Markelle Fultz's Fit on the Sacramento Kings

Markelle Fultz adds much-needed point guard depth to the Sacramento Kings as a low-risk high-rewards signing.

Will Zimmerle | Feb 13, 2025

Feb 13, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz (20) brings the ball up court during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

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Sacramento Kings

After a win against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Sacramento Kings announced that they had signed former first-overall pick Markelle Fultz.

Free agent guard Markelle Fultz has agreed to a deal with the Sacramento Kings, his agent Raymond Brothers of I AM Sports & Entertainment told ESPN. Kings have searched to find a point guard – and land a deal with the former No. 1 overall pick. pic.twitter.com/oqnBqnpyCy
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 13, 2025

It's an intriguing low-risk signing for a Kings team that needed point guard depth behind Malik Monk. By trading both De'Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin, Sacramento was left with just Monk manning the lead guard position, which is also a new role for him.

Bringing in Fultz gives the Kings a true point guard who can come off the bench to run the second unit. Standing at 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, he brings length the the team and should fit the Kings defensive scheme to a tee.

Fultz hasn't played at all this year, but looking back to his 2023-24 season with the Orlando Magic, he averaged 1.0 steals and 1.6 deflections in 21.2 minutes per game. The Magic were a better defensive team with Fultz on the court (109.0) than off (110.6).

Fultz isn't necessarily a top-notch defender or someone you want to rely on to be your main stopper, but he's above average on that side of the ball. At the end of the day that's the type of players you want to stack on a roster, especially one that is filled with offensive weapons like the Kings.

On offense, Fultz isn't going to light it up, as he shot 47.2% from the field and 22.2% from three in 43 games during the 2023-24 season. But once again, pairing him with this Kings roster and having him facilitate could put him in a position to thrive.

How Fultz will get on the court, or if he will at all, is one of the biggest questions. Sacramento may not have many point guards, but they have a surplus of guards in general between Monk, Keon Ellis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan.

Doug Christie and the coaching staff will have to get creative in how they mix and match players, but the good news is that they now have plenty of options to choose from as the final push for a playoff spot commences.

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