Sacramento Kings make move in an attempt to save their season

The NBA regular season is long and filled with highs and lows. Right now, the Sacramento Kings are going through a low point. They are 8-10, losers of four straight, and sitting all the way at 12th in the Western Conference (outside of the play-in picture).

For some teams, 8-10 wouldn't be the end of the world. But when you make the moves the Kings did this offseason (adding DeMar DeRozan and re-signing Malik Monk), you are expecting that your team can move forward, not backward. And forward for this Kings team would be to win a playoff series or two, not miss the postseason entirely (again).

So, in response to this slow start, the Kings are in the process of making a move that they hope will put their season back on the right foot.

Sacramento Kings nearing a deal with Jae Crowder

On Tuesday, it was announced that the Kings were closing in on a deal with Jae Crowder – a player that they brought in for workouts during the offseason.

In theory, this signing should remedy three areas of concern for the Kings: shooting, defense, and bench production.

The Kings have gotten off to a horrid start from beyond the arc. As of November 27, they are 26th in the NBA in 3-point percentage (32.8%). Crowder has been above the league average in threes per 75 possessions every season of his career. As a general rule, shooting volume is a better indicator of shooting/spacing value than shooting percentage does.

As for defense, while Crowder is no longer a spring chicken (34 years old) and doesn't move his feet laterally the way he used to, he's still a big body (6'6 and 235 pounds) who can offer a boost on that end of the floor. Crowder has finished in the 74th percentile or higher in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (DEF EPM) in each of the last three years (per Dunks & Threes).

At the very least, Crowder gives the Kings another capable two-way role player they can go to off the bench. The Kings' bench struggles have been well-documented (28th in bench points per game) this year. Hopefully, Crowder can help them climb up the standings in this area.

On top of all of this, Crowder brings a winning pedigree with him to the Kings (if/when the deal becomes official). In his career, Crowder has made three conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances.