Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Guarantee Nemanja Bjelica’s 2020/21 Salary

November 19th, 2020 at 11:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings opted not to waive Nemanja Bjelica before his salary guarantee deadline today, locking in his $7.15MM cap hit for the 2020/21 season, reports James Ham of NBC Sports California (via Twitter).

Bjelica, 32, had his best season as a pro in 2019/20, starting 67 of 72 games at power forward for the Kings. The veteran stretch four established new career highs in PPG (11.5), RPG (6.4), APG (2.8), 3PT% (.419), and several other categories, and Sacramento was better with him on the court than off it.

With free agency around the corner, the Kings could have some moves up their sleeves that would shake up their depth chart and affect Bjelica’s playing time — he could even end up on the move in a trade himself. For now though, he appears to be on track to reclaim his role as a regular rotation player in Sacramento, even with a healthy Marvin Bagley back in the mix.

Bjelica will be an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Bogdanovic Receives Qualifying Offer From Kings

November 19th, 2020 at 6:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:15pm: The league has opened an investigation of the reported sign-and-trade agreement between the Kings and Bucks, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

5:34pm: The Kings have extended a $10.66MM qualifying offer to Bogdan Bogdanovic, making the shooting guard a restricted free agent, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.

The move was expected, as it gives Sacramento the right to match any offer for one of the more intriguing free agents on the market. He averaged 15.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 3.4 APG in 29.0 MPG last season and is a 37.4% career 3-point shooter.

Bogdanovic has been embroiled in controversy this week. Word leaked that the Bucks had reached a sign-and-trade agreement for Bogdanovic days before the start of free agency.

The teams hoped to bring Bogdanovic the framework of their proposed deal and negotiate his contract with Milwaukee on Friday. Instead, he decided to enter restricted free agency in search of an offer sheet or other sign-and-trade scenarios.

In that proposed deal, the Bucks would have received Bogdanovic and Justin James to Milwaukee in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova, D.J. Wilson, and Donte DiVincenzo. Milwaukee has decided to release Ilyasova, so a renewed effort to acquire Bogdanovic would require a restructured package.

Raptors’ Boucher Among Players Receiving Qualifying Offers

November 19th, 2020 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors big man Chris Boucher is receiving a qualifying offer from the team, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The QO, which is worth just shy of $2MM, will make Boucher a restricted free agent this offseason. As long as that offer remains in place, he’ll have the option of accepting it and playing out the season in Toronto, or negotiating a new contract with the Raptors or another team. If he signs an offer sheet with a rival suitor, the Raps would have the opportunity to match it.

Unlike his teammate, Raptors wing Malcolm Miller won’t be getting a $2MM qualifying offer, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Instead of becoming a restricted free agent, Miller will be unrestricted, free to sign outright with any team.

Here are a few more updates on qualifying offers being issued across the NBA:

The Kings extended a qualifying offer to two-way player DaQuan Jeffries, according to Jason Jones of The Athletic, who tweets that Sacramento coaches like Jeffries’ defense and energy. Jeffries’ QO will be another two-way deal with a $50K guarantee.
The Wizards have made a qualifying offer to two-way shooting guard Garrison Mathews, per Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Matthews averaged 5.4 PPG with an impressive .413 3PT% in 18 games (12.6 MPG) for Washington as a rookie. His QO is another two-way contract with a $50K guarantee.
Two-way guard Gabe Vincent received a qualifying offer from the Heat, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Vincent didn’t see much time in the NBA last season, but the Heat apparently liked what they saw enough to offer him a second two-way deal.

Grizzlies, Kings Swap Second-Round Picks

November 19th, 2020 at 6:37am CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 19: The Kings officially announced their trade with the Grizzlies, acquiring the rights to Woodard (No. 40) and a 2022 second-round pick in exchange for the rights to Tillman (No. 35).

NOVEMBER 18: The Grizzlies are trading the 40th pick in tonight’s draft and a future second-rounder to the Kings for the 35th selection, tweets Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. The future second will be the lesser of the Pistons’ or Bulls’ picks in 2022 (Twitter link).

Memphis used that pick to draft Michigan State center Xavier Tillman. The 6’8″ junior averaged 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in 31 games for the Spartans last season.

With the 40th pick, Sacramento selected Mississippi State forward Robert Woodard. The 6’7″ sophonmore averaged 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds in 31 games.

Bogdan Bogdanovic Plans To Enter Restricted Free Agency

November 18th, 2020 at 6:33pm CST by Luke Adams

A sign-and-trade deal that would send Kings swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Bucks appears to be dead, at least for now, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

According to Wojnarowski, the Kings and Bucks had hoped to bring Bogdanovic the framework of their sign-and-trade agreement and negotiate his contract with Milwaukee on Friday. Instead, he’ll enter restricted free agency in search of an offer sheet or other sign-and-trade scenarios, per Woj (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski initially reported late on Monday night that the Kings and Bucks had agreed to a deal sending Bogdanovic and Justin James to Milwaukee in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova, D.J. Wilson, and Donte DiVincenzo. However, Sam Amick of The Athetic reported earlier today that the deal was in peril, since Bogdanovic apparently never agreed to it.

As I wrote in our earlier story, it’s hard to believe that the Kings and Bucks wouldn’t have confirmed that Bogdanovic was on board with the move before it was reported. But it was also unusual that a deal involving a free agent contract was being reported four days before free agency actually began. At this point, it’s unclear whether the deal fell apart as a result of a major communication breakdown or if the NBA got involved due to perceived tampering.

Either way, it’s a major setback for the Bucks. They’re still hoping that a Bogdanovic deal can be saved, but it sounds like he’s ready to move onto other options, according to Amick (Twitter link). Milwaukee is still on track to land Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans, but will have to look elsewhere if they want to try to turn a DiVincenzo package into an impact player.

As for the Kings, if they’re not intent on re-signing Bogdanovic themselves or matching an offer sheet, they’ll likely look to negotiate a sign-and-trade with another club.

Bucks’ Sign-And-Trade For Bogdanovic In Peril

November 18th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The agreement between the Bucks and Kings that would send Bogdan Bogdanovic to Milwaukee in a sign-and-trade is in peril, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who reports that there was never an agreement from Bogdanovic to join the Bucks.

That element of the deal has become a major issue, according to Amick, who hears from a high-ranking team official that it’s not clear whether the move will be completed when free agency opens. The deal, which was reported late on Monday night, would send Bogdanovic and Justin James to the Bucks in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova, D.J. Wilson, and Donte DiVincenzo.

It’s hard to know what to make of this update. As I pointed out on Monday night when the story broke, it’s very unusual for a deal that involves a free agent changing teams to be reported several days before free agency actually begins. The NBA’s tampering rules would technically prohibit the Bucks from having any contact with Bogdanovic before Friday, so on one hand, a miscommunication wouldn’t be a major surprise.

On the other hand, it’s very unlikely that the Bucks and Kings would have agreed to a deal involving five players and overlooked the fact that Bogdanovic wasn’t fully on board with it. If Bogdanovic never agreed, it’s also odd that there wasn’t any real pushback on Monday’s reporting until now.

As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report observes (via Twitter), it sounds like either someone “badly” messed up or the Kings and Bucks took heat from the NBA for leaking a deal involving a free agent well before the start of free agency and are now trying to walk it back.

Needless to say, we’ll be keeping a close eye on this situation this week to see if the Bucks, Kings, and Bogdanovic eventually work something out or if it falls apart entirely.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Killian Hayes May Fall To Kings

November 18th, 2020 at 3:53pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

There has been developing buzz that point guard Killian Hayes might fall to the Kings with the No. 12 pick, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. The 6’5″ guard has been projected as falling to Sacramento in mock drafts today from Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Jonathan Givony of ESPN, and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic and Tankathon.

Trade Rumors: Celtics, Hayward, Kings, Magic, Fournier, More

November 18th, 2020 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics continue to search for potential pathways to get into the top three of tonight’s NBA draft, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). An earlier report suggested the C’s haven’t had much luck gaining traction on a move into the mid-lottery using their current three first-round picks (Nos. 14, 26, and 30).

It’s unclear if a potential deal involving Gordon Hayward would provide a path for the Celtics to move up in the draft. Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears that the team is “mostly in a holding pattern” with Hayward for the time being.

Following up on a Tuesday report which indicated that the Hawks are eyeing Hayward, Jared Weiss of The Athletic cites a person familiar with the forward’s thinking who says Hayward wants to be a core part of a winning team and may not be interested in a move to Atlanta. Weiss wonders if the report linking Hayward to the Hawks may have been leaked to increase the 30-year-old’s leverage as he weighs his player option decision.

Meanwhile, in his latest Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst theorized that the Cavaliers, who hold the No. 5 pick, could be a landing spot for Hayward. Cleveland has interest in Hayward, according to Windhorst, who speculated that the Cavs and Celtics could be open to a deal that involves Andre Drummond and a draft-pick swap. Of course, if Hayward is prioritizing playing for a contender, he may try to angle to avoid a move to Cleveland.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors, with the draft around the corner:

Also in Windhorst’s latest Hoop Collective podcast, he and colleague Zach Lowe identified the Kings and Magic as two teams that may be looking to get a little younger this offseason rather than being content with competing again for the No. 8 seed. Nemanja Bjelica was identified by Lowe as a possible trade candidate to watch in Sacramento, while Windhorst added that Orlando would likely be open to moving Evan Fournier.
Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) wouldn’t be surprised if the Mavericks renew their interest in shooting guard Danny Green, who is being sent to Oklahoma City in a deal for Dennis Schröder. Dallas attempted to sign Green in free agency a year ago, and the rebuilding Thunder are unlikely to be too attached to him.
Although the Nuggets had interest in acquiring Jrue Holiday, they were surprised by what it cost Milwaukee to land him and didn’t feel pressure to make as significant an offer as the Bucks did, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post explains.

Kings’ Jabari Parker Opting In For 2020/21

November 17th, 2020 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

Kings forward Jabari Parker is exercising his player option for the 2020/21 season, postponing free agency for another year, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The option will pay Parker a guaranteed $6.5MM salary.

Parker, the No. 2 pick in the 2014 draft, started the 2019/20 season with the Hawks before being sent to Sacramento in a deadline trade. He had been averaging 15.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 26.2 minutes per contest (32 games) in Atlanta, but saw his role significant reduced with the Kings, recording 8.5 PPG and 3.8 RPG in just 13.3 MPG (six games).

Although Parker is a solid scorer, he’s not a great outside shooter or defender, limiting his value in an era when every team is seeking three-and-D wings. It’s unlikely he would have matched or exceeded his $6.5MM option salary in free agency. He’ll reach the open market in 2021.

While Parker’s option decision guarantees his 2020/21 salary, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll spend the entire year in Sacramento. New Kings GM Monte McNair could shop the 25-year-old’s expiring contract in trade discussions this month or before the 2021 deadline.

Trade Notes: Bucks, Bogdanovic, Holiday, Kings, Pelicans

November 17th, 2020 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

The deals to acquire both Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic took practically every asset the Bucks had left, but the team now projects to have one of the NBA’s best starting lineups, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, who notes that Milwaukee’s new additions will join Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez in the starting five.

As Nehm writes, the Bucks’ aggressive roster overhaul should eliminate any doubt that the franchise is serious about getting Antetokounmpo the help he needs to win a title. However, the acquisitions will leave the club hard-capped and with little flexibility to fill out the rest of the roster.

Because Holiday has a series of likely and unlikely bonuses that count toward the hard cap, the Bucks will probably be limited to minimum-salary contracts as they look to fill out their roster and keep team salary below $138,928,000, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

By my rough calculations, Milwaukee would have about $27.3MM in room below the hard cap to fit in Bogdanovic’s starting salary and minimum-salary contracts for seven players. That would get the Bucks to 14 players, not counting two-ways, though they could carry just 13 for parts of the season in order to create a little more cap flexibility.

Here’s more on the two deals the Bucks agreed to on Monday night:

While former Kings general manager Vlade Divac likely would’ve been willing to match offers in the $15-18MM range for Bogdanovic, it was never clear how enthusiastic new GM Monte McNair was about retaining the swingman, whose camp signaled a “willingness to play hardball” with Kings management, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
The Pelicans‘ decision to move Holiday in a package that includes three first-round picks and a pair of pick swaps is the latest indication that the organization is prioritizing its long-term goals over shortcuts to contention, says Scott Kushner of NOLA.com. Even with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram on the brink of stardom, New Orleans is preaching patience and wants to build its roster through the draft, as Kushner explains.
The Pelicans could theoretically flip Eric Bledsoe or George Hill to another team immediately after acquiring them, but they won’t be able to aggregate either player for salary-matching purposes until December 8, tweets Marks. Typically, there’s a two-month gap before a player can be aggregated, but that has been adjusted to account for the shortened offseason. For instance, the Thunder will be able to aggregate the players they acquired for Chris Paul as early as December 5, Marks notes (via Twitter).
Speaking of Paul, the Bucks never engaged in any trade talks for the veteran point guard, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).