10 Sacramento Kings that never played a single minute
By Tyler Watts
6. Larry Hughes
Hughes was a top-ten pick in 1998 who spent 13 years in the NBA. The 6’5 wing made the All-Defensive first-team in 2005 as he led the league in steals. He was a quality role player throughout his career and reached the playoffs five times. Hughes is best known for his two and a half years playing with LeBron James in Cleveland, including advancing to the NBA Finals in 2007.
Larry Hughes was a journeyman, who played for eight different teams. His longest stay happened in Washington where he made it three full seasons. Hughes was traded four times in his career, but his time in Sacramento was the shortest.
The Kings landed him in a three-team trade that brought Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to Sacramento. They gave up Kevin Martin, Hilton Armstrong, and Sergio Rodriguez in the transaction that sent Tracy McGrady to the Big Apple. Hughes was acquired on Feb. 18 and waived five days later. He had a fractured finger and expected to miss four to six weeks, so the Kings moved on.
Larry Hughes signed with the Charlotte Bobcats in March and played a 20-minute per-game bench role in 14 contests. The 6’5 wing was out of the NBA the following season before playing nine games with the Magic to wrap up his career in 2012. The 31-year-old was past his prime when he arrived in Sacramento and the Kings were wise to quickly move on.