Richaun Holmes has been a bargain since signing a two-year, $10MM deal with the Kings last summer and he hopes to remain with the team long after that contract expires, relays James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. Holmes talked about his future during a recent appearance on the Purple Talk podcast.
“I absolutely love Sacramento,” he said. “This community, this city, these fans — have shown me, in my short time here, that I really couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else. I would love to play here the rest of my career. I love to play in front of these fans, be a part of this community — this is a great place to be and I’d love just to be a part of it.”
Holmes seemed headed to a backup role in Sacramento after the team invested $39MM over three years in fellow center Dewayne Dedmon. However, Holmes seized the starting job after four games and played well enough to convince the Kings to trade Dedmon to Atlanta in February.
Holmes, 26, spent three years with the Sixers and one with the Suns before his break-out season. His minutes have increased to 28.8 per game since joining the Kings and he’s posting career highs with 12.8 PPG and 8.3 RPG.
He has also formed a bond with the Sacramento community that included joining a few teammates to pass out meals to more than 1,000 people in need earlier this week. In addition, Holmes’ parents have become social media stars in the area, with celebrations on Instagram after every Kings victory.
“As soon as I got here, it felt like a perfect fit,” Holmes said. “From the team, to the fans, to the community, everybody shows love.”
Cap
If hes just under contract for next season id be looking to move him. Ideally testing the waters before this years deadline had passed. He going to be like 27 or so hitting FA at what is likely peak or near peak production for him, hard to see holmes not requiring a significant investment to retain on some level. 3-4 years, even if its starting at 7-9mil per year i find such a commitment unpalatable for the current kings roster. Luckily for Holmes i believe vlade divac still runs the show over there, no? Probably salivating over a non-dated 4yr 45mil contract offer right now, just hoping holmes can squeeze an extra 5-10mil outta him.
I doubt he will be in huge demand since he seems to have given up on 3pt shooting. He seems to have found a good spot, why move him? Sacto has been looking for good players who will play there. $7 to 9 mil per would be great but they could go 4/$52, $13 per. His numbers the last two years in limited time suggest he would be worth it, and 31 is not old for a center. If he’s an energy guy too, great. it’s just a matter of, is he going to be reliable for 2000 minutes a year.