With newly-acquired forward Chris Webber and rookie point guard Jason Williams, the Kings were one bigman away from being a formidable force (some things never change), and Divac was the cream of the crop in a free agent center class headlined by Isaac Austin and Matt Geiger. Already 30 years old and coming off an injury-plagued year in which his points and rebounds declined for the fourth consecutive season, Divac had few suitors who were willing to give him more guaranteed money. In addition to teaming up with Webber, he also had the chance to play alongside fellow countryman Peja Stojakovic, who had finally signed a rookie contract after being drafted in 1996.
Divac, who was selected as an All-Star reserve in 2001, ranks among the all-time Sacramento-era leaders in nearly every major category, placing second in rebounds, third in blocks, sixth in assists, seventh in points, and of course, first in flops. Although his play sharply declined during the final two years in which he earned over $23 million, he missed only six total games in six seasons and had his jersey retired at ARCO Arena in 2009.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim - signed on August 12, 2005 for five years, $29 million
The Kings locked up the 28-year-old power forward, who held impressive career averages of 19.9 points and 8.1 rebounds, three days after the New Jersey Nets unexpectedly rescinded a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers due to concerns over the nine-year veteran's right knee. Expected to fill the power forward void left by Webber, Reef averaged 12.3 points and five rebounds in his first year with the playoff-bound Kings, and then put up 9.9 points and five rebounds while playing 80 games (45 starts) in the following season.
From there, it all quickly went downhill. Despite the fact that he'd never missed a single game in his career with any kind of knee injury, Abdur-Rahim's right knee became arthritic and broke down exactly as the Nets doctors had predicted three years prior and forced him to undergo two arthroscopic surgeries. He appeared in only six games and played 51 minutes in his final season before retiring with two guaranteed years left on his contract and 158 games in a Sacramento jersey. The only silver lining was that the team received medical relief from the NBA, which took the final year of his contract ($6.6 million) off the 2009-10 salary cap.
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