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Pacific Notes: Ball, Looney, Cauley-Stein

November 19th, 2017 at 7:28pm CST by Austin Kent

When Lonzo Ball ignored an on-court scuffle between some of his Lakers teammates and members of the Suns on Friday, the rookie took heat for not stepping into the fray to defend them. As Jordan Greer of the Sporting News writes, however, head coach Luke Walton doesn’t have any issues with how the first-year guard handled the situation.

“I don’t really care about how that looks because our guys love Zo,” Walton said. “I think [the rest of the Lakers] all know what that looked like isn’t what Zo is about and isn’t symbolizing what his feelings are on that type of situation. I know the general public and the internet world likes to do what they do.”

Fellow Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma went so far as to call out a double standard between Ball and other players in the NBA. “He’s my teammate and he’s very misunderstood as a person,” Kuzma said. “There’s a lot of media out there and people that expect him to be something that he’s not right now and that’s okay because he’s a rookie.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Despite the fact that his team option for next season was declined, Kevon Looney has impressed with the Warriors so far this season, Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. “Obviously, it’s a tough situation to not get your option picked up. But it’s on you to do something about it, and he’s doing something about it. … The success that he’s having, I’m looking forward to him keeping it up. He’s been helping us win games,” teammate Draymond Green said.
  • In addition to learning the NBA game after years of international ball, Kings rookie Bogdan Bogdanovic is learning three positions. Combined, it’s led to a bit of learning curve, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. “The basketball is really different here. A lot of athletes, the size is different as well. Those are all things that come by time, that’s part of the adjustment,” Bogdanovic said.
  • The Kings have experimented with new lineups over the course of the season, one of the latest being to move Willie Cauley-Stein to the bench and giving him an expanded role on offense. Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes that even though Cauley-Stein seemed to enjoy the new challenge, the club will likely continue to experiment with different personnel combinations.
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Knicks Notes: LeBron, Smith Jr., Cauley-Stein, Lee

November 12th, 2017 at 10:31am CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James offered an assessment of the Knicks’ draft strategy after Saturday’s game in Dallas, relays Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. impressed James with 21 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. The Cavaliers star told reporters after the game that Smith “should be a Knick,” indicating that New York should have taken him instead of Frank Ntilikina, who was selected one pick earlier.

“He’s an unbelievable talent [with] athleticism,” said James. “He’s very poised to be his age, can shoot the ball, penetrate. He’s only going to get better and better with the opportunity that he’s getting here. Dallas got a good one. I’ve been knowing that. I’ve been with him for so long now. I’ve been knowing his talent level.”

James is sure to be asked to expand on those comments when the Cavaliers visit Madison Square Garden Monday. MacMahon suggests the statements were part of a long-running feud with former Knicks president Phil Jackson, who angered James last year by using the word “posse” to describe his associates. The Knicks came to Ntilikina’s defense, with Enes Kanter tweeting, “Nope!! We love what we got…Thanks!!!”

There’s more this morning out of New York:

  • The Knicks received a better draft grade from Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein, who told Howie Kussoy of The New York Post that the organization made the right decision in 2015 when it passed on him to select Kristaps Porzingis. Cauley-Stein was labeled as the best defensive big man in the draft and had a pre-draft workout for the Knicks. The team opted for Porzingis at No. 4, and Cauley-Stein went to Sacramento two picks later. “I thought I had a pretty good chance of coming here, but they ended up picking the right guy,” Cauley-Stein said. “This league’s all about situations. I went to a situation where I’m playing behind the best center in the league [DeMarcus Cousins], or I could’ve gone to somewhere where they don’t have a guy, and now you’re the guy, and you’re getting all the touches. That helps a lot.”
  • Coach Jeff Hornacek has wanted Courtney Lee to shoot more often since he signed with the team in the summer of 2016, Kussoy writes in a separate story. The 10-year veteran posted a 20-point performance Saturday night and is making a case to be the team’s second option. “He shot the shots he was supposed to,” Hornacek said. “He didn’t need to be wide open. He’s a great shooter. He can shoot it with guys in his face. That helps spread the court.”
  • Hornacek is an overlooked factor in the Knicks’ 7-5 start, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. He has the team sharing the ball, improving from 23rd to seventh in assist ratio, and working together on defense. “I think he’s done a great job,” said Jarrett Jack, who became a starter after New York lost its first three games. “I know for me, as someone who always has to be a kind of extension of the coach, me and him have been able to kind to develop a relationship where I can kind of read what he wants on the court and I can kind of relay it to the guys.” 
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Kings Exercise 2018/19 Options On Five Players

October 31st, 2017 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have picked up 2018/19 rookie scale options on five players, the team announced today in a press release. The moves will add about $14MM in guaranteed salary to Sacramento’s books for the ’18/19 season. Here are the options exercised by the club in advance of today’s deadline:

None of these decisions comes as a real surprise. With the exception of Hield – who was the centerpiece in the trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans – all of these players were drafted by Vlade Divac and the current Kings management group.

Cauley-Stein, the only player of the bunch whose 2018/19 option is on the fourth year of his rookie contract, will be eligible for a contract extension during the ’18 offseason, and will reach restricted free agency in the summer of ’19 if he’s not extended next year. The other four players are on track to be RFAs in 2020 if their fourth-year options are picked up next offseason.

All of this year’s rookie scale team option decisions can be tracked right here.

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Pacific Notes: Beverley, Bogdanovic, Cauley-Stein, Lakers

October 7th, 2017 at 11:56am CST by marksuleymanov

Patrick Beverley has earned the reputation of a defensive pest who can get under the skin of his opponents and the Clippers are glad he is on their side, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.

Beverley has the unenviable task of being one of many reinforcements for a departed Chris Paul. Despite the lofty expectations, Beverley’s defense and overall demeanor through his first few preseason contests have made him popular with teammates but not changed his approach.

“I try to set the tone defensively,” Beverley said. “That helps the rest of our team. I understand I have DJ [DeAndre Jordan], but I don’t want to rely on him too much. At the same time, I want to be able to still do my thing within the defense.”

Last season, Beverley averaged 9.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.5 SPG for the Rockets last season. If he replicates the on-court performance and retains his outspoken style, the Clippers should be set at the position, according to his coaches and teammates.

Below you can find other news coming out of the Pacific Division:

  • Willie Cauley-Stein is entering his third NBA season at a time when third-year players are expected to develop into mainstays. However, a tumultuous period in Sacramento with roster, coaching, and front office turnover will make it a possibly difficult adjustment for Cauley-Stein, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic has spent limited time in the United States but he cannot contain the excitement for his NBA opportunity with the Kings, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee details.
  • The Lakers have hired Jason Rosenfeld as Director of Basketball Analytics, according to the team. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link) noted, the Lakers’ signing of Rosenfeld is crucial as the team has been criticized for its lack of analytics use.
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Pacific Notes: Kings, Ball, Warriors, Jordan

August 14th, 2017 at 9:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The decision to remove DeMarcus Cousins from the equation has brought a sense of happiness and hope around the moribund Kings franchise, Nick Zappulla of RealGM opines. The pieces are now in place for a quick turnaround via the acquisition of Buddy Hield in the trade with the Pelicans along with four promising rookies taken in the draft, particularly floor leader De’Aaron Fox and forward Harry Giles, Zappulla continues. Big men Skal Labissiere and Willie Cauley-Stein showed progress once Cousins was removed from the picture and the club also brought in three veteran free agents to facilitate the development of the young players, Zappulla adds.

In other items regarding the Pacific Division:

  • The league’s television partners certainly have Lonzo Ball fever, as evidenced by the Lakers’ 35 nationally-televised games next season, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register notes. That’s the fifth-most national broadcasts among all teams despite the franchise coming off a 26-win season. Much of it can be attributed to lottery pick Ball, both for his passing skills and the hype-man routine of his father LaVar, Oram adds.
  • The Warriors’ center rotation is unlikely to change next season despite the presence of some promising young players at the back end, Anthony Slater of The Athletic opines. Zaza Pachulia will continue to start with JaVale McGee backing him up and David West getting minutes there at the start of second quarters, according to Slater. Damian Jones, who was inconsistent in summer-league play, or rookie Jordan Bell could force their way into the rotation at some point, Slater adds.
  • Center DeAndre Jordan realizes the Clippers won’t be the same team without Chris Paul, but expects point guard additions Patrick Beverley and Milos Teodosic to keep the franchise among the best in the West, Jovan Buha of ESPN.com reports. “Those guys are going to come in and play their style of basketball, and it’s going to be fun,” Jordan told Buha.
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Western Rumors: Ginobili, Kings, Evans, Jazz

June 17th, 2017 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili still hasn’t decided whether he’ll retire, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News relays via an interview with Ginobili’s brother conducted by NBA Para Todos. Sepo Ginobili said Manu is trying to decide whether he can still be effective player at age 40, a birthday he’ll reach on July 28. “If he can help and be useful to the team, he will continue,” Sepo said. Manu offered a vague timetable after the Spurs were swept by the Warriors in the Westen Conference finals, saying he would take “three weeks, four weeks, whatever” before he would make a final decision, Orsborn adds.

In other news around the Western Conference:

  • Despite dealing DeMarcus Cousins at the trade deadline, the Kings do not have a need at center as the draft approaches, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings, who have the No. 5 and 10 picks  in the first round, drafted Willie Cauley-Stein and Georgios Papagiannis in the first round the past two seasons. They also have a solid veteran in Kosta Koufos on the roster but Cauley-Stein ought to be the starter next season, Jones continues. Cauley-Stein averaged 12.9 PPG and 8.1 RPG after the Cousins trade and can be the key to their interior defense, Jones adds.
  • Oklahoma State guard Jawun Evans could fill the Thunder’s need for a backup point, John Helsley of The Oklahoman writes. The Thunder hold the No. 21 overall pick and Evans excels in pick-and-rolls, though he lacks size and isn’t particularly atheltic, Helsley continues. Originally viewed as a second-round pick, Evans has moved into the first round in many mock drafts, Helsley adds.
  • Uncertainty over how free agency will play out complicates the Jazz’s draft decisions, as Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune explains. Small forward Gordon Hayward, point guard George Hill and shooting guard Joe Ingles will be on the market in July but the Jazz won’t know if they need to replace them. GM Dennis Lindsey believes the NBA should change that, as he told Jones. “I — and many league executives — would prefer free agency come before the draft,” Lindsey said. “Free agency both fills voids and creates holes, so I think we’d like some clarity before the draft.” Utah has two late first-rounders at No. 24 and 30.
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Kings Notes: Gay, McLemore, Cauley-Stein

April 12th, 2017 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

It will be an unusual offseason for Kings head coach Dave Joerger, who grew accustomed to relative roster stability during his years in Memphis. While the Grizzlies never made many major changes to their core, Sacramento’s roster heading into next season is in flux.

The team could have two lottery picks and draft-and-stash prospect Bogdan Bogdanovic entering the mix — it also remains to be seen how trades and free agency will affect the roster. For Joerger, who will have an extra-long offseason to consider the next moves for his club, that uncertainty will complicate matters, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details.

“I’m going to go crazy thinking, man, ‘I want to run this, work on this, and this is going to be great next year,'” Joerger said. “But you really don’t know how it looks until all those things come together.”

Here are a few more notes out of Sacramento:

  • Rudy Gay said on Tuesday night that he remains undecided about whether or not he’ll exercise his player option to remain with the Kings this summer. Per Jason Jones (Twitter link), Gay says he’ll take it “one day at a time” as he continues to recover from an Achilles tear.
  • Ben McLemore, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason, said he can see a bright future for the Kings, and can imagine being a part of it (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of ABC10). We’ll see this summer if Sacramento feels the same way about the RFA guard.
  • Speaking of McLemore, he failed to meet the starter criteria, meaning he’ll receive a slightly lower qualifying offer if the Kings make him a restricted free agent. For a full explanation of the starter criteria and how it affects QOs for potential RFAs, check out our breakdown from last week.
  • Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein said on Tuesday that he’s looking forward to asking management what they want of him going forward, tweets Cunningham. Cauley-Stein saw his minutes fluctuate throughout the 2016/17 season, and suggests he wants to have a clearer picture of his role heading into next year.
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Pacific Notes: Ennis, Joerger, Cauley-Stein, Griffin

April 8th, 2017 at 5:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tyler Ennis believes he has found a home with the Lakers and wants to remain there past this season, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Ennis was shipped from Houston to L.A. at the trade deadline and quickly got an opportunity to play that he never received with the Rockets. His minutes more than doubled after the deal, going from 6.3 per game to 15.9, and he is putting up career-high numbers in scoring and shooting percentage.

The Lakers are the fourth NBA stop for Ennis, who was taken by the Suns with the 18th pick in 2014. After eight games in Phoenix, he was traded to the Bucks in 2015, then to the Rockets in September. “Anytime you go through the journey I’ve been through so far in the league and then have an opportunity to play and have people welcome me with open arms, that’s something you want to stay with,” Ennis said of his plans in free agency. “Obviously there’s a lot going on, but if the opportunity to stay is there, they’ll definitely be at the top of the list.”

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

  • Kings coach Dave Joerger doesn’t like suggestions that the Kings have been tanking since trading DeMarcus Cousins, relays Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Sacramento quickly dropped out of the playoff race after that deal at the All-Star break as the team devoted more playing time to younger players. However, Joerger insists the Kings are building for the future, not maximizing their draft pick. “I think what we’ve already done is establish what we want to be about,” he said. “There’s no tanking going on here. We’re playing hard, guys that are in the rotation are playing hard and they’re getting better.”
  • One of the beneficiaries of the Cousins trade has been Willie Cauley-Stein, who has become the Kings‘ starting center. In an interview posted on the Sacramento Bee website, Cauley-Stein told reporters after Friday’s game that he plans to do Navy SEAL training over the summer in preparation for next season.
  • Clippers star Blake Griffin has been putting up huge numbers as the team battles for home court advantage in the first round, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Griffin’s performance since returning from mid-December knee surgery will remind teams of his value as he heads toward free agency. “We keep forgetting Blake missed a huge part of the season,” said coach Doc Rivers, “and you don’t miss that part of the season and just come back and start playing well. It takes time, I think he’s comfortable now, he’s comfortable with his body. So he’s getting ready. It’s good. I like the timing.”
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Kings Notes: Evans, Temple, Lawson, Rookies

March 23rd, 2017 at 8:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Swingman Tyreke Evans is trying to make a good impression for potential suitors as he enters unrestricted free agency, Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee reports. Evans, who is in the final year of his four-year, $44MM contract, is trying to show teams that he’s still effective despite undergoing three knee surgeries, Kawahara continues. “A lot of teams know I had tough injuries so they want to see how I’m moving, how I’m playing every night,” Evans told Kawahara. “There’s teams watching. I know the Kings are watching, too. So I’m playing for my teammates still at the end of the day, but I’m going out there and being myself.” Evans is averaging 14 PPG on 47.4% shooting since being included in the DeMarcus Cousins trade with the Pelicans, though he hasn’t played in six of the last 11 games.

In other news regarding the Kings:

  • Shooting guard Garrett Temple has emerged as a locker-room leader, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. Temple has taken the younger players under his wing and maintained an active role in their development, as he told Jones. “The players that are playing have gotten a lot younger so it’s more of a teaching, mentoring role,” Temple said. “Whereas when [Cousins] was here, if I’m talking to him it’s more of a keeping him calm, talking more nuances of the game, things that we can do better as a team. But with the young guys it’s a lot of specifics about how to get open, how to defend, ways to teach them the veteran tricks we all have learned in our years in the league.”
  • Point guard Ty Lawson denies that he has violated his probation, according to an Associated Press report. Probation officials allege Lawson, who was given probation in a Colorado drunken driving case, has tested positive for alcohol three times in the past six months and has failed to complete his community service duties, the report continues. A judicial hearing will be held in May before a decision is made on whether Lawson will receive a more severe punishment, the report adds.
  • Rookies Skal Labissiere, Georgios Papagiannis and Buddy Hield and second-year man Willie Cauley-Stein showed growth during a recent three-game road trip, as Shahbaz Khan of the team’s website details.
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Kings Notes: Hield, Evans, Richardson

March 14th, 2017 at 6:52pm CST by Austin Kent

When the Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans, the majority of discussion surrounding the deal focused on the superstar heading to New Orleans.

As the dust continues to settle, it’s become increasingly clear that Tyreke Evans and Buddy Hield can have substantial impacts of their own. Benedict Tagle of Kings.com recently wrote about what the pair have been accomplishing since arriving in Northern California.

Though just seven games into his second stint with the team that drafted him, Evans has improved upon the numbers he posted with the Pelicans at the start of the year. Evans began the 2016/17 campaign on the shelf and had to slowly play himself back into game shape. Since rejoining Sacramento, however, he’s posted career highs in points, rebounds and blocks per 100 possessions.

Hield, too, has seen his production rise since the trade. Hield’s 14.2 points per game since the trade are 5.6 higher than what he posted in New Orleans and his effective field-goal percentage has ballooned to .636.

There’s more from the Kings today:

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