With six-time All-Star swingman DeMar DeRozan joining the Kings this offseason (and veteran forward Harrison Barnes no longer on the roster), Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee speculates as to what the club’s new starting lineup will look like.
Anderson expects 2023 All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to be joined by Keegan Murray at a forward slot, with DeRozan also in the first five. Anderson notes that Sacramento head coach Mike Brown has some flexibility in terms of which player he wants to be his fifth starter, depending on whether DeRozan lines up at shooting guard or small forward.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Newly-signed Kings reserve big man Orlando Robinson‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the team features a partial guarantee of $500K, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Robinson will earn his full $2.09MM salary if he remains under contract through January 7.
- First-year Lakers head coach J.J. Redick is adding more depth to his coaching staff. According to the agency CSE (Twitter link), Los Angeles has brought on Ty Abbott as its lead player development coach. Abbott previously served as the Bulls’ player development coach/coordinator from 2020-24.
- Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga is hoping to earn a maximum-salary deal in his rookie scale extension with the team, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reveals in a new episode of the “No Cap Room” podcast. “Jonathan Kuminga is entering the final year of his rookie deal where — according to… various sources — Kuminga and his representatives are looking for a full max extension,” Fischer said. A projected five-year max deal for Kuminga would be worth approximately $224MM.
Pretty crazy that Kuminga will get max or damn near it…haven’t seen him be that type yet. Playing with Curry and Klay would overshadow but still nothing sticks it the few times I noticed him.
Good player sure, but he needs to have one heck of a year to justify giving him even the 25% max he will be eligible for.
I don’t see Kuminga getting a max unless he has all star season and a championship trophy.
Trade Jonathan Kuminga now.
Unless I hear a quote from him stating otherwise this is ridiculous as a demand and not a hope.
If this is an expectation then I understand the problems he had with Coach Kerr his first year or two. He became a team player year in three and four to his benefit but wow this news is ridiculous if it’s even true.
Gary , do you really take a report from his agent that he’s seeking a max contract as a “demand” and as “ridiculous”? Look at it from their point of view:
1) In the past few months, 2021 draft cohorts Barnes, Mobley and Cunningham just signed “max” deals. Several other lesser player from that draft have also signed huge contracts.
2) Kuminga scored 16 ppg in 26 mpg last year, shooting 53%. That projects to 22.5 ppg in 34 minutes per game. Kuminga believes that if he gets the minutes he deserves, the case for his max will be clear. Virtually every analytic shows Kerr should have played Kuminga much more last year, and Wiggins and Klay much less.
You can differ in your view, but I’d be disappointed in Kuminga if he thought otherwise, and so would the Warriors. They are all in on Kuminga because they have to be.
Yes but he still is raw in taking the ball to the basket on his own from the wing. And he’s still raw in finding others for opportunities to score.
Really what he has on his side of The Ledger is athleticism and he’s improved his skills the last 2 years which is fantastic compared to the first two years.
You know when guys come out of school and can jump through the roof and they think they’re all that. I think that was Jonathan Kuminga.
But he’s improving and I’m all for it but the max contract? Not sure about that right now. I think the guys you mentioned are further up the ladder than Jonathan is right now.
Good take though and I appreciate your comments always.
Gary , all your points are well-taken, of course. I’m just cautioning not to take an agent’s statement that he’s hoping for a max contract as completely expected and not indicative of their real expectations. Every agent would say exactly this. The headline is click-bait.
Two paths are possible. In both cases, Kuminga will receive no more than his market value:
1) Kuminga and Warriors don’t do a deal before end-of-season, and he tests the market. Any offer by another team will be based on his market value, and the Warriors will match it.
2) Kuminga and Warriors come to an agreement sometime from now until end-of-season based on a realistic assessment of his market value.
Note that no agent wants 1). The CBA, and all recent history, provide strong disincentive for other teams to offer restricted free agents that are eligible for rookie extensions.
Signing Kuminga to a max/near-max without another significant jump this season should be a fireable offense but I don’t see Dunleavy being that stupid; the Warriors should know better after what happened with Poole. Obviously very different players and Kuminga has a higher ceiling but there are still some red flags here that need to be cleaned up first.
Reason warriors are not offering him a contract right now. Since most teams will be way over the cap he will have limited places to sign. Of course his agent will claim a max but wait and see if he can get somebody to give him a max.
Shea , keep this in mind: for rookie extensions, the current team has the right of first refusal if/when the player decides to test the market. That creates a disincentive for other teams to bid — teams don’t like to lose on offers in public, don’t like the effect it has on existing players that could be replaced by the new player, etc. This is why it happens so rarely.
The Deandre Ayton big from Indianapolis is an example. Ayton wanted more than Phoenix felt was his value, so Phoenix let him test the market. Indy was the only team that offered, Phoenix matched, and Ayton had to resign with Phoenix.
Kuminga certainly has the option of testing the market, but agents strongly prefer to avoid it. His agent, like all agents, will blow a lot of smoke, but will be doing his best to get a multi-year deal at Kuminga’s real market value.
If the Warriors give Kuminga a max extension, they will go from being my 2nd favourite team to a team I will refuse to watch…BIG MISTAKE…I would rather that money go to, I don’t know, maybe a big? A centre???? OMG
Naw we need another PG or SG…
What if he wants a max contract and goes to another team and we get that big man plus other back in a trade. The trade market will be limited to where he goes.
arc89 , here’s another way to view his options:
1. teams that have the cap space
2. of those teams, the teams that are willing to offer knowing that the Warriors have the right of first refusal.
The NBA’s CBA is designed to help teams retain 1st round draft picks. It’s why you virtually never see a player not take the rookie extension when the owning team wants him back.
If you notice this year a lot of teams used up their cap to sign their young all stars so now they will be out of the running for free agents. There was a lot of sign and trades this offseason.
The Kings Need another Wing, preferrably a SF that can rebound or a Center that can Rebound and Block Shots. Such as Miles Turner, Cammeron Johnson or Kyle Kuzma.
The Lakers bring in the Bulls former lead player development coach and people think Kuminga is gonna get a max extension?
This must be one of them crazy click bait articles to fool people. Why rhe hell would anyone hire a lead player development coach from a crap organization that can’t develop players or give anywhere near a max extension to a middling player that hasn’t shown any real potential to be be a top three player on his team?
That’s funny….ya’ll pretty near had me for a second.
They’re just posting articles about what’s being discussed currently. It’s slow right now and this is what they’re talking about so it’s not exciting news but it’s the current news.
Please trade kuminga to the raptors for roles players
Please please please
Rj quick kuminga Scottie jakub
Kuminga =‘s Shawn kemp 2.0
If I was a young team, I’d run through walls to pay him that.
Feed kuminga.
Please take him and meet his demands for a Max contract or watch him walk. We’ll take whatever you want to give to the warriors. Be my guest.
And how exactly are you affording him when he’s about to get paid?
The Kings need to play Sabonis at the 4 if they hope to advance in the playoffs.
Trade Huerter, to Indiana for Miles Turner, then start him at the Center Position, move Sabonis to PF, and move Murray to SF.
Possible New Line Up :
—————————-
PF 6-11 Sabonis
SF 6-8 Murray
C 6-11 Turner
SG 6-6 DeRozen
PG 6-3 Fox
—————————-
2nd Unit :
————-
PF 6-9 Lyles
SF 6-9 McDaniels
C 7-0 Len
SG 6-5 Monk
PG 6-2 Carter (IR) / PG 6-4 Ellis
I think Myles Turner was tradable before they signed him. Now that he has Inked a new contract I think he is a Pacer to stay. No longer on the market.