Friday 26th April 2024,
The Hoop Doctors

George Hill Reportedly Feels Like the Sacramento Kings Mislead Him in Free Agency

George Hill

George Hill’s angry-face emoji tweet may have meant something after all.

Sure, the point guard initially passed it off as an expression of disappointment; he was irate that he let his teammates down during a crunch-time loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, in which he didn’t play down the stretch. And, hell, maybe that’s true. But that doesn’t mean Hill is happy with the Sacramento Kings. In fact, according to the Salt Lake Tribune‘s Tony Jones, he is decidedly unhappy:

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. So the Kings have a mess on their hands. I’ve always liked Hill’s game, but when he signed in Sacramento, I questioned the prudence of the Kings bringing him on board when they just drafted De’Aaron Fox, the quicksilver point guard from Kentucky.

De’Aaron Fox and, more recently, Buddy Hield have been averaging more minutes than Hill, so logistically, this tracks. But the claims of ignorance, on Hill’s part, are weird. He had to know what he was getting into. No way, no how, does a player as smart and talented as him think a team that’s paying him, Zach Randolph and Vince Carter close to $40 million combined is fixing for a playoff berth.
It always seemed like Hill’s partnership with the Kings was borne from convenience anyway. He probably expected to fetch more money in free agency, but a depressed market left him turning over rocks he never planned to touch. In came the Kings with a three-year, $57 million offer ($1 million guarantee in final season) and presto! Hill was paid. He wasn’t playing for a good team, and he had to know it, but he was getting paid.
Now, could Hill have signed under the guise that the Kings intended to play him 30-plus minutes per game while he padded his stat totals and they lost their hearts out? Perhaps. But the playoff berth slant here doesn’t play. It can’t. Not in the Western Conference. Not after Hill saw what it took for the Utah Jazz to end their own postseason drought last season.

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