- Kings guard Buddy Hield signed a four-year, $86MM extension prior to the season and the franchise is holding him to a higher standard, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee relays. Head coach Luke Walton and assistant Jesse Mermuys had a candid conversation with Hield after he recently complained about his playing time. “I talked to Luke and coach Jesse, and we just sat down and they gave me a reality check,” Hield said. “There’s stuff they need me to do and stuff I need to get better at — just challenging me — and Luke is a guy who always challenges me. Him and Jesse just bring the challenge and I accept it.”
Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
- The Clippers have recalled forward Mfiondu Kabengele from the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the team’s public relations department announced. Kabengele was drafted No. 27 overall last June.
- The Pacers have recalled Goga Bitadze and Alize Johnson from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, announcing the news on social media today. Indiana will host Philadelphia on Monday night.
- The Kings recalled Wenyen Gabriel and Justin James from their G League affiliate in Stockton, the club announced (Twitter link).
Kings big man Richaun Holmes will be re-evaluated in two-to-three weeks due to a right shoulder injury, the team announced on Sunday, as relayed by Jason Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Holmes recently underwent imaging that revealed an injury to his shoulder joint, with the 26-year-old now likely to miss several games. The team originally termed the injury a shoulder strain.
Holmes is enjoying a career-best season with Sacramento, averaging 13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game through 37 contests in his first campaign as starting center. The Kings will greatly miss his interior production — head coach Luke Walton praised the fifth-year player earlier this month.
“He’s been an anchor for us,” Walton said, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “He plays with that passion and fire that I think the Sacramento fan base really gets behind because he just leaves it all out there every time he plays. He’s made a lot of winning plays for us. He’s having a heck of a year so far.”
Holmes’ injury will allow other frontcourt players to see increased minutes for the Kings, with seventh-year center Dewayne Dedmon worth monitoring the rest of the month. Dedmon was fined $50K for publicly requesting a trade last month and is in the first season of a three-year, $40MM contract.
The Kings have been hammered with injuries during the first half of the season, owning the third-worst record in the Western Conference at 15-24. On the flip side, the team is just two games back from the eighth seed in the conference, with upcoming home contests scheduled against Orlando on Monday and Dallas on Wednesday.
Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Kings assigned Wenyen Gabriel, Justin James and Caleb Swanigan to their affiliate in Stockton, tweets Jason Jones of The Athletic. Swanigan was recalled later in the day, the team announced (Twitter link).
- The Wizards assigned Admiral Schofield to Capital City so he could play in tonight’s game against Sioux Falls, the team announced on Twitter.
- The Pacers sent Goga Bitadze to Fort Wayne for the second time this season, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic.
- The Cavaliers recalled Tyler Cook from Canton, according to a press release from the team. Cook signed a 10-day contract on Thursday.
- The Thunder recalled Deonte Burton and Justin Patton from Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in an email.
Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s name popped up in trade rumors at the start of the week, but the Kings still view the swingman as a key part of their push for the postseason and team sources “swear” they’re comfortable dealing with his restricted free agency this summer, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic. Interestingly, Amick notes that it was the Lakers, not the Kings, who initiated those reported trade discussions involving Bogdanovic and Kyle Kuzma.
According to Amick, winning is Bogdanovic’s top priority, and he’s not opposed to the idea of a long-term stay in Sacramento if the team continues to improve. If the Kings fall further out of the playoff race in the coming weeks, it’s possible both sides will become more open to a trade, but the price for Bogdanovic would be high.
Meanwhile, the Kings are also considering the possibility of a Dewayne Dedmon trade, and Amick confirms that the Hawks are among the teams with interest in the big man. However, Sacramento’s asking price for Dedmon has been too high for Atlanta’s liking so far, per Amick.
Kings head coach Luke Walton said earlier this week that making Dewayne Dedmon inactive for three consecutive games wasn’t related to the big man’s desire to be traded and wouldn’t necessarily be permanent, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes. Sure enough, an injury to Richaun Holmes gave Dedmon an opportunity to get back on the court on Tuesday.
In fact, Holmes’ absence paved the way for two big men who had been out of the rotation earlier in the season to play significant roles. Harry Giles got his first career NBA start, while Dedmon played 32 minutes off the bench. The duo combined for 20 points and 18 rebounds, helping to lead the Kings to a comeback road win over Phoenix.
According to James Ham of NBC Sports California, both centers received praise from Walton after the game, with the Kings head coach telling reporters that Giles gave the club some “good minutes” and Dedmon “took full advantage” of his opportunity.
With Giles facing unrestricted free agency at season’s end and Dedmon hoping to be dealt, it’s possible neither center has a place in the Kings’ future. But having both players perform well could open some doors for Sacramento at the trade deadline — at the very least, it will help keep the team in the playoff race while Holmes recovers.
Over the course of the 2019/20 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.
The Pacific Division has been the subject of a handful of trade rumors lately, including reports suggesting that the Kings and Lakers have touched base on a possible deal and that the Suns and Clippers might make good trade partners for a swap of big men.
As we wait to see whether any of these whispers actually turn into anything concrete, here are three potential trade candidates from around the Pacific:
Kyle Kuzma, PF
Los Angeles Lakers
$2MM cap hit; $3.6MM guaranteed salary in 2020/21; RFA in 2021
As recently as last Friday, word was that the Lakers still viewed Kuzma as a core long-term piece and were focused more on upgrading their roster around the edges. However, Sam Amick of The Athletic suggested over the weekend that the club was open to listening to inquiries on Kuzma, and Marc Stein of The New York Times reported on Monday that the Kings were among the teams with interest.
This may simply be a case of the Lakers doing due diligence. According to Amick, LeBron James remains supportive of Kuzma and general manager Rob Pelinka is believed to be the young forward’s biggest backer. The Lakers’ reported asking price, relayed by Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, is high and seems unlikely to be met. And moving Kuzma for an impact player would be tricky, given his small $2MM cap hit.
On the other hand, Kuzma’s fit in L.A.’s frontcourt is somewhat uncomfortable, since the club likes to use a traditional center. Playing Kuzma alongside, say, Dwight Howard, LeBron, and Anthony Davis isn’t ideal, so if the Lakers can move him in a deal for an impact wing player like Bogdan Bogdanovic or Robert Covington, it might make sense to do so.
I think Kuzma is probably still more likely than not to remain with the Lakers through the deadline, but a trade in the next month wouldn’t be at all shocking.
Dewayne Dedmon, C
Sacramento Kings
$13.3MM cap hit; $13.3MM guaranteed salary in 2020/21; $13.3MM partially guaranteed salary ($1MM) in 2021/22
The Kings’ offseason commitments to Dedmon ($27.7MM in guaranteed money) and Richaun Holmes ($9.8MM) reflected the club’s belief that Dedmon would be the starting center for the foreseeable future, with Holmes playing a backup role. That view made sense — following two strong seasons in Atlanta, Dedmon was a popular mid-level free agent target for teams around the NBA, and the Kings were willing to go even higher than the mid-level to lock him up.
However, it only took four games for new head coach Luke Walton to move Holmes into the starting lineup, demoting Dedmon to a bench role. As Holmes as emerged as one of Sacramento’s most valuable contributors, Dedmon has fallen out of the rotation altogether, having been listed as inactive for the team’s last three games.
Dedmon has publicly confirmed that he’d like to be traded, receiving a $50K fine for his honesty. But his value is low at this point as a result of his struggles in Sacramento. The Kings are reportedly open to moving the big man, but won’t make a deal just to get rid of him.
A shoulder injury suffered by Holmes on Monday night may open up a path for Dedmon to get back into the rotation, which could be the opportunity he needs to show potential suitors he still has value.
Tyler Johnson, G
Phoenix Suns
$19.2MM cap hit; UFA in 2020
Gina Mizell of The Athletic recently identified Johnson as the Suns’ most likely player to be dealt in the coming weeks. Unfortunately for Johnson, that’s not because contenders will be clamoring to add him to their rotations — it’s because of his $19.2MM contract, which will expire in the summer.
It remains to be seen which direction Phoenix will go at the trade deadline, but as long as the team remains in the playoff hunt, targeting an upgrade such as Danilo Gallinari is a possibility. If the Suns were to make a play for someone like Gallinari, who is earning more than $22MM this season, using Johnson’s $19MM+ expiring deal as a salary-matching chip would be the most logical move.
While Johnson is a trade candidate due to his contract situation, he may welcome a change of scenery. After starting the season as a regular contributor in Phoenix, Johnson has fallen out of the rotation, appearing in just six games since the start of December.
Revisit the rest of our 2019/20 Trade Candidate series right here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- Dan Devine of The Ringer identifies 11 teams that may be sellers at next month’s trade deadline, including obvious candidates like the Knicks and Cavaliers, as well as teams that will be more reluctant to sell, such as the Kings and Timberwolves.
The Lakers aren’t close to dealing Kyle Kuzma and want a substantial package if they do move the high-scoring forward, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. The Kings are reportedly among the teams interested in acquiring Kuzma. The Lakers would likely ask for a quality rotation player, preferably a point guard, along with a first-round draft pick that projects to be in or around the lottery, Deveney continues. The Lakers would also consider two lesser first-round picks as part of a package for Kuzma, Deveney adds.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers guard Avery Bradley suffered a right ankle sprain against Detroit on Sunday, Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays. X-rays were negative and it’s uncertain when Bradley will return to action. Bradley missed 13 games earlier this season due to a right leg injury and hasn’t played more than 63 regular-season games over the previous three seasons due to an assortment of ailments.
- The Warriors will send Ky Bowman to the G League when D’Angelo Russell returns from a right shoulder contusion, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Bowman has six days remaining on his 45-day NBA allotment under the terms of a two-way contract. The team’s other two-way player, Damion Lee, has just two days remaining until he must remain in the G League or receive a standard contract. A roster spot is likely to be cleared for Lee at some point, Slater adds.
- Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry are getting antsy as they rehab from long-term injuries, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Thompson is working his way back from the knee injury he suffered during last season’s playoffs, while Curry is rehabbing from hand surgery. “In an ironic way, this has been probably a good chance for them to blow off some stream and whatever metaphor you want to use,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “But that can only last for so long. They’re both dying to play. And we’re dying to have them back.”
2:48pm: The Kings are unlikely to be interested in essentially swapping Bogdanovic straight up for Kuzma, Sam Amick of The Athletic hears (Twitter link). According to Amick, Sacramento values Bogdanovic’s versatility and is comfortable with his upcoming restricted free agency.
1:34pm: The Kings are among the teams that have made an effort to engage in discussions with the Lakers about a potential Kyle Kuzma trade, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
Kuzma’s name has popped up in trade rumors as of late, with a Friday report suggesting that teams had begun to due diligence on the Lakers’ forward in case he’s placed on the trade block. Over the weekend, Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the Lakers had become open to listening to inquiries on Kuzma. Based on today’s update from Stein, it appears one of those inquiries has come from Sacramento.
Stein goes on to say that the Kings “know they would have to include” Bogdan Bogdanovic in any deal for Kuzma, which is an interesting detail. Bogdanovic, a former first-round pick who plays on the wing, has been more productive than Kuzma so far in 2019/20, averaging 14.5 PPG and 3.6 APG with a .383 3PT%. He also looks like a better fit for the Lakers’ current roster, given the team’s logjam at the four.
Kuzma, who averaged a career-high 18.7 PPG last season, has struggled in the first half of 2019/20 since returning from an offseason foot injury, recording just 11.8 PPG in 27 games. The Lakers are still figuring out how to best use him in a lineup that includes power forwards Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Kuzma has also had to deal with an ankle sprain, as well as a mini-controversy off the court after his trainer criticized LeBron.
On the plus side, Kuzma’s contract situation is more favorable than Bogdanovic’s, at least in the short term. Kuzma is earning less than $2MM this season and won’t reach restricted free agency until 2021, while Bogdanovic has an $8.5MM salary and will be an RFA this summer.
Sacramento may be reluctant to invest big money in Bogdanovic after signing Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield to lucrative long-term deals, particularly with De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley becoming eligible for extensions of their own in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
If the Lakers and Kings were to make a deal centered around Kuzma and Bogdanovic, L.A. would have to add at least one more player for salary-matching purposes. Attaching Quinn Cook ($3MM) or DeMarcus Cousins ($3.5MM) to Kuzma would do the trick.