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DeMar DeRozan To Meet With Kings In Sacramento

July 6th, 2024 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward DeMar DeRozan and his representation are traveling to Sacramento to meet with the Kings, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter links).

It’s the latest signal that there’s serious mutual interest between DeRozan and the Kings, as multiple recent reports have indicated. James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link) says there’s “positive momentum” between the two sides, with the in-person meeting giving them a chance to potentially seal the deal.

The Kings don’t have the cap room necessary to sign DeRozan, who’s seeking a salary above the full mid-level exception ($12.9MM), but the Bulls are reportedly willing to work with Sacramento or another team on a sign-and-trade deal to get DeRozan a higher salary. Still, Chicago isn’t far below the luxury tax line and doesn’t want to take on much salary in the transaction, so the two teams need a third club to serve as a facilitator and take on a contract or two from the Kings.

Reporting earlier in the day indicated that San Antonio appear to be emerging as that facilitator, and the Spurs‘ trade agreement with the Hornets – in which they’ll move off of Devonte’ Graham‘s $2.85MM partial guarantee – is a signal that they’re opening up cap room for a specific move.

While Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter have been mentioned most frequently as trade candidates for the Kings, they’re not the only players who could serve as outgoing salary-matching pieces in a sign-and-trade for DeRozan. A package of Trey Lyles‘ and Chris Duarte‘s expiring contracts could theoretically work, for instance, if DeRozan’s starting salary is in the $20MM range. To accommodate a higher salary, at least one of Barnes or Huerter would likely need to be included.

Of course, even if the Kings, Bulls, and Spurs have an idea of what a three-team trade agreement would look like, Sacramento would still need to secure DeRozan’s commitment, which is presumably the goal of this weekend’s meeting.

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International Notes: Giannis, Team Canada, Hezonja, Clarkson, Vildoza, Ataman, Team China

June 20th, 2024 at 9:11am CST by Dana Gauruder

Giannis Antetokounmpo is looking forward to participating in Greece’s training camp, though he’s still dealing with the injury that short-circuited the Bucks’ playoff run. Milwaukee’s superstar will look to help Greece advance out of the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament in Piraeus early next month.

“I have not practiced yet, but I feel better. I cannot wait to join the training camp,” he told Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net and other reporters.

Antetokounmpo suffered a calf strain late in the NBA regular season. The announcement that he would play for Greece was made at the beginning of this month.

We have more international basketball news:

  • Canada’s preliminary Olympic roster is loaded with NBA players and there will be tough decisions ahead to pare it to 12 players, Josh Lewenberg of TSN notes. Kings forward Trey Lyles, former NBA bigs Khem Birch and Mfiondu Kabengele and two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey are some of the players who, on paper, will be fighting for the last two spots on the roster, writes Lewenberg.
  • Former NBA forward Mario Hezonja announced on social media that he’s re-signing with Real Madrid, Sportando relays. “Real Madrid believed in me when many didn’t, cared for me and my family since the first day I arrived and made us feel at home. My only intention was to stay so I am happy to communicate to you that I will continue my journey at MY HOME, MY REAL MADRID for a long time!” he wrote. There had been speculation he might look at NBA opportunities.
  • Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson was not on the Philippines’ 12-man roster for the FIBA Olympic qualifier. Coach Tim Cone opted for continuity, according to executive director Erika Dy. Cone decided to go with the same group that participated in an Asia Cup qualifier over the winter. “Premise of coach Tim, we have the same roster every time. The shorter training periods will accumulate, and the players will build chemistry,” Dy said, per BasketNews.
  • Virtus Bologna is reportedly interested in former NBA guard Luca Vildoza, who is leaving Greece’s Panathinaikos, according to another Sportando report. Vildoza had a seven-game stint with the Bucks in 2021/22.
  • After leading Panathinaikos to a Euroleague title, Ergin Ataman is eager to get a shot at coaching in the NBA. But he told the Spanish outlet AS that he only wants to make the jump if he’s offered a head coaching job. “Before it was my dream, now it’s not, but if you want a star coach from Europe, here I am. Why would I be afraid of training NBA stars?” he said, per Eurohoops.net.
  • The Chinese national team will participate in the California Classic in Sacramento next month, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports. They’ll be grouped against Summer League teams from the Kings, Hornets, and Spurs. Squads from the Warriors, Lakers and Heat will play against each other in San Francisco.
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Gilgeous-Alexander, Murray Headline Canada’s Preliminary Olympic Roster

June 19th, 2024 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Canada Basketball has formally announced its preliminary roster for the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris. The 20-man group will have to be trimmed to 12 players for Paris.

Here are the 20 players vying for spots on Team Canada’s Olympic roster, which will be coached by new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez:

All 12 players who helped Canada clinch an Olympic berth and claim a bronze medal at the 2023 World Cup are included in the preliminary roster, along with several notable newcomers, including Murray, Wiggins, Lyles, and Nembhard.

Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe and Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin, whose seasons ended earlier due to injuries, will also attend training camp with Team Canada, but won’t be in the mix for roster spots this summer, according to today’s announcement.

Even without Sharpe or Mathurin in the mix, the Canadians can put together a formidable NBA-heavy squad that should be in contention for a medal in Paris. Gilgeous-Alexander, Barrett, Brooks, Dort, Powell, Olynyk, and Alexander-Walker were the top seven players on last year’s squad and look like relatively safe bets to represent Canada again. If Murray, Wiggins, Lyles, and Nembhard were to join them, that would leave just one open spot for the remaining nine invitees.

One notable omission from the 20-man preliminary roster is veteran guard Cory Joseph, who spoke to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca earlier this week to express his disappointment about being left off the list. Joseph was unable to compete for a spot on the World Cup team last year due to a back injury, but was among the 14 players who made a commitment in 2022 to be part of Canada’s “summer core” for the current Olympic cycle.

“I took the honor of playing for your country very seriously and did it many times over the years,” Joseph told Grange. “This is not me complaining, I’m not a complainer. But there were times when I put FIBA basketball and playing for my country over my NBA situation at the time, whether I was in a contract year and I had no contract at the time and I went to go play for my country, whether I had little bumps and tweaks, I was there. Whether guys came or not, I always thought we still had a chance. For me it’s a little disheartening to be like, ‘Wow, I wasn’t even given an opportunity to compete for whatever position?’

“… I had planned to go to camp, and when you’re talking about the (last three or four spots) on the roster, there’s a pool of talented guys you could put on the roster, (but) I don’t see, in that situation, where I wouldn’t at least be invited to camp to be one of those guys (to compete for a spot), so that’s where my disappointment is with the organization. … I don’t want to take away from the fact that Canada Basketball is in a great place. This is not that. I love all those guys. I want them to do well. Quote that. I just think I should have been invited to camp at the very least, 100 per cent.”

Team Canada will hold its training camp in Toronto from June 28 to July 7 before heading to Las Vegas for an exhibition game vs. Team USA on July 10. The Canadians will also play exhibition matches with France on July 19 and the winner of the Puerto Rico Olympic qualifying tournament on July 21.

Canada will be in Group A at the Olympics, along with Australia. The group will be filled out by the winners of the qualifying tournaments in Spain and Greece.

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California Notes: Lyles, Lakers, Redick, Buss

June 14th, 2024 at 11:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Kings power forward Trey Lyles is set to be in training camp with Team Canada this July, and will compete for a spot on this year’s Paris Olympics squad, per Mark Jones of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Jones, Lyles would have suited up in the FIBA World Cup last season, but wanted to preserve his body to avoid injury during a free agent summer. He’s not a lock to make the Canadian roster, but could provide valuable floor spacing from the frontcourt.

There’s more out of California:

  • The Lakers are considering several candidates for their No. 17 first round pick in this year’s draft, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Time. Providence guard Devin Carter, USC guard Isaiah Collier and Duke guard Jared McCain are all intriguing potential fits for a team that could use some backcourt depth, says Woike.
  • Longtime NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick, now an ESPN commentator and podcaster, is seen as a top contender to be hired as the Lakers‘ next head coach. If he’s offered the Los Angeles gig, he’ll need to truly weigh the pros and cons of leaving his current media position, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN (YouTube video link). “I have no doubt that J.J. is going to have a strong performance because he’s been preparing for this for a long time,” Windhorst said. “I think the question that’s being asked here is how much should J.J. really want this job? And that’s one of the reasons why I think there’s people in his life, in fact, I know there’s people in his life, who have said ‘Are you sure this is the opportunity you want? That this is what you want to leave for? Because this is such a challenging job.'”
  • Lakers majority owner Jeanie Buss has been receiving blow-back recently after the team missed out on hiring Dan Hurley as the team’s head coach, as well as what many perceived as a muted response to the passing of L.A. legend Jerry West, writes Jim Alexander of The Orange County Register.
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Pacific Notes; Lue, Monk, Lyles, Vezenkov, LeBron, Davis, Vincent

April 1st, 2024 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyronn Lue called his team soft after a 3-6 stretch late last month. The Clippers got the message, reeling off three consecutive victories for the first time since early February, Law Murray of The Athletic writes. They’ve defeated Philadelphia, Orlando and Charlotte during the winning streak.

The Clippers will finish off a four-game road swing at Sacramento on Tuesday. “Getting a win however you’ve got to get it is the most important thing, but we’ve still got a lot to build on and get better with,” Lue said. “We’ll take the win. The Philly and the Orlando games were two good games that we needed – two gritty wins, tough wins on the road. And then (Sunday), just sticking with it even though we didn’t do a good job defensively.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • Kings coach Mike Brown said they’ll use a committee approach to replace Malik Monk, who is sidelined with an MCL sprain. “You can’t replace Malik,” Brown said, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “That’s tough. He did a lot for us and he could easily start for a lot of teams, but he was on the floor a lot of times down the stretch in our games, so to think that one person is going to come in and replace him, it’s not possible, so we have to do it by committee. It’s just the next guy up, and if your number is called, you have to go play within what you do and play your role as best you can.”
  • On the flip side, forwards Trey Lyles and Sasha Vezenkov were back in action for the Kings during Saturday’s win over Utah, Anderson notes. Lyles, who hadn’t played since March 12 due to a left knee sprain, had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot. Vezenkov, who missed 22 games with a Grade 3 right ankle sprain, added five points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals in 10 minutes. “The size just helps especially on the glass, and both those guys, whether they come up with it or not, they’re battling,” Brown said. “They’re hitting bodies. They’re guys who are both used to taking big shots. They both are really, really good 3-point shooters. You’ve got to guard them outside that line, so it opens up the floor a little bit more for everybody else. “
  • Anthony Davis (left knee) and LeBron James (left ankle) are listed by the Lakers as questionable to play against Toronto on Tuesday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot sprain) and Cam Reddish (personal reasons) will miss the game, as will Gabe Vincent (left knee injury recovery). Vincent returned to action on Sunday after being sidelined for over three months due to knee surgery and had two points in 14 minutes against Brooklyn.
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Kings’ Trey Lyles Out At Least Two Weeks With Knee Sprain

March 15th, 2024 at 9:14pm CST by Rory Maher

Kings forward/center Trey Lyles, who sustained a knee injury in Tuesday’s victory over Milwaukee and was subsequently ruled out for Wednesday’s game, has been diagnosed with a MCL sprain in his left knee, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. The team announced that Lyles will be sidelined for at least two weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated.

As Anderson writes, Lyles will likely miss at least eight more games, including Saturday’s contest vs. New York. Rookie forward Sasha Vezenkov will also miss his 15th consecutive game tomorrow, though Anderson suggests the former EuroLeague MVP could be close to returning from a right ankle sprain. Kevin Huerter (right leg contusion), who was out Wednesday, is questionable for Saturday’s game.

Lyles is a key reserve for a Sacramento team that has won four of its past five games and is currently the No. 6 seed in the West. The 28-year-old is the primary big man off the bench, averaging 7.1 PPG and 4.4 RPG on .450/.383/.698 shooting in 49 games (19.8 MPG).

With Lyles sidelined, backup centers Alex Len and JaVale McGee will likely have an opportunity to earn rotation minutes. Assuming he returns soon, Vezenkov is another frontcourt option head coach Mike Brown could turn to.

Lyles re-signed with the Kings on a two-year, $16MM contract last summer. He’ll be earning $8MM next season before hitting free agency again in 2025.

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Kings Notes: Losing Streak, Rotation, Murray, NBAGL Team

January 19th, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings remain in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race with a 23-18 record, but they’re in the midst of their worst stretch of the season, having dropped a fourth consecutive game on Thursday. While road losses in Philadelphia and Milwaukee last Friday and Sunday were understandable, Sacramento blew a big fourth quarter lead in Phoenix on Tuesday and fell at home to a depleted Pacers team last night.

“It’s a lot of little things that are turning into big things,” Keegan Murray said of the Kings’ on-court issues, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

One of those issues is free throw shooting. The Kings’ 72.5% rate from the foul line this season is easily the NBA’s worst mark and the team made just 25-of-44 (56.8%) free throws in its past two losses.

“That’s two games in a row we shoot 50% from the free throw line,” head coach Mike Brown said on Thursday. “I’m not sure what it is. Today we shot more free throws in a shootaround than we ever have in a shootaround since I’ve been here. And yesterday, we shot more free throws in a practice than we ever have since I’ve been here.”

“You go back to the work. You get in the gym,” wing Kevin Huerter said. “You’ve got to build your confidence by trusting the work you put in. We shot ourselves in the foot. This is the third game in a row this has happened against three good teams. It feels like it’s all self-inflicted and that’s why it’s frustrating for us. It’s no secret. We can’t miss 14 free throws at home and expect to beat a team that’s this good, even with the players they have out. That’s stuff that we can control.”

Here’s more on the Kings:

  • Despite the losing streak, Brown seems to have settled into a rotation he likes, with Huerter back in the starting five and Malik Monk, Trey Lyles, Sasha Vezenkov, and Alex Len playing regular minutes off the bench, notes Anderson. “I hate to say this, but I feel fairly comfortable (with the current rotation),” Brown said prior to Thursday’s loss. “Now, that doesn’t mean I may not change again with the way our rotation is right now, but I feel fairly comfortable with what we’re doing right now, and I’m going to ride with it a little bit and give it an opportunity.” Davion Mitchell, Chris Duarte, Keon Ellis, and JaVale McGee are among those not seeing regular playing time as of late.
  • Anthony Slater of The Athletic outlines why the Kings consider Murray essentially untouchable in trade talks, writing that the team views the former No. 4 overall pick as a player who could round out a long-term big three alongside Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. “Keegan is a huge part of our future,” Brown said. “We rely on him for a lot and, to a certain degree, it is a little unfair. Because we’re a playoff team. There aren’t many guys that are in year two that are expected to do what he does.”
  • Anjali Ranadive, the daughter of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, has stepped down from her position as the general manager of the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate announced today in a press release. She’ll be pursuing a Ph.D. and focusing on her non-profit organization while assistant general manager Gabriel Harris takes on the day-to-day GM responsibilities in Stockton. “We are grateful to Anjali for her contributions to the Stockton Kings over the past two seasons,” Kings GM Monte McNair said in a statement. “Under her leadership the team has excelled on the court and is set for success in the future.”
  • In other Stockton news, the Kings’ G League team added a former NBA first-round pick earlier this week, announcing in a press release that veteran swingman Shabazz Muhammad has joined the roster. The No. 14 pick in the 2013 draft, Muhammad last played in the NBA in 2018 for Milwaukee, but continues to try to make it back to the league.
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Seventeen More Players Become Trade-Eligible

January 15th, 2024 at 7:02am CST by Luke Adams

Today is Monday, January 15, which means that a total of 17 players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.

Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:

  1. The player re-signed with his previous team.
  2. He got a raise of at least 20%.
  3. His salary is worth more than the minimum.
  4. His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.

The following players met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Monday:

(* Players marked with an asterisk have the ability to veto trades.)

Most of the players on NBA rosters are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt. That group includes Heat guard Dru Smith, who becomes trade-eligible on Monday, Hornets guard Ish Smith (trade-eligible on January 24), Lakers star Anthony Davis (trade-eligible on February 6), and Pistons forward Kevin Knox (trade-eligible on Feb. 8).

There are also several players who won’t become trade-eligible prior to this season’s February 8 deadline, including stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, and Jaylen Brown. Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be dealt.

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Pacific Notes: Clippers, Lyles, Murray, Reddish

November 23rd, 2023 at 4:02pm CST by Rory Maher

After losing six consecutive games, the Clippers have reeled off three straight victories, and they feel encouraged by their recent play, as Janis Carr of The Orange County Register relays.

“I think we’re in a good place. We kind of know at this point what the rotation is, and I think we’re getting in a rhythm,” Paul George said. “There’s consistency there, and I think that we’re in good shape. We liked how we looked offensively and defensively, and now it’s time to test it.”

The Clippers have been incorporating multiple new pieces after the trade to acquire James Harden and P.J. Tucker, plus the signing of reserve center Daniel Theis. Still, while they’ve played better of late, their past two victories came against the Spurs, who have the worst record in the West at 3-12. The upcoming schedule is more challenging, and Kawhi Leonard says there’s always room for improvement, Carr notes.

“We want to win every game and it shows that we’re getting better,” Leonard said after Wednesday’s win in San Antonio. “But like you said, we still got a lot to learn and to get better at. You guys could see at the end of that game, we had some careless turnovers, and they got some easy looks at the basket and wide-open layups. So, we got to buy in and figure that out.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

  • Kings big man Trey Lyles, who had been dealing with a calf strain, made his 2023/24 season debut in Wednesday’s loss to New Orleans. Head coach Mike Brown said Lyles would immediately resume playing a similar amount of minutes as last season despite the layoff, according to Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The 28-year-old finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes — he averaged 16.9 MPG in ’22/23.
  • Part of the reason Lyles played 28 minutes is because Kings forward Keegan Murray was sidelined with lower back soreness. Murray’s status for Friday’s contest in Minnesota is “uncertain,” but the injury isn’t expected to keep him out long term, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link).
  • Cam Reddish‘s MRI was “clean,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham told reporters, including ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Reddish, who was sidelined for Wednesday’s game with a groin injury, is considered day-to-day. Max Christie got the start in his place.
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Injury Notes: Embiid, Nets, Lyles, Fultz, LeVert

November 22nd, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Joel Embiid will be sidelined for Wednesday’s game in Minnesota due to left hip soreness, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While Embiid has been frequently impacted by injuries over the course of his career, there’s no indication at this point that his hip issue is a cause for any real concern. Wednesday’s contest is the second night of a back-to-back set and it will be the first game that the reigning MVP has missed this season. He played 41 minutes in Tuesday’s overtime loss to Cleveland.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

  • Nets guard Ben Simmons (back nerve impingement) is making progress in his recovery and has begun “light individual court work,” but he’ll be sidelined for at least seven-to-10 more days, the team announced today in a press release. Brooklyn offered a more positive update on Cam Thomas, who has made “significant improvement” in his recovery from a left ankle sprain and has been cleared for increased on-court work. He’s expected to be integrated into team activities next week, according to the club. Guard Dennis Smith Jr., meanwhile, is day to day with a lower back sprain.
  • Kings forward Trey Lyles, who has yet to play this season due to a left calf strain, appears to be on the verge of his season debut. According to Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee, Lyles is expected to be active on Wednesday vs. New Orleans, while Keegan Murray (lower back soreness) will likely be ruled out. Both players were listed as questionable in the NBA’s most recent injury report.
  • Magic guard Markelle Fultz is unavailable for a seventh straight game on Wednesday vs. Denver due to left knee tendinitis, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.
  • In addition to missing Donovan Mitchell for the past three games, the Cavaliers have also been without Caris LeVert, who is dealing with knee soreness, for their past two contests, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Cavs haven’t missed a beat without the two guards, however, and are currently riding a four-game winning streak.
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