Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Await MRI Results On Bagley Foot Injury

July 20th, 2020 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings forward/center Marvin Bagley III underwent an MRI on Sunday night after suffering a right foot injury during practice, the team announced today in a press release. Sacramento is awaiting the results of that MRI.

It’s possible the injury won’t be a significant one, but if it forces Bagley to miss some time, it’ll be a tough break for both the team and the former No. 2 overall pick.

The Kings have already been affected by some bad luck in recent weeks, as four of their players – Buddy Hield, Jabari Parker, Alex Len, and Harrison Barnes – have tested positive for the coronavirus. De’Aaron Fox also suffered a sprained ankle, while Richaun Holmes was subjected to a 10-day quarantine period at Walt Disney World after accidentally crossing the NBA’s campus line.

Hield and Parker have since returned to practice, Len has cleared his quarantine period (per Jason Jones of The Athletic), and Holmes is close to doing so. Additionally, Fox’s ankle injury doesn’t appear serious. Still, the Kings haven’t had a full roster since reporting to Disney earlier in the month.

As for Bagley, he missed most of his sophomore NBA season with a foot injury, appearing in just 13 games this season. The hope was that he’d be back to full health and ready to contribute this summer, but that’s now up in the air. For what it’s worth, Bagley was sidelined for much of the season by a left foot ailment, so this is a new injury.

Kings Hope They Don't Have To Replace Barnes

July 17th, 2020 at 8:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings center Alex Len has posted negative tests for the coronavirus and will rejoin the team on Friday evening, head coach Luke Walton told James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area and other media members. Len, among a couple of other prominent team members, tested positive for the virus in late June. Len will go into quarantine upon arrival in Orlando and Walton is unsure about the big man’s conditioning.
Walton is in no rush to replace Harrison Barnes on the roster, The Athletic’s Jason Jones tweets. Barnes revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 just before the team headed to Orlando. The Kings don’t want to replace Barnes on the roster just yet, even if he has to miss a game, Jones adds.

Kings Rookies Looking To Prove Mettle In Restart

July 17th, 2020 at 5:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With several Kings players currently unavailable, rookies Justin James, Kyle Guy and DaQuan Jeffries will be able to use team practices and scrimmages in Disney World as an opportunity to prove their mettle, according to The Athletic’s Jason Jones. Sacramento head coach Luke Walton noted that the young players are “getting crucial reps in practice and most likely, at least in the preseason (scrimmage) games, they’ll be getting some meaningful minutes as well.”

Kings Notes: Fox, Len, Barnes

July 16th, 2020 at 6:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kings head coach Luke Walton referred to De’Aaron Fox‘s ankle sprain as “mild to moderate,” as James Ham of NBC Sports California writes. While Walton insisted that the team will be “cautious” with its star point guard, he also expressed optimism that Fox won’t necessarily require a lengthy absence.

“We’re hopeful that because he’s healed fast in the past, he’ll do it again, but it’s something that we’re definitely not going to rush him back,” Walton said.

Fox suffered a more serious (Grade 3) ankle sprain earlier in the 2019/20 season and was able to return ahead of schedule, missing just five weeks, Ham notes. A similar injury this time around would have put his summer availability in jeopardy, but it sounds as if the club thinks Fox should be available for some – if not all – of Sacramento’s eight seeding games, as Mark Medina of USA Today tweets.

Here’s more on the Kings:

In the wake of Fox’s ankle sprain, Sean Deveney of Forbes took a look at the point guard’s longer-term future in Sacramento, suggesting that the former No. 5 overall pick has a very good chance to become the highest-paid player in team history. “No doubt you are going to pay Fox,” one general manager told Deveney. “Who else are you going to get to come to Sacramento? You have to pay him, overpay him, because it’ll be tough to bring in free agents. If you can sign him, no matter the cost, if you’re the Kings, you do it. I think he gets a max offer from them and he takes it. Simple.”
Kings center Alex Len, having been medically cleared after contracting COVID-19 last month, is flying to Orlando on Thursday night and will enter quarantine upon arriving at the Walt Disney World campus, Walton told reporters today (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of ABC10).
Once Len arrives, three of the four Kings known to have tested positive for the coronavirus will be at Disney, with Buddy Hield and Jabari Parker already there. However, there’s no update yet on Harrison Barnes, who announced his positive test earlier this week and remains quarantined in Sacramento, per James Ham of NBC Sports California.

Pacific Notes: Bagley, Clippers, Lakers, Morris

July 15th, 2020 at 8:06pm CST by Jovan Alford

The Kings were one of 22 teams chosen to play in the NBA’s restart, which begins in a couple of weeks in Orlando, Florida. The Kings are currently 3.5 games behind Memphis for the eighth seed and could make the playoffs if they can play how they did before the season was suspended.

That will hinge not only on how De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield play, but also how Kings head coach Luke Walton utilizes second-year big man Marvin Bagley. This past weekend, Walton was asked about where does the former Duke standout fit on the court and responded by saying that Bagley is a position-less player.

“We see Marvin as a player that, down the road, is going to be pretty much a position-less type of basketball player,” Walton said. “For now, and getting him back, we got him getting most of his reps at the five and the four.”

Richard Ivanowski of The Sacramento Bee disagrees with Walton’s assessment and opines that Bagley should be considered a center or big man. Ivanowski points out that the former second overall pick struggles to shoot from three-point range (28.8%) and is not someone who can initiate the offense. Instead, Bagley is better around the rim and is an adequate defensive rebounder.

Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:

Clippers guard Terance Mann, who is the team’s NBPA rep, told reporters on Tuesday that the players’ decision to play was “a pretty long process,” per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk (Twitter link). The Clippers, who will be back in action on July 30 against the Lakers, had several Zoom conversations about the restart before deciding to participate, Mann said.
Mann also told reporters that he is back to full contact after undergoing hand surgery in March, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Anthony Slater and John Hollinger of The Athletic discussed the current state of the Lakers and where they’ll go from here. The Athletic duo talked about how Los Angeles did in free agency last summer, what to do with Kyle Kuzma (who is eligible for an extension this offseason), and Anthony Davis‘ future.
According to Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register (Twitter link), veteran forward Markieff Morris, who has an excused absence, is expected to join the Lakers soon in Disney World.

De’Aaron Fox Sprains Ankle, Will Be Reevaluated In 7-10 Days

July 15th, 2020 at 6:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox has suffered a left ankle sprain, the team announced today in a press release. The injury, which Fox sustained during Wednesday’s practice, will be reevaluated in approximately seven-to-10 days, according to the club.

It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Fox and the Kings, who will want their point guard at full strength during their eight seeding games this summer if they hope to make a serious push for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

If it’s a mild sprain, perhaps Fox will be close to returning when he’s evaluated next week. However, a more significant sprain would likely force him out of action for at least some of those seeding games. Given the abridged ramp-up period leading up to the restart, the Kings will want to be cautious with one of their cornerstone players, making sure not to rush him back.

Sacramento’s summer schedule gets underway on July 31 when the team faces the Spurs.

Barnes, Len Not On Campus; Hield Talks Coronavirus Experience

July 15th, 2020 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Like Harrison Barnes, center Alex Len – who recently contracted COVID-19 – isn’t yet with the Kings at the Walt Disney World campus, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We have to prepare as if we’re not going to have either one of those guys,” head coach Luke Walton said of Barnes and Len. “And that’s just getting ready for what worst-case scenario would be. And there’s a reality that might be it. So our mindset is we prep that we’re not going to have them with us, and we’re hopeful that they rejoin us.”
Within the same story, McMenamin passes along Buddy Hield‘s comments on his experience with the coronavirus. The Kings sharpshooter said his symptoms were mild and that the virus resulted in just “a little head cold” and “chills one night.”

Harrison Barnes Tested Positive For Coronavirus

July 14th, 2020 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings forward Harrison Barnes announced today (via Twitter) that he tested positive for COVID-19 before the team traveled to Walt Disney World last week and has yet to report to the NBA’s Florida campus as he awaits medical clearance.

“I’ve been primarily asymptomatic and am doing well,” Barnes wrote. “I’m quarantined and am abiding by the safety protocol until I’m cleared for action. I hope to join my team in Orlando when it is safe to do so!”

The NBA and NBPA announced on Monday that 19 players had tested positive for the coronavirus in their home markets since July 1. Presumably, Barnes was one of those 19 players. He’s at least the fourth Kings player known to have tested positive in the last month. Buddy Hield and Jabari Parker have since recovered and recently reported to Orlando, while Alex Len also contracted the virus in June.

So far, there’s no indication that the Kings intend to replace any of those affected players with substitute players. If Sacramento were to sign a substitute player, the player being replaced would become ineligible to play for the rest of the 2019/20 season.

Unlike teams who are already looking ahead of the postseason, the Kings will face some urgency to win games right away when their season resumes on July 31, since they’re four games out of the final playoff spot in the West. So if Barnes or any other player is affected by COVID-19 symptoms longer than anticipated, it’s possible Sacramento would consider making a move.

Kings’ Holmes Quarantining On Campus For Eight More Days

July 13th, 2020 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings center Richaun Holmes announced today on Twitter that he “briefly and accidentally crossed the NBA campus line” in order to pick up a food delivery following the initial quarantine period. As a result, Holmes is subject to a new 10-day quarantine period — he indicated in his statement that he has eight days left.

Holmes is the second player known to have violated the NBA’s campus protocols, joining Rockets forward Bruno Caboclo. Today’s report on Caboclo suggested that he left his room during the initial quarantine period, whereas it sounds like Holmes inadvertently left the campus. In each case, the player must quarantine for 10 more days before resuming basketball activities.

The Kings are scheduled to participate in their first inter-squad scrimmage on July 22 vs. the Heat. Holmes’ quarantine period will have just ended at that point, so he may not be ready to play right away. Presumably he’ll be good to go by the time Sacramento’s first seeding game takes place on July 31 vs. San Antonio.

While the Kings will be missing Holmes for the next eight days, they did get some good news on Sunday. Head coach Luke Walton told reporters – including Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link) – that Buddy Hield and Jabari Parker had reported to Walt Disney World and begun their quarantines. Both players previously tested positive for COVID-19 but were medically cleared to travel to Orlando.

Community Shootaround: Western Conference Seeding

July 13th, 2020 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Friday when we discussed the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, there will be an opportunity for teams to move up – or down – in the standings when play resumes on July 30.

With eight “seeding games” on tap, teams are unlikely to make up five- or six-game deficits on the clubs ahead of them in the standings, but there’s a strong likelihood of a shake-up in instances where teams are only separated by a game or two.

That’s even more true in the Western Conference than it is in the East, albeit not necessarily at the very top of the standings, where the 49-14 Lakers hold a fairly comfortable lead on the 44-20 Clippers. The Lakers’ magic number to clinch the conference is just three, so they’re a safe bet to hang onto the No. 1 seed.

After that though, there’s some congestion in the standings. The Clippers’ lead on the Nuggets (43-22) is just 1.5 games. Denver holds an identical lead over the Jazz (41-23). Utah, meanwhile, is just a couple losses away from slipping down to the No. 6 seed, as the Thunder (40-24) and Rockets (40-24) are right on their heels. The 40-27 Mavericks round out this group of six teams, a game-and-a-half behind OKC and Houston and just 5.5 games behind the second-seeded Clippers.

A number of those six clubs bunched up in the middle of the Western Conference playoff picture will face one another when play resumes. For instance, the Thunder – who have the potential to move up or down a couple spots in the standings – will open the restart against the Jazz and Nuggets and eventually finish their season against the Clippers. The Clips will face the Mavericks and Nuggets in addition to OKC. Dallas opens its eight seeding games by playing the Rockets.

Given the strength of competition in the West, seeding could be paramount in the postseason. The Nuggets, for example, could conceivably face the Jazz, Thunder, Rockets, or Mavs in the first round and would likely prefer some opponents to others in that group. The Jazz, currently at No. 4, could be motivated to avoid the No. 6 Rockets in the first round, since they’ve been eliminated by Houston in each of the previous two postseasons.

At the bottom of the playoff picture, the No. 8 Grizzlies (32-33) have essentially no chance to move up, since they’re seven games back of Dallas. But they’ll be looking to increase their lead over the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs, and Suns — if they can finish with more than a four-game lead on all those clubs, they’ll avoid a play-in tournament. If the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds finish within four games of one another, a play-in tournament will be necessary to determine that final playoff spot.

A newly-healthy Blazers squad will be a major threat to the Grizzlies, as will a Pelicans team that faces one of the league’s weakest schedules over the course of the eight seeding games.

What do you think? Do you think we’ll see much movement in the Western Conference’s top eight? Will the Grizzlies be knocked out by one of the challengers behind them in the standings? What do you expect the West’s top eight seeds to look like by the time the playoffs begin?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your predictions!