Kings Expected to Show Interest in Nine-Year Veteran Point Guard

The long-term options at point guard, like Trae Young and Darius Garland, are awesome players, but their fit on this current Sacramento roster is questionable at best. Earlier in the offseason, it was reported that the Kings would show interest in Marcus Smart and Jrue Holiday. Both Smart and Holiday would be solid options, but another possibility has emerged for the Kings today.

“New general manager Scott Perry, remember, immediately highlighted the Kings' need for improved playmaking during his introductory press conference and sources have duly linked Sacramento to various guards known to be available this summer. That list includes Holiday in Boston and Marcus Smart in Washington ... and stretches to more affordable free agent ballhandlers like Malcolm Brogdon,” NBA insider Jake Fischer wrote.

Malcolm Brogdon is turning 33 in December, has dealt with a solid amount of injuries, and was not very productive last season, but he does have one quality that should be very important to Sacramento. Brogdon is an unrestricted free agent, and his injury history will likely limit how expensive he will be, giving Sacramento financial flexibility to pursue other targets and extend current players. While Brogdon is absolutely not a long-term answer, he’s far from the worst choice for a holdover point guard. 

In nine years in the NBA, Brogdon has averaged 15 points, close to 5 assists, and shoots nearly 39% from three-point range. The former Sixth Man of the Year has had a really productive career and is a steady presence on both ends of the ball.

At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds with a nearly seven-foot wingspan, Brogdon has great positional size for a point guard, which allows him to defend multiple positions on switches, something Sacramento did not have at the point guard position other than during Fultz’s scattered minutes. Brogdon has been one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA most of his career, but his last few seasons have not been his best, so there are questions about whether he can return to form. 

Beyond his defensive skills, Brogdon has also been an excellent shooter most of his career. Brogdon has shot over 40% from deep 4 separate times in his career, and has two more seasons above 38.5%. Malcolm isn’t limited to just shooting from deep either; he’s also one of the best in the league when it comes to creating shots at the rim, according to BBall Index, which has had him in the top ten for this metric multiple times. When he’s healthy, Brogdon is way more than just a role player. 

The issues with Brogdon mostly stem from his injury history. Brogdon has only played more than 65 games twice in his career, and has only played 39 and 24 games respectively in the last two seasons. A ligament tear and an ankle injury last year are the biggest reasons why Brogdon isn’t going to command a ton of money in free agency, and the Kings are in a great position to take advantage of that. The biggest question is whether the thumb is going to be a continuing issue and impact his shooting. 

If Brogdon is healthy and can be had for the vet minimum or close to it, the Kings could do a lot worse at the point guard spot. Brogdon would give the team a ton of flexibility in who they play at the two guard spot, and if they do end up sticking with LaVine next season, the pairing of him and Brogdon would be a much better match than Monk and LaVine were.