Sacramento Kings Send Three To G-League. A Good Move?
By Rafe Wong
Recently the Sacramento Kings announced they have sent Justin Jackson, Malachi Richardson, and Georgios Papagiannis to the Reno Bighorns, the team’s G-League affiliate. Will this move be a good call or a regret for the purple and white?
My Thoughts
The word “G-League” can hurt the eardrums for some NBA fans because it sounds like a demotion. But when teams do decide to send their players to the development league, it could possibly be a blessing in disguise.
In my opinion, sending Jackson, Richardson, and Papa G to the G-League will benefit them going forward. When all three were with the Kings, they were receiving little to no minutes on the court.
Now that the trio will be rocking the Bighorns’ uniform, I believe all three will receive significant playing time and hopefully gain more confidence in their games.
If you ask me, all three are making the best out of the situation. In their lone game so far against the Erie BayHawks Saturday night, they showed the world what kind of players they can be.
Justin Jackson went off as he led all scorers with 26 points on 10-16 (62.5%) from the floor. Richardson and Papagiannis also had solid nights as they combined for 25 points and 18 rebounds. And all three played 20 or more minutes on the floor.
Final Thoughts
Right now it is a small sample size, but sending the three Kings players to the Bighorns may be the right move in terms of benefitting their careers for the long term.
Hopefully, for the Kings and their fans, they will continue to succeed with Reno and get called back up with Sacramento. And when that opportunity comes, they will become more developed players who can help the Kings going forth.