Heading into what should be an incredibly entertaining week as NBA free agency kicks off, the great Zach Lowe dropped a bit of a free agency primer this morning chock-full of interesting Kings nuggets. You can read the full article here, as you should.

Lowe brought up two fascinating points as it pertains to the Kings. They are both very worrisome as it pertains to Kings ownership. While the front office has done a good job of making prudent moves for the future so far, the hunger from ownership to win now and get in the playoffs sooner rather than later is still there.

From Zach Lowe, ESPN –

Lowe would later add –

I have not seen any previous reports directly linking the Kings to Gallinari until this, but the Paul Millsap rumors have been running rampant since the trade deadline last season.

My stance on all this is pretty simple. I’d prefer smaller deals until the picture of what the Kings need is a little bit more clear, but if the Kings can land one of the top free agents on the market, I won’t complain as loud as I probably should. I’ve come to accept the fact that this might be a reality for the Kings this offseason. They have so much cap room, and if a salary-dump-for-asset type deal never materializes, the money just has to go somewhere, and because the Kings have limited roster spots available, their signings are going to be big money players. They have to be. If you can grab Millsap, he’s an asset, although aging, that could be dealt somewhere else when the kids are ready, provided his body doesn’t break down. It’s a huge gamble on his age and health, but Millsap is an extremely tough, durable, hard-working player that it might be a little safer than another 31-year-old All-Star.

Signing Gallinari would be a little more palatable because of his age, and the fact that he fills a major position of need. The knock on Gallo is that he’s suffered some pretty significant injuries over the course of his career, and as he gets older, that concern will only grow.

In both cases, I’d imagine the Kings’ interest in them is greater than their interest in the Kings, so this is likely much ado about nothing, but that’s the NBA offseason in a nutshell. Free Agency officially starts at 9:01 Pacific time tonight. We’ll see just how real this interest in win now veterans really is soon enough.