Marcus Thornton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Likely To Be Buyers At Deadline

February 3rd, 2014 at 10:25am CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings are on a seven-game losing streak and sit in last place in the Western Conference, 11 and a half games out of the final playoff spot. Still, that’s not stopping them from seeking upgrades at the trade deadline, according to Chad Ford’s “Tank Rank” piece for ESPN Insider. Ford hears the Kings are looking to acquire talent rather than sell it off as they attempt a late charge at the postseason.

Ford mentions Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson, Jimmer Fredette and Carl Landry as players the Kings might dangle in their pursuit of immediate help. A report late last month indicated the Kings would “love to move” Thornton, and Thompson and Fredette have also been a part of multiple trade rumors this season. Landry, who just returned from a hip injury that forced him to miss the first three months of the season, appears to be a new addition to the trade block for Sacramento, which has maintained an aggressive stance on the trade market all year.

The new ownership behind the Kings is eager to give Sacramento a winner as they fend off challenges to a public-funding plan for a new arena. The acquisition of Rudy Gay has helped reinvigorate the small forward’s career, but Sacramento is just 9-15 in games he’s played, a winning percentage of .375 that’s only marginally better than the team’s .319 clip for the season. A push for the playoffs would be doubly puzzling, since Sacramento’s 2014 first-round draft pick goes to the Bulls if it winds up outside the top 12, as our reverse standings show.

Marcus Thornton Remains On Trade Block

January 24th, 2014 at 9:37am CST by Chuck Myron

Kings guard Marcus Thornton drew mention in late November as a player the Kings would “love” to move, and two months and two trades later, Sacramento is still trying to deal the 26-year-old shooting guard, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The Kings have maintained an aggressive posture in search of trades throughout the season, engineering a pair of swaps to acquire Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams.

Thornton’s name came up earlier this month as part of a reported proposal the Kings made to the Nuggets for Andre Miller. The Kings inserted Thornton into the starting lineup at about the same time, but he’s averaged slightly less than 24 minutes per game as a starter this month, similar to the amount of playing time he saw as a reserve. His 7.3 points and 7.5 shot attempts per game are career lows by significant margins, and his 9.1 PER is the first below-average mark in that category for Thornton in his five NBA seasons. It’s a stark contrast to the 2011/12 season, when he was Sacramento’s leading scorer.

The 6’4″ shooting guard is Sacramento’s second-highest-paid player, making slightly more than $8MM this year. He’ll make $8.575MM next season in the final year of his contract. That deal is probably making it difficult for GM Pete D’Alessandro to find takers for Thornton, and the Kings would be selling low if they were to trade him.

Sacramento has Ben McLemore, the seventh overall pick from this past June, seemingly penciled in as the shooting guard of the future, so it doesn’t appear there’s much of a call for Thornton on the Kings. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if D’Alessandro hangs on to Thornton through the deadline and tests the market for him again in the summer, when his expiring contract would probably net more in return.

Kings, Nuggets Discuss Miller, No Formal Offers

January 8th, 2014 at 6:54pm CST by Luke Adams

6:54pm: League sources say that while it’s true there have been talks, the Kings have yet to make any formal offers for Miller, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Jones also tweets that Sacramento is reluctant to include draft picks in any potential trade.

4:40pm: The Kings have continued their pursuit of Andre Miller, presenting the Nuggets with three different trade scenarios for the veteran point guard, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

Berger reports that one offer from the Kings includes Marcus Thornton and a second-round pick, while another involves Jimmer Fredette and a future second-rounder. It’s not clear who is part of Sacramento’s third proposal, but executives at the D-League Showcase in Reno believe it probably revolves around Jason Thompson, says Berger. Those execs also believe the Kings are showcasing Thornton, who moved back into the team’s starting lineup last night for the first time since early November.

Neither Thornton nor Fredette could be swapped straight up for Miller ($5MM), since Thornton ($8.05MM) is earning a higher salary than the Nuggets guard, while Fredette’s cap hit ($2.44MM) is significantly smaller. Thompson’s salary ($5.64MM) could accommodate a one-for-one deal, however.

The Kings have reportedly been seeking a pass-first point guard to complement starter Isaiah Thomas since sending Greivis Vasquez to the Raptors as part of the package to land Rudy Gay. Miller, who would fit that bill, has recently fallen out of favor in Denver following a confrontation with head coach Brian Shaw.

According to recent reports, the Nuggets have engaged with the Warriors and Timberwolves, among other teams, in an attempt to find a taker for Miller by the end of the week.

Amico On Aldridge, Turner, Bulls, Thornton

November 25th, 2013 at 4:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Sam Amico of FOX Sports has tons of great stuff in his latest column, let’s dive in and check out some of the highlights..

LaMarcus Aldridge was all over Hoops Rumors this summer with talk of dissatisfaction with the Blazers and trade demands, but it sounds like we can finally put that to rest. Aldridge, who looks like the best power forward in the league so far this season, appears to be content with his 12-2 club.
There is some relevance to a suggested potential trade involving the 76ers and Cavs, according to league sources. Philly is likely to shop small forward Evan Turner, an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and the Cleveland is exploring the idea of landing a starting-caliber small forward. It could be a good match, depending on the Cavs’ desire to gamble on the uncertainty of Turner’s contract. The possibility also exists the Sixers will hold on to Turner and re-sign him in the summer as he has played well and been a team leader under new coach Brett Brown.
However, Cavs GM Chris Grant is not actively trying to make a deal, even though he likes to make trades and is always willing to listen.
League sources believe Kings swingman Marcus Thornton is available. Thornton is a talented scorer, but a less-than-stellar defender and has fallen out of Michael Malone‘s rotation.
The Derrick Rose-less Bulls could shake things up. Chicago still wants to win and get into the playoffs, sources say, but if things head south quickly, they could gut the roster and aim for a high lottery pick to pair with Rose when he returns. A team source says if the Bulls trade Luol Deng, they would have to get what they consider a steal (a young player and picks) to move him within the Eastern Conference. The asking price from a Western team wouldn’t be as high.
One league source said that as of today, the Bulls won’t even think about what to do with Deng until the trade deadline nears.
Guards Richard Hamilton, Shannon Brown, and Kendall Marshall remain unsigned, but they’re all drawing interest from several teams. League sources expect Brown and Marshall to sign somewhere by the New Year, and Hamilton perhaps not long after that.

Kings Seeking Small Forward

November 25th, 2013 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

A report last week suggested the Kings are aggressively pursuing trade possibilities, and according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, the team has a specific position in mind. Spears reports that the Kings are “actively searching” for a small forward.

The Kings added a small forward over the summer when they acquired Luc Mbah a Moute, who has started several games for the team so far. But Mbah a Moute is more of a role player than a long-term solution at the three, and is off to a slow start, averaging career-lows in points, rebounds, and minutes per game.

Last week’s report indicated that the Kings were looking to move veterans, and Spears specifically names Marcus Thornton as one player Sacramento would “love” to move. However, Thornton is owed $8MM+ in each of the next two seasons, so finding a suitor willing to give up anything of value for him and his contract won’t be easy.

Kings Notes: Fredette, Thornton, McCallum

November 21st, 2013 at 5:53pm CST by Charlie Adams

The 4-7 Kings sit at the bottom of the Pacific Division and are in a tough position to move up in the standings. They face the Clippers in two of their next three contests and then square off against the Warriors and Thunder in their following two matchups. Let’s take a look at a couple of notes about the Kings, courtesy of Jason Jones from the Sacramento Bee:

Jimmer Fredette has seen action in two consecutive contests since not playing in 10 days, but Jones tweets that his increase in minutes is not an attempt to display his skills to possible suitors. Last night, readers of Hoops Rumors voted that the struggling Kings should try to trade Fredette and Marcus Thornton in an attempt to put themselves in a better spot to build around the young talent of Ben McLemore and DeMarcus Cousins.
Speaking of Thornton, Jones also tweets that the veteran guard looks to be staying in a Kings uniform for the time being.
Jones has details on the earlier report of Ray McCallum’s assignment to the D-League. The rookie point guard from Detroit was taken by the Kings in the second round of last year’s draft but hasn’t seen any action this year. The Bighorns begin their season tomorrow in Sioux Falls.

Hawks, Mavs, Kings Finalists For Monta Ellis?

July 9th, 2013 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

3:44pm: The Bulls made a run at Ellis in hopes of acquiring him via sign-and-trade, but couldn't make the other roster moves necessary to complete a deal, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Charania writes that the Kings appear to be in the lead for Ellis, with the Hawks and Mavs also in play. Whatever team Ellis decides on will likely have to make at least one roster move to create room for him.

2:46pm: A source tells TNT's David Aldridge that Ellis' decision may come down to the Hawks and Mavericks (Twitter link). Aldridge adds that Ellis remains interested in Sacramento, but the Kings' acquisition of Luc Mbah a Moute may take them out of the mix.

Meanwhile, in his full story on Ellis, Broussard goes into detail on each suitor's pursuit of Ellis, noting that the Mavs are hoping to land both Ellis and Andrew Bynum, and are shopping Shawn Marion in an effort to make room. The Hawks are considering a sign-and-trade involving Jeff Teague, the Bobcats are waiting to see what happens with Gerald Henderson, and the Kings are exploring trading Marcus Thornton, though again, the Mbah a Moute deal could reduce Sacramento's chances.

2:00pm: Among the free agents still on the board, none had a higher scoring average last season than Monta Ellis. But the top scorer on the market may not be available for long. According to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (via Twitter), Ellis hopes to make a decision on his destination within the next 48 hours, choosing from a group of suitors that includes the Hawks, Kings, Bobcats, and Mavericks.

The Hawks and Kings have been the teams most often linked to Ellis in the last several days, though the Mavs were also identified as a potential destination for him earlier in the free agent period. I believe this is the first we've heard of the Bobcats' interest, though it's probably not "serious," according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Depending on what other moves are made, and how big a starting salary Ellis receives, some of those teams may need to negotiate a sign-and-trade with the Bucks rather than signing him outright.

Ellis, 27, declined an $11MM player option to hit free agency, and also reportedly turned down a three-year, $36MM extension offer from the Bucks last season, so he'll likely be seeking a starting salary in that $10-12MM neighborhood.

Trade Candidate: Andre Iguodala

March 7th, 2012 at 6:29pm CST by Alex Lee

Make no mistake about it, Andre Iguodala is having a fine year. The veteran forward was selected to his first All-Star game and has been mentioned as a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate. While his scoring is down at 12.6 PPG, Iguodala has continued to stuff the statsheet as he always has while being the leader of a first place team.

But as the shine of a 20-9 start begins to wear off, the 76ers fans are getting restless. Going into tonight's game against Boston, the Sixers are 2-8 in their last 10 and have seen their once sizeable lead over the Celtics shrink to just a game. That stretch has shown the Sixers go ice cold offensively in the final minutes of close games, primarily because they lack an offensive star who can create his own shot.

Making almost $14MM this year, that player is supposed to be Iguodala. But as he showed on Sunday night against Chicago – where he airballed two pivotal attempts in the last few minutes – it probably is not. Iguodala's ineffectiveness at the end of games has led the team to turn to sixth man Louis Williams to take the final shot. Williams is a nice "instant offense" type of player, but he is not who a team wants deciding games for them if they intend to go deep in the playoffs.

Another issue is the lack of chemistry between Iguodala and Evan Turner – neither of whom is a traditional shooting guard. Turner's minutes have been down for the last month and the most popular theory is that those two cannot play together – prompting John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News to suggest that one of them needs to go. As mentioned by Luke Adams, Smallwood thinks it will be Turner.

While I disagree that Turner will be moved, all of the elements mentioned above definitely point to the Sixers needing to make a decision at some point. They need a star, or at least someone who can create (and make) their own shot. With Iguodala due nearly $30MM in the two years after this one, the Sixers would need to take salary back to make a trade work.

How about a swap centered around Iguodala and the recently signed Marcus Thornton? Iguodala's defensive prowess would fit nicely around offensive studs Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento Meanwhile, Thornton's scoring and three point shooting would be a good fit in Philly. ESPN Trade Machine likes a straight up Iguodala-for-Thornton swap. Doug Collins and Rod Thorn both love Iguodala, so it is just speculation at this point, but it's clear that Philadelphia needs to do something, whether this year or very soon, if they want to compete with the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.