When free-agent guard Aaron Brooks signed with the Kings in July, he assumed he would be Sacramento’s starting point guard from Day One.

Kings coach Keith Smart, however, saw it differently.

Brooks spent the 2011-12 season in China, and Smart didn’t want to rush Brooks into a starting role, preferring to let him readjust to the NBA first.

“(Brooks) alluded to that and said, ‘Coach, I’m just not ready, but I’ll be OK,’” Smart said. “You can see his game has now caught up with him.”