Chima Moneke Rumors | Hoops Rumors

California Notes: Jackson, Wall, Zubac, Kings, Poole

October 16th, 2022 at 10:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has claimed that a report indicating that Reggie Jackson had won the L.A. starting point guard gig over John Wall did not come from him, and that he has yet to make a final decision, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles will play its first regular season contest this Thursday.

“Both guys are in a great position, and their mindset is in the right place,” Lue said. “It is about winning. It is not about who’s the starter, who’s the best player. It’s about the right fit and trying to win, and both of those guys are on board with that.”

Here’s more out of California:

Clippers center Ivica Zubac spoke with Mark Medina of NBA.com for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on the team’s hoped-for title contention this season, its stars’ injury woes, the development of Zubac around the rim, and more. Zubac also gave head coach Tyronn Lue a rave review. “Ty has been around the team and me for a while, even before he became a head coach,” Zubac noted. “He’s been seeing the progress for a while. It’s in big part thanks to him. He’s been pushing us. Last season, he asked me to do some things on the court that he hadn’t asked me to do in a while. He involved me more offensively. I think that was a big part of my progression.”
Following a rigorous training camp, the Kings opted to retain point guard Matthew Dellavedova, forward Chima Moneke, and power forward KZ Okpala into the regular season. Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee breaks down how the new Sacramento additions made the grade. All are currently signed to non-guaranteed deals with the team. “As training camp has gone on, [Moneke] is trending upwards,” head coach Mike Brown said. “I think the initial shock of being in the NBA and the speed and athleticism and all that stuff caught him off guard a little bit, but he belongs on this level and he can help us. I think KZ, too. Both of those guys were two of my first calls, even before I really got the job.” Brown also raved about Dellavedova’s effort on defense. “If Davion [Mitchell] ain’t going hard, he will get embarrassed by Delly… If [De’Aaron] Fox isn’t going hard, he will get embarrassed by Delly. To have a guy like that raises the level of intensity.”
Warriors reserve guard Jordan Poole signed a four-year contract extension with Golden State worth up to $140MM. Now, new details have emerged about the contract’s various incentives. Anthony Slater of The Athletic unpacks the deal, revealing that – beyond the guaranteed $123MM – Poole will make an extra $1.25MM per year (i.e. $5MM across all four seasons) depending on how far the team gets in the playoffs. He will net an additional $1MM for each year he wins the league MVP award (so a very, very hypothetical total of $4MM), plus $1MM annually per every Defensive Player of the Year award. Considering his skillset, earning either honor even once seems fairly far-fetched. Poole could earn $500K per season should he qualify for an All-NBA team (there are a total of 15 such slots available) and another $500K annually should he qualify for an All-Defensive Team (there are 10 available openings). Slater notes that it is possible Poole grows into being an All-NBA talent, but is skeptical he could ever be an elite defender or named the league MVP.

Kings Waive Sam Merrill, Set Roster For Season

October 15th, 2022 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova and forwards KZ Okpala and Chima Moneke have claimed the final three spots on the Kings‘ 15-man roster to open the regular season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Veteran wing Sam Merrill had also been vying for a regular season roster spot, but the Kings have opted to waive him, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets.

The team also cut Jeriah Horne and Alex O’Connell, per James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento (Twitter link), who says the plan is for both players to join the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate.

Okpala earned some starts at power forward for Sacramento this preseason and always seemed like a safe bet to make the roster. Dellavedova, meanwhile, looked like a logical keeper after the team waived another veteran point guard, Quinn Cook. Moneke has spent the last several years playing in international leagues and will be getting his first shot in the NBA as a 26-year-old rookie.

Okpala and Moneke currently have partial guarantees worth $250K and will earn another $250K if they remain on the roster through Wednesday. Dellavedova is on a non-guaranteed contract and will also get $250K for sticking through Wednesday.

Merrill’s contract included a $150K partial guarantee. The Kings will be on the hook for that amount unless he’s claimed on waivers on Monday.

Contract Details: Moneke, Ibaka, J. Williams, Gibson

July 19th, 2022 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Chima Moneke‘s new contract with the Kings is a two-year, minimum-salary deal that includes a partial guarantee in year one, Hoops Rumors has learned. Currently, only $250K of Moneke’s $1.02MM salary for 2022/23 is guaranteed, but that figure will increase to $500K if the forward isn’t waived before Sacramento’s first regular season game.

The second year of Moneke’s contract is non-guaranteed, but his 2023/24 salary would become partially guaranteed for $250K if he plays at least 1,000 minutes in ’22/23 and his team wins 41 games. Moneke’s full $1.72MM salary for ’23/24 would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through June 30, 2023.

Here are a few more details on recently signed NBA contracts:

Serge Ibaka‘s one-year contract with the Bucks is worth the veteran’s minimum, Hoops Rumors has learned. Milwaukee had Ibaka’s Early Bird rights and could have gone above the minimum, but will instead carry a cap hit of just $1,836,090 for the big man, who will earn $2,905,851.
Jaylin Williams‘ four-year contract with the Thunder is, as initially reported, worth approximately $8.2MM. Williams will earn fully guaranteed salaries of $2MM in each of the first two years of the deal. His minimum salaries for 2024/25 and ’25/26 are non-guaranteed, with a team option on the fourth year. Since Oklahoma City used the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to give Williams a four-year deal, the club will be hard-capped for the rest of the ’22/23 league year.
As anticipated, Taj Gibson‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Wizards is fully guaranteed. Washington now has 15 guaranteed salaries on its books for 2022/23.

Kings Sign Chima Moneke, Won’t Bring Over Sasha Vezenkov

July 18th, 2022 at 5:42pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 18: The Kings have officially signed Moneke, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee tweets.

JULY 15: The Kings are signing free agent forward Chima Moneke, sources tell Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (All Twitter links).

According to RealGM, Moneke started his college career with Northeast Community College prior to transferring to UC Davis. In 21 games (30 MPG) as a senior for the Aggies, he averaged 18.4 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 1.1 BPG on .515/.375/.714 shooting.

After going undrafted in 2018, Moneke has played internationally for teams in France and Spain, first competing in the French LNB Pro B league before receiving a promotion to Orléans Loiret Basket of LNB Pro A, the top league in France, in 2020/21.

Last season he played for Baxi Manresa of Liga ACB, the top Spanish league, averaging 14.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 1.6 SPG on .521/.290/.735 shooting in 36 games (30 starts, 24.1 MPG). He was also named the MVP of the Basketball Champions League with Baxi Manresa in ’21/22.

As Cunningham details, Moneke has ties to the organization due to the Nigerian national team, which was led by head coach Mike Brown and also featured associate head coach Jordi Fernandez and assistant coach Luke Loucks. The 6’6″ forward should bring an infusion of defense and athleticism to Sacramento, Cunningham adds.

According to Cunningham’s sources, the Kings will not be bringing over Sasha Vezenkov for the upcoming season. Sacramento acquired Vezenkov’s rights in a draft-day swap with the Cavaliers. The Kings still might bring him over in the future, just not for 2022/23, Cunningham reports.

The terms of Moneke’s contract were not disclosed by Cunningham, but as our roster count tracker shows, the Kings only have 12 players on the standard 15-man roster at the moment, so he could be given a chance for one of those spots.