Something is going on with Sacramento Kings guard Arron Afflalo, and it looks like it began a couple of weeks ago. Afflalo, who signed a two-year, $25 million deal with the Kings in the summer, started 18 of the their first 20 games this season, then abruptly received a DNP-CD against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 7.

After the game, a 120-89 blowout victory for Sacramento, coach Dave Joerger told reporters, "Ben [McLemore] has been doing his work and it is no detriment to Arron or the group or anything. It was just a great opportunity for him."

Afflalo again didn't play a single minute on Dec. 9, a 103-100 loss to his former team, the New York Knicks. Since then he has played 25 total minutes -- four against the Utah Jazz on Dec. 10, 13 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 12 and eight minutes against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 14. He didn't play at all in the Kings' last two games against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Mavericks.

Unsurprisingly, the 10-year veteran is not thrilled about this. According to KHTK Sports 1140's Carmichael Dave, Afflalo was "slow to enter the game in Utah" and "declined to enter in Houston."

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Arron Afflalo didn't go to Sacramento to sit on the bench. USATSI

Thoughts:

  • Great, more drama in Sacramento! DeMarcus Cousins is warring with local media, Rudy Gay is still on the trade block and there's still a logjam in the frontcourt. This isn't exactly as serious as Cousins and Matt Barnes being sued for an alleged assault in a nightclub, but it's one more thing to worry about.
  • In Afflalo's defense, he didn't sign with the Kings expecting to be a backup or an end-of-the-bench guy. Last season, Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis had Sasha Vujacic start in front of him, and he was understandably upset about that, too.
  • In Joerger's defense, Afflalo's numbers have been down across the board. He is shooting 40.5 percent and making just 31.1 percent of his 3s, with a PER of 8.89. It's not like Sacramento is marginalizing one of its most productive players.
  • The Kings might be a mess, but the funny part is that they're only two games out of the eighth seed in the West. At 10-17, they're definitely not good, but they might not be bad enough for management to abandon their hope that they can make the playoffs. This Afflalo situation is probably an example of how they need to embrace a youth movement, but it's unclear that the front office feels that way.