The Sacramento Kings figure to be a much better team this year than they have been for a while with DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay and others they have a ton of talent on their roster. The one thing the Kings might be missing is veteran leadership, and it appears they may have solved that problem as well, as it is being reported that they have come to an agreement with Caron Butler, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Kings are also said to be in on Josh Smith, and Gay has made it public that he wants Smith on the team. However, Butler is a strong veteran presence for a team full of players that don't have much experience winning.
Butler is a two-time All-Star that has been in the league for 13 years with eight different teams before reportedly joining the Kings, so he's been around the block. Butler has played in 65 career playoff games and, even if his skills are fading at age 35, he should be able to help out the Kings big time.
The deal with the Kings is reportedly for two years, with the second year being a player option, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Butler is coming off a very disappointing season with the Detroit Pistons, both personally and team-wise. He only played 20.8 minutes a game and he averaged a career low 5.9 points per game, although that is mostly because he wasn't getting shots since he made 38 percent of his three point attempts, well above his career percentage.
Even at his advanced age, Butler is a productive player in places you can't see on a stat sheet. His defense is still above average, and he helps his team win, as shown by his 2.4 win shares last season with Detroit.
Before they reportedly signed Butler, there was concern that the Kings were building a roster that would be impossible to coach. Rondo is known as a guy who clashes with coaches, and Cousins has already clashed with George Karl, even though that was of Karl's own doing. Butler should be a calming presence in the locker room, and he should be able to help Karl communicate with the other players. Although the situation still won't be perfect, potentially adding a veteran leader like Butler makes it much more manageable. The Kings are also starting to look like a roster that can win a lot of games and potentially challenge for a playoff spot, even in the stacked Western Conference.
