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Kings Expected To Retain Vlade Divac, Luke Walton

April 28th, 2020 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite some speculation that changes may be coming for the Kings this summer, general manager Vlade Divac and head coach Luke Walton appear “very likely” to remain in their roles into next season, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic. According to Amick, both of their contracts run through the 2022/23 season.

A report in February suggested that Kings ownership had grown increasingly frustrated with the club’s on-court results and that owner Vivek Ranadive had expressed that frustration in group chats with Walton, Divac, and other team executives. There was an expectation that Ranadive would re-evaluate everything after the season.

The Kings rebounded nicely following the publication of that report, however. Following the All-Star break, the club won seven of its next 10 games, including a pair of three-game winning streaks. By the time the NBA suspended its season, Sacramento had pulled to within 3.5 games of the No. 8 Grizzlies, giving the Kings an outside chance to make a playoff push — and seemingly providing more job security for Divac and Walton.

That February report also suggested that a decision may be coming this summer on Buddy Hield‘s future, since he had been frustrated with his demotion from the starting lineup and the idea of a trade request seemed possible.

However, in a conversation with Amick and Joe Vardon on The Athletic’s Tampering podcast, Walton insisted that the Hield situation isn’t a concern.

“Buddy was not happy about not starting, but he didn’t b—h,” Walton said. “He said, ‘You’re the coach. I’m going to do what I need to do.’ … Even with Buddy (coming off the bench), he was still playing starter minutes, he was still finishing certain games, and it’s one of those things where if you’re truly bought into being on the team, you end up accepting it because that’s a huge value. … And I thought Buddy had really, really done a nice job of embracing that and making our team better.”

Hield’s playing time did take a hit following his move to the bench, but his per-minute production improved. After averaging 20.0 PPG with a .416/.360/.816 shooting line in 44 games (34.4 MPG) as a starter, Hield recorded 19.4 PPG on .465/.476/.970 shooting in 20 contests (26.6 MPG) off the bench. It remains to be seen whether the Kings plan to use him as a sixth man indefinitely, or whether he’d be fine with that.

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Walton Optimistic About Team's Future

April 27th, 2020 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Kings coach Luke Walton isn’t sure how much big man Marvin Bagley III will play if the season resumes, Jason Jones of The Athletic reports. Bagley has played in only 13 games this season due to a left foot sprain and a broken thumb. “In talking to Marvin, he feels much better,” said Walton, who added Bagley would still have to go through protocols during injury rehab, including three-on-three and five-on-five play.
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Richaun Holmes Wants Long Future In Sacramento

April 15th, 2020 at 6:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Richaun Holmes has been a bargain since signing a two-year, $10MM deal with the Kings last summer and he hopes to remain with the team long after that contract expires, relays James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. Holmes talked about his future during a recent appearance on the Purple Talk podcast.

“I absolutely love Sacramento,” he said. “This community, this city, these fans — have shown me, in my short time here, that I really couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else. I would love to play here the rest of my career. I love to play in front of these fans, be a part of this community — this is a great place to be and I’d love just to be a part of it.”

Holmes seemed headed to a backup role in Sacramento after the team invested $39MM over three years in fellow center Dewayne Dedmon. However, Holmes seized the starting job after four games and played well enough to convince the Kings to trade Dedmon to Atlanta in February.

Holmes, 26, spent three years with the Sixers and one with the Suns before his break-out season. His minutes have increased to 28.8 per game since joining the Kings and he’s posting career highs with 12.8 PPG and 8.3 RPG.

He has also formed a bond with the Sacramento community that included joining a few teammates to pass out meals to more than 1,000 people in need earlier this week. In addition, Holmes’ parents have become social media stars in the area, with celebrations on Instagram after every Kings victory.

“As soon as I got here, it felt like a perfect fit,” Holmes said. “From the team, to the fans, to the community, everybody shows love.”

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Giles Likely To Go Elsewhere In Free Agency

April 13th, 2020 at 8:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Kings center Harry Giles is likely to be playing elsewhere next season, according to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. His original coaching and training staff are gone and the franchise didn’t pick up his contract option for next season, Ham notes. Giles, who will be an unrestricted free agent, did enough during his opportunities this season to intrigue plenty of teams, Ham adds.
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Re-Signing Bogdanovic Tops Priority List

April 10th, 2020 at 8:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kent Bazemore gave the Kings an unexpected boost after they acquired him from the Trail Blazers, as Zach Lowe of ESPN details. Bazemore made 39% of his 3-point attempts and averaged 16 points per 36 minutes while providing energy and rebounding, Lowe continues. Bazemore, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, also had success on post-ups against smaller guards, Lowe adds.

  • Re-signing restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic will be the top priority for the Kings this offseason, according to Jason Jones of The Athletic. The Kings intend to match any offer sheet, says Jones. Sacramento will look to upgrade its defense, particular on the wing, but it’s unlikely that big man Harry Giles will return after the team declined to pick up his option for next season, Jones notes.
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And-Ones: Clippers, Pistons, Cavs, Young

April 7th, 2020 at 9:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers hold the top spot in ESPN’s Future Power Rankings, which predicts the best and worst franchises over the next three seasons. While the team has one of the best one-two punches in the NBA with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Los Angeles’ inability to trade a first-rounder may come back to haunt the team, Bobby Marks suggests.

L.A. sent out several first-rounders in the George deal and had just one pick (2020 selection) that was eligible to be included in a trade this season — the franchise used it to acquire Marcus Morris at the deadline.

The Lakers, Warriors, Bucks, and Celtics round out the top-5 in the ESPN’s latest rankings. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Pistons and Cavaliers rank 29th and 30th, respectively, on that aforementioned ESPN’s list. Both franchises lack blue-chip prospects and each has expensive veterans clogging its cap space.
  • Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes Thaddeus Young will find himself on the trade block this offseason. Young, who inked a deal the Bulls last summer, was the subject of trade rumors earlier in the season.
  • NBA agent Mark Bartelstein said he expected the season to get postponed after watching what was going on abroad in February and March, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic relays. Bartelstein has clients in the Chinese Basketball Association and other international leagues.
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Alex Len Talks Hawks Experience, Confusion Over Being Traded

March 24th, 2020 at 6:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Alex Len, who inked a two-year deal with Hawks back in 2018, was traded to the Kings at this year’s deadline. Prior to getting dealt, Len expressed his interest in re-signing with Atlanta, telling Chris Kirschner of The Athletic this week that he cherished his time with the club.

“One-hundred percent — I wanted to stay,” Len told Kirschner. “I like the coaching staff. I liked my teammates. Everyone was cool. It really had a family feel to it. Last year, you could see the trajectory was going up…This season didn’t work out as planned, so they had to make changes. It’s a business, so I understood they had to do it.”

In the trade with the Kings, which also sent Jabari Parker to Sacramento, the Hawks received a pair of second-round picks and Dewayne Dedmon, who had left the team in free agency prior to the season. That, coupled with the team bringing in Clint Capela, left Len puzzled as to why Atlanta would trade him for another center.

“They didn’t want to pay [Dedmon] in the first place, so it didn’t make sense to me,” Len said. “If they wanted him, they could have just paid him. So they get him as a backup now and end up paying him anyway.”

Len admitted that he didn’t know what to expect when he was on his way to Sacramento. He called the experience of playing with the Kings this season a “pleasant surprise,” while adding that dynamics of the two franchises were different.

“There was a whole different mood and vibe around the team because we were going for the eighth spot,” Len said. “When I was (in Atlanta), it’s tough to play knowing you’re not making the playoffs. You go into the game, and guys are thinking about their points and themselves. (In Sacramento), it’s all about team and winning. Guys don’t care how many points they score; it’s all about winning. Everybody was playing a lot harder. We were playing all five guys on a string. It makes your job easier because everybody else is a lot better.”

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Kings Suspend All Basketball Activities

March 18th, 2020 at 4:07pm CST by Jovan Alford

With the news coming out about four Nets players testing positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday, the Lakers decided to get tested on Wednesday morning, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

According to the L.A. Times, the tests were not mandatory for the players and none of the Lakers’ coaches were tested. The players who were tested are hoping to get results by Friday.

The Lakers played the Nets last Tuesday at the Staples Center, which was the last game for both teams. Laker players reportedly just started a two-week quarantine.

Here’s more news out of the Pacific:

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Hiatus Notes: NBA Draft Lottery, Combine, Silver

March 18th, 2020 at 1:23pm CST by Jovan Alford

As the NBA waits to see if resuming regular-season play will be possible, the league is also considering the possible impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the next two events on its schedule: The NBA draft lottery and combine.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reported on Tuesday that the lottery and combine could be next on the proverbial “chopping block.” The draft lottery is tentatively scheduled for May 19 in Chicago, while the combine is scheduled for May 21-24.

However, if the league doesn’t return to play for another two or three months, then both events would have to be canceled or pushed back. That being said, Berman writes that the NBA has not made any final decisions about the draft lottery or the combine.

On Tuesday, we looked at the potential lottery odds for the 14 teams in contention for the first overall draft pick.

Here’s more on what’s happening with the NBA:

  • Marc Stein of the New York Times explains why the NBA wants to resume the season instead of moving onto next season. As Stein writes, the desire to crown a champion and avoid more substantial revenue losses are among the league’s concerns.
  • At least three teams (the Kings, Bucks, and Warriors) wanted the NBA to take a hiatus before last Wednesday’s games were played, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY. In his story, Zillgitt also details NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s thought process behind shutting down the league. 
  • ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that the NBA is planning to raise its credit line to $1.2 billion to help with the extended shutdown due to the coronavirus. Wojnarowski adds that the league’s credit line was previously $650MM.
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