George Hill didn’t need words to express his frustration after Saturday’s loss to the Bucks, writes James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. Hill used emojis — 26 dark red “pouting face” symbols” — in a tweet he sent out shortly after the game. Hill played just 18 minutes last night and was part of the starting lineup that was pulled after three minutes when it fell into a 14-0 hole.
The adjustment to Sacramento has been difficult for the 31-year-old point guard, who signed a three-year, $57MM deal over the summer. Through 21 games, he is averaging 8.9 points and 2.4 assists in 25.6 minutes while sharing time with rookies De’Aaron Fox and Frank Mason. He’s taking five fewer shots per night than he did last season in Utah.
Barring a trade, Hill is committed to the Kings through at least the end of next season. His contract includes a non-guaranteed $18MM for 2019/20.
There’s more today out of Sacramento:
- Kings fans shouldn’t count on seeing Harry Giles play this season, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The organization is being very careful with the rookie out of Duke, who has a long history of medical problems with both knees. Team doctors will evaluate him next month, which will mark two years since his last ACL surgery, and determine the best course for further rehab. The Kings want to see how he responds to increased activity in practice before thinking about playing him, and Jones believes that probably means keeping him sidelined for the rest of the year.
- The Kings might be tempted to take on another team’s unwanted contract to pick up a draft pick for next summer, but they would have to consider the long-term implications of such a move, Jones writes in the same story. Sacramento’s first-rounder for 2019 will go to either Philadelphia or Boston. While Sacramento might like to add to its youth movement, it doesn’t want to take on an expensive, long-term deal that would drain future cap room. The team is counting on having market flexibility when its youngsters start to mature, which is why Zach Randolph was only signed for two seasons and Hill’s contract has a third-year buyout.
- Injuries and foul trouble gave two-way player JaKarr Sampson a rare chance to play Saturday, Jones notes in a separate story. In just his third game of the season, the 24-year-old small forward logged 24 minutes and impressed the coaching staff with his energy and enthusiasm.
Oh poor poor George Hill.
You took the cash to go to a Bottom 5 team who just drafted their franchise PG.
What did you expect?
Take your pouts and I dunno WORK HARDER?!