The NBA is full of talent. You would be surprised by the number of guys who can be entered into a team’s rotation and make a difference. For most players, it is all about having the right opportunity. The Sacramento Kings can give an underrated free agent a chance, and it could work great for both sides.
The Kings have a solid roster, especially a complete starting lineup centered around the emerging stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Alongside them are the outstanding rookie Keegan Murray and sharpshooter Kevin Huerter. While starting small forward Harrison Barnes is a pending free agent, both sides have shown interest in bringing him back.
Whether or not Barnes returns, the Kings need to look for guys that can come in, whether starting or off the bench and make a difference for this team. This free agency class is not even close to what we have seen in recent years in terms of talent available, so the Kings might need to dig a little deeper to find these hidden gems:
4. T.J. Warren
T.J. “Bubble” Warren has shown he is a certified bucket-getter. He got his nickname while playing in the NBA bubble at Disney World during the COVID-19 lockdown, where he dropped 53 points his first game there and had three more games with 30+. Since then, he has had many injury problems, as he played just four games in the 2020-21 season and missed the whole 2021-22 season. This past year, he was able to increase his load and play 48 games but was at the bottom of the Phoenix Suns rotation.
Despite his injury concerns, Warren has shown he can still create off the dribble and shoot off the catch. He was able to be a closer for the Suns at times in their playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, but in Sacramento, I would want him to be a guy to come off the bench and be able to spark the offense.
In a free agency class lacking wings, a cheap option in T.J. Warren has an upside if he can play like he was from 2017 to 2020. Phoenix was not the best place for him at the end of the season, so his numbers are not great, but he could provide some depth to this Kings team.
3. Yuta Watanabe
Yuta Watanabe, a lefty 6’8″ forward born in Japan, has emerged as a rotational player in the NBA while making a name for himself. Although many know him from being on the wrong side of some nasty dunks, Watanabe is a lights-out shooter and would be a fantastic bench piece for this Kings team.
Watanabe might be the most underrated shooter in the NBA. This season for the Brooklyn Nets, he shot 44.4% from deep, including 51.4% on corner threes, while appearing in 58 games. He had a few games where he knocked down 4+ threes while only missing one or two. Watanabe, unfortunately, was out of the Nets rotation most of the time, but when he played, we wondered why he did not get more minutes.
The sharpshooter does it on both ends of the court as he is a very pesky defender and uses his length to his advantage. Watanabe would be a fantastic 3&D guy coming off the bench for this Kings squad, and I would love to see him have more volume in Sacramento.
Yuta was fifth in the NBA in three-point percentage (min. 100 attempts) this season and was snubbed out of a three-point contest appearance. Getting the chance to be a backup wing in Sacramento is not only a fantastic scenario for him, but it would be close to a perfect fit for the Kings.
2. Cam Reddish
Cam Reddish is the player on this list that needs an opportunity the most, as he is highly talented. Reddish has been a streaky shooter ever since he came into the league and has been unable to find a home. In his 20 games with the Trail Blazers this season, Reddish averaged 11.0 points and 1.2 steals per game while getting high-volume minutes on a tanking Portland squad.
The main thing about Cam Reddish is that most people see the talent is there, but it is a question of whether he can be efficient on offense. After being a five-star high school recruit and attending Duke along with R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson, Reddish has struggled to find his groove on the big stage.
Although he has already had changes of scenery going from the Atlanta Hawks to the New York Knicks and then to Portland, Reddish needs to settle down and find his role on a playoff team. His scoring ability, along with his impressive perimeter defense, makes him a fantastic candidate to complete the Kings bench unit and potentially start once he is comfortable.
I love Reddish’s upside and see no reason the Kings should not take a chance on him since he will be a cheap option. The biggest concern is that he is a restricted free agent, making it harder for the Kings to get him away from Portland, but there is no guarantee the Trail Blazers will be fighting to bring him back.
1. Josh Richardson
Josh Richardson, the eight-year veteran, is my favorite overlooked free-agent option for the Kings. Richardson has been a journeyman since spending the first four years of his career as a member of the Miami Heat, finding himself on five teams in the past four seasons. Before getting traded to the New Orleans Pelicans this season, he was on the San Antonio Spurs, where he was very impressive. In his 63 appearances for the Spurs, he averaged 11.4 points, 1.0 steals, and 3.0 assists per game, shooting 43.4% from the field and 38.4% from three.
Richardson has shown throughout his career that he can knock down three-pointers, but his shooting, along with his defensive presence, is why I believe he would be a good fit on this Kings squad.
His rebounding presence is a big question, which has been a big problem with wings on this team, but his two-way presence somewhat makes up for his lack of rebounding. The front office, no question, needs to address the rebounding issue, but they can do that while still signing Richardson.
Richardson would be most effective coming off the bench, but I can see him starting at the three for this team. Richardson would get a lot more good looks on this team than he has been getting in New Orleans or San Antonio, making him a big piece to the offense while contributing on defense.
4 Big men free agents the Kings need to target
With Domantas Sabonis being a natural Power Forward, we look at 4 free agent Centers that can play alongside Sabonis, or even come off the bench