By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have apparently signed the pass first point guard that they have been desperately seeking since last season. As reported first by the Los Angeles Times, point guard Darren Collison will leave the Los Angeles Clippers and become a Sacramento King by signing a three-year, $16-million contract. The deal will not become official until July 10th when free-agents can sign with a new team under NBA rules.
Collison became a free-agent when he opted out of the final year of his contract with the Clippers that would have paid him a reported $1.9-million in 2014-15. Collison averaged 11.4-points per game, 2.4-rebounds and 3.7-assist as the back-up point guard to Chris Paul. Collison started 16 games when Paul was out due to injury.
The signing of Collison immediately brings up the question of what does this acquisition mean to the Kings pursuit of Isaiah Thomas? Signing Collison does not change what the Kings are thinking when it comes to Thomas. The worst kept secret in the world has been the Kings desire to have a pass first point guard in the lineup. Isaiah Thomas’ role with Sacramento was going to change in 2014-15 because a “true” point guard was going to be added to the roster.
The Kings were hoping to move Thomas into the sixth-man role to energize the second unit and keep scoring pressure on their opponents. The Kings have reportedly priced that role at $6-million per year. Reports have the Detroit Pistons offering Thomas a three-year contract at $8-million per year. The Kings have the first right of refusal but $8-million per year may exceed their budget for the position.
It has been suggested that the Pistons offer sets the table for a sign-and-trade deal with Sacramento that would send Thomas to Detroit in exchange for forward Josh Smith. The Kings were reportedly interested acquiring Smith for their number-eight draft pick, but the deal was not completed.
The selection of Nik Stauskas also put Thomas’ future with Sacramento in doubt. The Kings now have two legitimate shooting guards in Stauskas and Ben McLemore. Either of those players have the talent to become the sixth-man off the bench for the Kings. Sacramento also has Ray McCallum to play backup point guard which leaves the need for Thomas at a much lower priority.
Collison is a 6-foot, 175-pound point guard who played his college ball at UCLA. He was a first-round pick (21st selection) of the New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans) in 2009. Collison spent one-year in New Orleans, two-years in Indiana, one-year in Dallas and last year in Los Angeles with the Clippers.
Clippers coach and president Doc Rivers had indicated that re-signing Collison was a priority for the Clippers. The prospect of being the starting point guard and making $5-million plus per year appears to have been too much for Collison to ignore.
The signing of Collison does not mean the Kings are finished with making changes to their roster. Sacramento continues to be rumored to be looking to move forward Jason Thompson. Veteran guard Jason Terry has an expiring contract that might make him attractive to a team looking for cap room.
For now, the Kings appear to have filled what they saw as a major hole in their roster with the signing of Collison.