A Royal Pain
Fansided

5 Players the Sacramento Kings never should have signed

By Elaine Blum

Jan 30, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) celebrates hitting a jump shot and getting fouled with teammate center Dewayne Dedmon (13) during the fourth quarter against the LA Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) celebrates hitting a jump shot and getting fouled with teammate center Dewayne Dedmon (13) during the fourth quarter against the LA Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 15, 2020; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Trevor Ariza (0) interacts with players from the Dallas Mavericks during a break in the action in the third quarter at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2020; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Trevor Ariza (0) interacts with players from the Dallas Mavericks during a break in the action in the third quarter at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Trevor Ariza

The former second-round pick had a slow start to his career but sort of took off in 2009-10 when he was with the Rockets. Almost then years later, in the 2018-19 season, Trevor Ariza averaged 14.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 34.1 minutes per game as a starter in 43 games with the Washington Wizards.

Although he was already 34 at the time, that earned him a 2-year $25 million contract with the Kings in 2019. There were several problems with that signing. Ariza’s age made it a risky signing but on top of that the Kings didn’t even actually have a role for him. Harrison Barnes, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Buddy Hield were already crowding the wing. Thus, Ariza’s production dropped immensely to 6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals.

He only played 32 games with the Kings before they traded him to the Portland Trailblazers. Considering that they neither got the expected level of production from Ariza nor needed it, this signing was a waste of money. That money could have gone towards another player that might have stayed with the team for more than 32 games.

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