The Sacramento Kings have made it official, filling their final two-way spot by signing Malik "Leaky" Black. It's an interesting move for the Kings has they have no shortage of wings, yet still need more depth at point guard. Black should fit in nicely, but this leaves other questions unanswered.
After waiving then two-way point guard Isaiah Stevens, the Kings have had a space to deal with. The other two-way contracts are filled by standout power forward Jonathan Mogbo and shooting guard Adam Flagler. Adding Black maxes out the number of two-way contracts the Kings can have.
Bringing him into the pipeline acutally makes a lot of sense for Sacramento. The two areas they need the most help in are defense and three-point shooting, skillsets Black has. He's a versatile perimeter defender who has seen drastic improvements in his long range shot. He's a good fit.
On top of that, Black played really well in the preseason. Fellow two-way player Mogbo definitely stole the show, but Black was also on his grind. He definitively earned this spot, and will do well with it. At the same time, it doesn't really address the elephant in the Golden 1 Center.
The Kings still need more support at point guard
With that two-way contract being filled by another wing, Sacramento is still running shallow in the point guard department. They are starting Darius Acuff Jr., but he is a rookie who needs time to grow and develop. Backing him up was supposedly the point of bringing in Ben Simmons.
Now, it's looking more and more like Simmons will be their starting power forward, which will make it difficult for him to help Acuff. The Kings have Flagler and Malik Monk, but they are primarily shooting guards. All of this makes Elfrid Payton getting the last main roster spot more important.
He is an experienced NBA point guard who can focus on backing Acuff up and helping him develop his game. Payton is the front-runner for that final standard contract, but nothing has been confirmed yet. If the Kings don't go with him, they're back in the same place they were months ago.
Acuff will be a good point guard for the Kings, but he's a rookie with the pressure of the entire franchise on his back. While Black is also a good addition to the same franchise, he does little to help with that specific issue. It seems odd that the Kings are not taking this concern more seriously.
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