The Sacramento Kings made a relatively quiet move in what has otherwise been a very loud two days in the NBA. Yahoo Sports reported that the Kings and free agent small forward James Anderson have agreed on a multi-year contract. Anderson is coming off a nice season with the Sixers, and will be looking to carve a role for himself off the bench for Sacramento.
The Kings have been linked to some big name players this off-season, including Monta Ellis, Wesley Matthews, Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo. Having missed out on Ellis (who signed with the Pacers on Thursday), it appears that this move was more of an insurance type deal, in case they miss out on some of the other big names in free agency.
Additionally, there have been reports that the Kings like the idea of playing two point guards together, a similar style to that of the Phoenix Suns. Under George Karl, it seems as though they are trying to push the pace, and get more playmakers involved in the offense.
Anderson is 26 years-old, and still has the time and ability to develop into a reliable two-way backup player. What Anderson seems to struggle with most is his offensive consistency. He shoots over 30% from 3-point range for his career, which is solid, but has an underwhelming career field goal clip of 41.7%. Playing in a fast-paced offense like Karl's could benefit Anderson by allowing him to get easy buckets in transition and play more freely.
Off the bench, Anderson will add some perimeter shooting, essentially replacing guard Nik Stauskas, who struggled in his first season with the Kings. Assuming that DeMarcus Cousins stays put and makes the transition to power forward, the Kings really only have to worry about their backcourt. Anderson is a nice bench piece, but he is not a guy with starter-level talent.
With Collison and McLemore as their starting backcourt, it is likely that the Kings will pursue other big names at both positions. Expect the Kings to be aggressive, particularly in their pursuit of a point guard (Rajon Rondo or Patrick Beverley?) in the next couple days.