With training camp just around the corner, it’s time to prepare for what is shaping up to be an extremely intriguing 2015-16 Sacramento Kings season. Players have been added at every position, making this the most competitive Kings roster we have seen in nearly a decade.
Perhaps the most crucial battle that will take place is between veteran point guards Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison. The edge usually goes to the incumbent, but neither of these players have ever played a game for head coach George Karl. It’s a wide open competition between two completely different types of point guards.
Darren Collison
2014-15 stats: 16.1 points, 5.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 2.5 turnovers
2015-16 outlook: When Collison signed a three-year, $15 million deal in the summer of 2014, he thought he was getting the keys to the kingdom long term. Unfortunately, a core muscle injury cost him the final 33 games of the season, which coincided with Karl’s arrival. Overall, the 28-year-old guard played just 45 games in his first season in Sacramento and the Kings went 16-29 in those contests.
On paper, Collison is a perfect Karl point guard. He pushes the tempo, finishes well at the rim (68.4 percent), can drop in a 3-pointer (37.3 percent), and plays an aggressive style of defense. It didn’t take Collison long to create a niche as the Kings’ third scorer alongside DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, but his assist percentage of 27.2 leaves something to be desired.
Karl has a long wish list when it comes to point guards, but first and foremost, they have to get everyone involved. Collison has a lot of positive attributes, but his assist percentage from a season ago matches his career average. He is an above average ball handler who does a nice job of limiting his turnovers, but there is no question that he is a score-first point guard.
Rajon Rondo
2014-15 stats: 8.9 points, 7.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 3.1 turnovers
2015-16 outlook: Rondo is coming off a disastrous season that not only produced career-low numbers, but was mired by controversy. At just 29 years old, the former All-Star is in Sacramento on a one-year, $9.5 million deal. The word on the street is that Sacramento bid against themselves for Rondo’s services, which speaks to how far his stock has fallen.
There are very few players in the league with as much on the line this season as Rondo. Once a potential Hall of Fame player, the mercurial former Kentucky star has to get back to what has made him great in the past. With a career assist percentage of 41.1 percent, Rondo made his name as one of the game’s best floor generals.
There is question as to whether Rondo fits Karl’s dribble-drive motion offense. At times he has sticky fingers, grinding the offense to a halt with his over dribbling. That won’t work under Karl, especially with a big man like Cousins waiting for the feed. Rondo has always had an ability to break down a defense and score at the rim, but again, with his first step in question, he has struggled slightly to maintain his style of play. Last season he finished well in the paint, dropping in 63.3 percent at the rim. But everywhere else on the floor he is a shooting liability.
There are so many questions that Rondo has to answer. Can he shake off the ACL injury that seems to have taken away his first step? Can he make nice with a head coach who is known for his own brand of volatility? Can he prove that he is worthy of one more big NBA deal? If the answer is yes to all of the above, the Kings have found a bargain.
Prediction
The Kings took a beating for signing Rondo and it’s hard to see them straying from the path. If he is the player that went to four All-Star games as a member of the Boston Celtics, the Kings will win more than they lose. If Rondo can’t return to his former self, Collison is waiting in the wings.
Collison’s versatility hurts him in this decision. Rondo has started 520 of his 573 career games and hasn’t come off the bench since his rookie season, while Collison has shown an ability to succeed as a starter and in a bench role at both guard positions.
Karl loves two point guard sets, so this duo will see time on the floor together, with Rondo running the show and Collison planted in the corner where he shoots an extremely high percentage.
