The Sacramento Kings is not a team that will be playing meaningful basketball after the season ends in April and that reportedly upsets veteran George Hill. The 10-year point guard signed a three-year $57 million deal with the Kings this offseason after spending a season with the Utah Jazz.
The Kings also signed Zach Randolph and Vince Carter as well. What’s peculiar about the Hill signing is that it came after Sacramento drafted rookie De’Aaron Fox fifth overall in last year’s draft.
As it turns out, according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune, Hill is none too pleased with being promised a team that will compete for a playoff spot while continuing to trend in the opposite direction. The front office apparently has its eyes set on quality draft picks.
Following from the Salt Lake Tribune,
Here’s the issue. The Kings brought in Hill, Zach Randolph and Vince Carter during the offseason and still have Garrett Temple on the roster. These are respected vets who can play. These are vets brought in to help a young team, and according to sources, were brought in with the promise of a team aiming to be playoff competitive.
But that promise was made to them by Scott Perry, who since left Sacramento and now makes personnel decisions for the New York Knicks. So, the direction of the franchise has shifted since Perry left. An organization that brought in veterans aiming to win now is aiming to lose.
Not surprisingly, Hill isn’t happy, according to multiple sources and the other veterans can’t be too happy, either.
It can be tricky evaluating a player’s intentions when they sign with a team that is so apparently not conducive to winning. Hill expressed some displeasure with his team’s situation on Twitter last week.
If the team has indeed shifted gears from wanting to win to looking to the future, Hill, Randolph, and Carter have no choice but to play the waiting game.
