SACRAMENTO -- The story was too good to be true. An NBA team with a boatload of cash to spend in free agency. A hometown kid looking to come back to his roots.
And then nothing.
The stars were aligned for Sacramento’s own Ryan Anderson to sign a mega-deal with the Kings this summer. There was mutual interest and even conversations. But in the end, the high-scoring forward chose to sign with the Houston Rockets on a 4-year, $80 million deal.
“Man, it really was the hardest decision of my life,” Anderson told CSN California of the choice to sign with Houston. “Obviously, there are so many factors that go into free agency. For me, I was praying like crazy, like, where am I supposed to be, give me a clue or sign.”
When it was all said and done, Houston was the last man standing. He considers the Rockets a great fit for him and he’s happy with the way things worked out.
“I grew up loving this team, cherishing this team, there is still a bit of that purple blood in my veins,” Anderson said. “I love this team. In no way was it a form of disrespect to the team and the organization.”
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The Rockets are further along in their development as a team than the Kings are, which was appealing to Anderson. They’ve made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, including a run to the Western Conference Finals during the 2014-15 season.
Anderson credits his love for the Kings as one of the main reasons he made it to the league.
“Growing up here in Sacramento, it was a golden ticket to come to a Kings game,” Anderson said. “My parents saw the value in that. There’s a chance I might not even be playing basketball if I didn’t get to grow up watching the Kings and loving basketball so much.”
Anderson won a state championship at Arco Arena playing for Oak Ridge high school, before heading to Berkeley to play his college ball. The 28-year-old sharpshooter still has family in the area, including his parents and sister. For the first time in years, he was able to make it home for the Thanksgiving holiday.
After years of playing against the Kings at Arco/Power Balance Pavilion/Sleep Train Arena, this is Anderson’s first trip to Golden 1 Center. While he hadn’t taken a tour yet, he’s excited that his hometown club has a new building and long-term lease to stay in Sacramento.
“This team just has so much of a legacy to this city, it’s really cool to see this arena here now,” Anderson said.
Anderson didn’t rule out coming to Sacramento to finish up his career. He’ll be 32-years-old when his current contract with Houston ends and he’s said he’d keep the door open for a possible return home, if the Kings would have him.
