important than physical attributes when it comes to rebounding anyway though–Draymond Green is a good example of that.

Hunter did manage to shoot 40 percent from three-point territory his final year at UTEP, but his average of just 0.3 threes attempted per game and 60 percent free throw shooting mean I’m hesitant to call him a true shooter. He seems to be a slightly undersized yet gifted power forward, and not much more. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Jan 8, 2015; El Paso, TX, USA; UTEP Miners forward Vince Hunter (32) shoots the ball over the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs during the first half at the Don Haskins Center. Mandatory Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports

There’s no guarantee he makes the roster, now that there are 16 players under contract for Sacramento. One of the fringe guys will either be jettisoned from the organization entirely or end up in the D-League. Who gets left off almost certainly depends on the Kings training camp–until then, there’s just no way to tell.

Should he end up on the Sacramento Kings roster, Hunter probably wouldn’t see many minutes outside of garbage time. He may have potential, being just 21 years old, but there’s just no room for him to see time at the four in Sacramento unless a trade or injury occurs.

Between Kosta Koufos, Willie Cauley-Stein, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay all potentially seeing power forward minutes, there’s just nothing left for an undrafted rookie right now. Maybe Hunter can get an opportunity here or there in blowouts and prove himself a little bit, but still, don’t expect to see him as any more than a last case scenario in Sacramento, for the time being at least.

Still though, depth never hurt anybody and if Vlade Divac saw some flash of something worthwhile in Vince Hunter, than this was easily a good move. It can’t really hurt the Kings, only benefit Sacramento if Hunter does end up being more than just another undrafted guy who bounces around a bit. Even if he doesn’t have a real role on the Kings, having a talented end of the bench matters when guys miss games due to fatigue or injuries.

The most important part of all of this though was that it appears Vivek Ranadivé shaved his beard too soon. Oh well. There’s always next offseason, Vivek.

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