The Sports Informant

The injured Larry Hughes never became a Sacramento King, officially, acquired via a trade recently from the New York Knicks and waived today by the Kings before ever suiting up with the team.

Hughes was acquired from the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade on Feb. 18, and did not appear in any contests with Sacramento. While it was expected he’d be let go at the end of the season, the Kings couldn’t wait that long, looking to trim their roster down for the second half of the 2009-2010 campaign. The Kings roster now stands at 14.

Hughes never even received a jersey number on the Kings roster after the trade that involved he, Joey Dorsey and Carl Landry coming over in a three-team deal with Sacramento, New York and Houston, for former Kings Kevin Martin, Sergio Rodriguez and Hilton Armstrong.

The 11-year pro was averaging 9.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game with New York, last playing on Feb. 5 against Milwaukee, where he scored two points. He was to miss four weeks of play with a broken finger.

It was the second player the Kings waived in a week, also relieving long-time bench player Kenny Thomas of his duties in the final year of his over $8-million-a-year contract.

Hughes never even made it to Sacramento to visit, as he remained on the East Coast to rehab his broken finger, according to the Sacramento Bee.

While Hughes has been a playmaker in the past, he wasn’t expected to make an impact in Sacramento.