Western Conference early free agency moves put OKC Thunder on high alert
By Rylan Stiles
The Kings were on the cusp of the playoffs last season, and now, they are doing…something?
The Kings had a very fun season last year, led by De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley, the surging Kings barely missed out on postseason play.
This offseason, they are trying to put together an interesting roster to hopefully make a playoff push.
The Kings started their first day of free agency by re-signing Harrison Barnes, who they acquired at the deadline this past season. Barnes fits the Kings offense perfectly and earned himself another big contract.
Harrison Barnes gets a 4-YR, $85M deal, an average of $21.25M/year, (T47th most in NBA).
— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) July 1, 2019
Career: 13.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG
On Day 1 of free agency, SAC eagerly toss that at him.
Based on annual average, Barnes would the…
• Highest paid in the NHL
• 17th in the NFL
• 34th in MLB pic.twitter.com/ipkdAbS7h7
That was just the start of the Kings first 24 hours of free agency. They also brought in Trevor Ariza, the veteran wing who hopes to make a playoff impact as he did for Houston after bad stops with the Suns and Wizards.
After renouncing the qualifying offer from disgruntled big man Willie Cauley-Stein, the Kings scooped up former Hawks big man Dewayne Dedmon to a three-year deal worth over 40 million dollars.
Those two additions, and bringing back Barnes, have the Kings ready to be a tough out. The Kings already posted a 3-1 record against the OKC Thunder a year ago, so any improvement could spell trouble for the boys in blue.
The Kings will likely just miss the postseason again, but they got better this offseason, and that is not good for the Thunder or Western Conference contenders.