Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Dixon, G League, Owners, Rookie Transition Program

December 20th, 2020 at 6:49pm CST by JD Shaw

Former William & Mary guard Daniel Dixon has retired from professional basketball and will join the Hornets as a video coordinator and basketball operations assistant this season, he told Hoops Rumors.

Dixon holds NBA G League experience with Maine (Celtics), Northern Arizona (Suns) and Windy City (Bulls), spending four years in college before going undrafted in 2017. He also signed a contract in France during the summer of 2018.

At just 26 years old, Dixon joins a revamped Hornets franchise for the 2020/21 season. Charlotte drafted LaMelo Ball at No. 3 overall and signed Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM deal this offseason, working to become competitive in the Eastern Conference. The team last made the postseason in 2016.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz obtained footage of both G League Ignite scrimmages from last week, dissecting how each player performed against the veterans and what’s ahead for the team. The decision-makers within the G League curiously opted not to publicly live-stream the games or release any footage, though the pair of ESPN scribes managed to examine the pros and cons for top 2021 prospects such as Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Isaiah Todd.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explores which team owners are the NBA’s best and worst, tallying opinions from various league insiders. Steve Ballmer (Clippers), Micky Arison (Heat) and Mark Cuban (Mavericks) ranked in the top three, while Vivek Ranadive (Kings), Robert Sarver (Suns) and James Dolan (Knicks) finished in the bottom three. Among the league insiders polled were front office members and agents from around the league.
Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated takes a deep dive into the NBA’s rookie transition program, which, like many other things, has been complicated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Things are all moving parts right now, but you just gotta kinda go on the fly and that’s all us rookies have been used to the whole time,” Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton explained. “We’ve been going on the fly since March. It’s just kinda a part of it.”

Roster Moves Still Required For Thunder, Kings

December 20th, 2020 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Nearly every NBA team currently has a roster in compliance with regular season limits — no more than 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

However, there are still a couple teams that will need to make at least one cut before Monday’s regular season roster deadline: Oklahoma City and Sacramento.

The Thunder are currently carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and one – Frank Jackson – on a partially guaranteed deal. Jackson appears likely to make the team, which means one of those players with a guaranteed salary will presumably be the final victim of the roster crunch.

While we don’t know for sure which player will be the odd man out, Kenrich Williams and Darius Miller appear to have the most tenuous holds on their roster spots. They came over from New Orleans in the Steven Adams deal and looked more like salary-matching pieces than players the Thunder were specifically targeting.

As for the Kings, they have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, one (Chimezie Metu) on a partially guaranteed contract, and one (Glenn Robinson III) on a non-guaranteed deal. Reporting on Saturday indicated that Robinson is expected to make the 15-man roster — that would make Metu the most obvious odd man out, though Sacramento may decide to cut Justin James or another player with a guaranteed salary.

If they do waive Metu, the Kings could theoretically bring him back on a two-way deal, since his partial guarantee doesn’t exceed $50K. He’d have to clear waivers first though.

As we explained on Saturday, while most teams completed their roster moves early, the Thunder and Kings can afford to take an extra day or two to consider their options without any financial ramifications, since they won’t be cutting a player who has a fully non-guaranteed contract.

While Oklahoma City and Sacramento are the only teams that still have to make moves today or tomorrow, we’ll likely see a little more roster shuffling before Monday’s deadline. Players who have been cut by one team might appeal to another club that has an open roster spot or an expendable 15th man.

Additionally, five teams still have one open two-way contract slot and may look to fill those openings before the season begins. Those clubs are the Pistons, Warriors, Suns, Trail Blazers, and Kings, as our tracker shows.

Kings Waive Frank Kaminsky

December 19th, 2020 at 4:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 20: The move is official, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports.

DECEMBER 19: The Kings will release center/power forward Frank Kaminsky, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Kaminsky signed a one-year deal with the team earlier this month that carries a $50K guarantee.

Kaminsky, 27, got into 39 games with the Suns last season, averaging 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in about 20 minutes per night. He was the ninth pick in the 2015 draft and spent the previous four years in Charlotte.

The Kings are now down to 17 players on their camp roster and will need to make at least one more move before Monday’s deadline. They have 14 fully guaranteed contracts, along with Glenn Robinson III, Chimezie Metu and one player on a two-way deal.

Robinson will make the final roster, according to James Ham of NBC Sports (Twitter link), so Sacramento may decide to waive Metu and re-sign him to fill the other two-way slot. Metu’s contract isn’t an Exhibit 10 deal, so it can’t be directly converted into a two-way contract.

Kings Waive Vince Edwards

December 19th, 2020 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have waived small forward Vince Edwards, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.

Edwards signed a camp deal with the team this week and was just briefly part of Sacramento’s roster. The move appears designed to get Edwards a $50K bonus if he plays for the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton, though I believe the club would have to acquire his NBAGL returning rights from the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s affiliate.

Edwards spent the 2019/20 season in the G League, appearing in 38 total games for the Oklahoma City Blue and the Charge. He averaged 9.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG on .456/.379/.708 in 23.2 minutes per contest.

The Kings now have 18 players on their camp roster, including 17 on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal. They’ll need to make a couple more moves to set their squad for the regular season.

NBA GMs Vote Lakers As Offseason Winners, Title Favorites

December 18th, 2020 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s general managers liked the Lakers‘ offseason moves and are bullish on the team’s chances to repeat as champions in 2020/21, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes in his annual survey of the league’s GMs.

An impressive 81% of the responding general managers picked the Lakers to win the championship in 2021, which is the third-highest percentage any team has received since Schuhmann began conducting his annual GM survey 19 years ago. The Clippers ranked second at 11%, while the Nets and Heat received one vote apiece.

Meanwhile, the Lakers (37%) beat out the Suns (22%) and Thunder (15%) in the voting for best offseason roster moves. The Hawks, Bucks, and Sixers each received two votes, while the Trail Blazers got one too.

Here are a few more of the interesting responses from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

The Suns‘ acquisition of Chris Paul (44%) and the Bucks‘ trade for Jrue Holiday (33%) were voted the moves that will have the biggest impact this season. The Clippers‘ signing of Serge Ibaka (15%), the Pelicans‘ deal for Steven Adams (11%), and the Trail Blazers‘ trade for Robert Covington (11%) were the front-runners for the most underrated offseason player acquisition. Gordon Hayward‘s $120MM contract with the Hornets (54%) was voted the most surprising offseason move.
While NBA GMs view Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (39%) as the favorite to win Rookie of the Year over Warriors big man James Wiseman (29%), Wiseman received the most votes (36%) among this year’s rookies to be the best player in five years, followed by Ball (25%). Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton, meanwhile, was voted the biggest steal in the 2020 draft (43%).
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic were the top choices as the player GMs would want to start a franchise with today. They each received 43% of the vote, with Lakers stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James and Pelicans youngster Zion Williamson also picking up votes.
Speaking of Williamson, he helped the Pelicans receive the nod for the team with the most promising young core (41%). The Grizzlies (22%), Hawks (11%), Celtics (11%), and Nuggets (11%) also got multiple votes.

James Harden Rumors: Simmons, Sixers, Heat, Robinson

December 18th, 2020 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting on Thursday that the Sixers have been willing to discuss Ben Simmons in James Harden trade talks with the Rockets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link) said during an appearance on the Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin Show today that Philadelphia will be “very careful” about including Simmons in any offer that doesn’t get them more than Harden.

While Wojnarowski doesn’t get into any specifics about what Philadelphia would want, it seems reasonable to assume that if they’re being asked to part with Simmons and draft picks, the 76ers would seek at least one more player from the Rockets — perhaps someone like P.J. Tucker. It doesn’t sound like Houston would be enthusiastic about that scenario though, per Wojnarowski, who says the Rockets will likely want Simmons “plus a bunch more assets” for just Harden.

“You saw (Sixers president of basketball operations) Daryl Morey come out yesterday and say, ‘We’re not trading Ben Simmons,'” Wojnarowski said. “Well, I certainly don’t think they’re trading Ben Simmons just in a deal that looks like it’s straight up with some picks for James Harden. I think they’re going to want a lot more than James Harden. That might not be a deal that’s available to the Sixers.”

The two sides could re-engage in discussions, but right now they aren’t close, according to Woj, who says he expects Simmons and Joel Embiid to open the season in Philadelphia.

Here’s more on Harden:

Although the Rockets are committed to finding the right deal, they’d be happy to get a Harden trade done “sooner than later,” Wojnarowski said this morning during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up (video link).
Simmons is unlikely to be traded for Harden at this time, according to Derek Bodner of The Athletic, who cautions that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the coming months if the Simmons/Embiid duo isn’t thriving. For now though, once reports surfaced suggesting Simmons might be available, the Sixers had to publicly back their All-Star guard, Bodner writes.
The Heat were said to have interest in exploring a possible Harden trade and have presumably touched base with Houston. However, Ethan Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports (Twitter link) hears from multiple sources that the inclusion of Duncan Robinson in a possible offer is a “major sticking point” — in other words, the Rockets would want him and Miami wouldn’t want to give him up.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) expanded his breakdown of teams that could theoretically make a run at Harden from nine to 14, adding long shots like the Cavaliers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, and Kings.

Kings Promote Rico Hines

December 17th, 2020 at 9:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have promoted Rico Hines, announcing in a press release that they’ve named him an assistant coach and the club’s director of player development. Hines was the head coach of the G League’s Stockton Kings before joining Sacramento’s staff as a player development coach a year ago.

Kings Sign Vince Edwards To Camp Deal

December 17th, 2020 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 17: The Kings officially signed Edwards on Wednesday, per RealGM’s transactions log. While Edwards was initially expected to compete for a regular season roster spot, I’m not sure he still has a chance to make the 15-man squad, given the delay in signing him.

NOVEMBER 27: The Kings are signing small forward Vince Edwards to a one-year, minimum-salary deal, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic (via Twitter). Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets that it’s an Exhibit 10 contract, while Jason Jones of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that Edwards will have the chance to compete for a regular season roster spot.

Edwards, who was the 52nd overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Rockets, but appeared in just two NBA games during his stint with Houston. He has spent the majority of his first two professional seasons playing in the G League.

In 69 total NBAGL games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Canton Charge, and Oklahoma City Blue, Edwards has averaged 9.5 PPG and 4.9 RPG on .417/.347/.654 shooting in 26.5 minutes per contest.

New Kings general manager Monte McNair previously worked in Houston’s front office, so he got a first-hand look at Edwards when he was a Rocket in ’18/19.

Luke Walton Hopes Bagley, Whiteside Will Be Ready Soon

December 12th, 2020 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings coach Luke Walton hopes Marvin Bagley III and Hassan Whiteside will be ready for preseason action next week, tweets Jason Jones of The Athletic. Bagley missed workouts because of COVID-19, while Whiteside is dealing with a mild calf strain.

Kings Waive Quinton Rose

December 11th, 2020 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have waived rookie wing Quinton Rose, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. He had been on an Exhibit 10 contract.

Rose, who spent all four years of his college career at Temple, went undrafted last month after averaging 16.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 31 games (33.4 MPG) as a senior.

Rose quickly reached an agreement with the Kings on a training camp deal after the draft and the two sides formally completed that signing earlier this week. The 22-year-old was only under contract with the team for a day, a signal that the Kings’ goal was to secure his G League rights. Assuming Sacramento participates in the 2020/21 NBAGL season, Rose appears likely to play for the Stockton Kings.

Sacramento now has 18 players under contract.