Just moments after the Kings beat the Pelicans, Shams Charania reported that the team signed the former number one pick in the 2017 NBA draft, Markelle Fultz. Charania reported, “[The] Kings have searched to find a point guard,” showing it wasn’t just Kings fans who felt the team lacked point guard depth. Charania also mentioned that Fultz had multiple suitors before choosing to sign with the Kings.
Once a position in which the Kings had a logjam, the post-Fox Kings have found themselves in desperate need of a true point guard. The team has been using Malik Monk as their starting point guard, who has shown to be quite a good passer at times, but is still a role he is learning and getting comfortable in. The only other point guard the team has is rookie Devin Carter, who was recently assigned to the G-League as the Kings can’t find the minutes to develop the youngster in the midst of a critical playoff race. Carter is also considered to be more of a combo-guard rather than a point guard and most people would not bet on him being ready to fill the point guard gap this season.
Fultz has been a free agent since the offseason, where he found himself with no home in the NBA. The 26 year old point guard was selected first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2017 NBA Draft. Just two seasons into his career, Fultz was traded to the Orlando Magic. The young guard has been plagued by injuries throughout his whole career, most notably suffering a scapular muscle imbalance in 2017 and a torn ACL in 2021. However, he was able to recover from these injuries well enough to the point that he became a serviceable NBA player.
Fultz provides solid defense, which is an area of weakness for the Kings. He is also a capable playmaker and can help his teammates get open looks, which the Kings also need to help supply their gluttony of pure scorers. While Fultz doesn’t provide much help on offense, that might be a welcome sight to a team with a bunch of guys who are looking to get their shots up.
Perhaps the biggest weakness to Fultz’s game is his inability to shoot well from three. This can be linked back to his tough injury history. He suffers from thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), which affects nerves in his shoulder. In his career, Fultz is an abysmal 27% shooter from three. Despite this, Fultz has a 6’9″ wingspan, which allows him to hold his own on defense. Fultz posted a 0.7 DBPM in the 2022-23 season and a 1.2 DBPM in the 2023-24 season. If he can do that for the Kings, and help initiate the offense in spurts where Monk sits, that would be a win for the Kings. It’s important that the Kings find themselves reliable insurance at the PG spot in case Monk suffers an injury, God forbid. We’ll see if Fultz can insert himself into that role.
This is certainly a low-risk, high reward signing for Sacramento. Worst-case scenario, Fultz will be off the books at the end of the season and Sacramento can move on and look for a long-term backup point guard. Best-case scenario, the Kings may have hit on something and could look to bring Fultz back next season if all goes well.
Kings Scribe 
Leave a comment