Josh Smith Signing Would Sound the Alarm on Sacramento Kings' Offseason

The Sacramento Kings apparently aren't done yet, and that's not necessarily a good thing. 

After selecting Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein with the No. 6 overall pick in last month's draft, the organization has emerged as one of the busiest in free agency. It's thus far reportedly agreed to deals with Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli and Kosta Koufos, splitting significant cap space among several players ostensibly needed to fill holes in the rotation.

Yes, the expenditures reflect a club that's actually trying to get better. So too did the failed pursuits of shooting guards Monta Ellis and Wes Matthews.

But they also hint at desperation to make an immediate turnaround by virtually any means necessary. And Sacramento's next move may do more than merely hint at desperation.

It remains unclear just how much the Kings are willing to spend on Josh Smith, and we're not yet sure how the 29-year-old feels about the potential move. Here's what we do know, though.

While Smith played a fairly integral role in the Houston Rockets' drive to last season's Western Conference Finals, the 11-year veteran has been reduced to a complementary player at best—and an unpredictable one at that.

His shooting accuracy sank to a career-low 41.9 percent in 2013-14, his first season in an epically failed experiment with the Detroit Pistons. That mark sank even further to 39.1 percent through 28 games with the Pistons in 2014-15.

Then team president and head coach Stan Van Gundy did what had to be done, waiving Smith in December and paving the way for him to subsequently join the Rockets.

As Van Gundy explained in a statement:

"

Our team has not performed the way we had expected throughout the first third of the season and adjustments need to be made in terms of our focus and direction. We are shifting priorities to aggressively develop our younger players while also expanding the roles of other players in the current rotation to improve performance and build for our future. As we expand certain roles, others will be reduced. In fairness to Josh, being a highly versatile 10-year veteran in this league, we feel it's best to give him his freedom to move forward. We have full respect for Josh as a player and a person.

"

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It was a diplomatic take from a man known for his candor. The truth was that Smith's game had essentially imploded, and the Pistons couldn't move on without him quickly enough. 

Their loss was Houston's gain, sort of anyway.

Smith's efficiency improved to levels that were at least serviceable in Houston. He made 43.8 percent of his field-goal attempts in 55 regular-season games with the Rockets, averaging 12 points, six rebounds and 2.6 assists in just 25.5 minutes per game. He even started a handful of games in both the regular season and the playoffs, adding some value to a front line that hadn't gotten particularly consistent output from the oft-injured Terrence Jones.

Whereas the Pistons were destined for the basement of the Eastern Conference standings, the Rockets had a chance to do something big. Smith seemed to respond to that, quietly accepting primarily a reserve role for the first time in his career.

One wonders if he'd fit in quite so seamlessly with the consistently underachieving Kings. One wonders what his addition would mean for guys like Cauley-Stein and Koufas, whether they'd find themselves buried behind Smith and franchise centerpiece (and center) DeMarcus Cousins.

Like the Pistons, the Kings could well find themselves with one too many big men. At minimum, they could find themselves in a nearly perpetual state of confusion. Is this team still about developing young talent like Cauley-Stein, or has it suddenly and irrationally transitioned into an artificially constructed win-now mode? 

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The Kings would be wise to remember that Detroit actually went on a rare winning streak after Smith's departure.

We're talking about a player who Bleacher Report's Howard Beck described in January as, "a 6'9" tower of contradictions and perplexity—the key to one lousy team's turnaround (by his absence) and one elite team's title hopes (by his presence)."

That's a risk the financially strapped Rockets were willing to take. And it's a risk the Kings don't have to take, not at this stage of their evolutionary rebuilding process.

"For me, it's not that difficult," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey told reporters of Smith's acquisition. "He's been an elite defender in this league. Maybe he was having a tough year in Detroit. I don't know what went into that. But when you're in a competition of 30 (teams), especially a competition in the West, you've got to get talent, you've got to take chances on guys."

Indeed, some viewed Houston as a fairly ideal landing spot. But even enthusiasts like Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney conceded that, "Smith's positive contributions can't fully undo his occasional trips into lunacy."

Smith's on-court decision making has historically left something to be desired. It's often been characterized by ill-advised shots and inconsistent effort, not exactly pillars around which the Kings should build.

Is this the guy Sacramento really wants to lean upon for veteran leadership? Is he the type an old-school head coach like George Karl can get along with? Anything is possible in this league. It's conceivable that Smith's relationship with Rondo (which dates back to their high school playing days for Oak Hill Academy) could bring out the best.

But the odds don't appear to be in the Kings' favor this time. Their current situation is far more akin to last season's Pistons than it is to last season's Rockets. 

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And said situation already includes a well-documented (and somewhat refuted) tension between Karl and Cousins. The organization has somehow executed its ambitious shopping plans amid ongoing dysfunction and outright chaos—or at least that's the impression left among outsiders looking in (and shielding their eyes accordingly).

That hasn't stopped Sacramento from demonstrating sustained interest in Smith, though. As the Washington Post's Michael Lee noted in December, "Van Gundy rejected Sacramento's trade proposal for the mercurial power forward last summer [of 2014], uninspired by a package of Jason Thompson and Carl Landry, according to two people with knowledge of the situation."

Maybe the Kings see something that some teams don't. Maybe they're better equipped to handle Smith than detractors would suspect. But that kind of optimism has less to do with empirical fact and more to do with hope.

The hope of a very desperate franchise.