Hardwood Paroxysm Presents: Dream NBA free agent signings
Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith to the Sacramento Kings
by Bryan Toporek (@btoporek)
The Sacramento Kings are in a state of organizational disarray at the moment. Head coach George Karl is pushing for the team to trade star big man DeMarcus Cousins, per Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported the Kings are considering firing Karl, and the team reportedly has lawyers “studying Karl’s contract, trying to determine if there’s a way to terminate him for “‘cause,’” according to Woj. Meanwhile, after consummating a head-scratching salary dump with the Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento is striking out left and right in free agency, with both Monta Ellis and Wesley Matthews reportedly turning down higher-money offers to join teams that aren’t a laughingstock around the league.
With that cap space burning a hole in Vivek Ranadive’s pocket — that Philly salary dump looks even worse, after all, if Sacramento can’t acquire a big-name free agent or two — the Kings need to embrace this chaos and become the NBA’s version of the Island of Misfit Toys. The best way to do so? Sign Josh Smith and Rajon Rondo, both of whom need to repair their reputations around the league, to short-term deals.
Ideally, Smith and Rondo rally around the opportunity and help restore the Kings to semi-respectability. Though they’ve fallen upon hard times as of late, both were All-Star-caliber players not all that long ago. Granted, putting that many explosive personalities in one locker room also has the potential to erupt like Mount Vesuvius, especially with Karl coaching the team. Either way, HBO would be certifiably insane not to create an NBA version of Hard Knocks and feature the Kings this fall.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Marc Spears, the Kings are meeting with Rondo on Friday, while Sports Illustrated’s Jake Fischer reported the team will begin discussions with Smith and Lou Williams on Friday, too. For the sake of League Pass devotees nationwide, it’s Sacramento’s duty to sign the former two, if not all three, to create quite possibly the most volatile team in NBA history.