Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Sign Dewayne Dedmon

June 30th, 2019 at 5:03pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8, 1:30pm: The Kings have officially signed Dedmon, the team announced today in a press release.

JUNE 30, 5:03pm: The Kings have agreed to terms on a three-year, $41MM deal with Dedmon, his agents tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

JUNE 30, 4:12pm: The Kings are expected to agree to terms quickly with center Dewayne Dedmon when free agency opens, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides will finalize a three-year, $40MM agreement. The third year will be partially guaranteed, Amick adds.

The team issued a qualifying offer to Willie Cauley-Stein, who is on the market as a restricted free agent. Perhaps the team brings WCS back in addition to Dedmon, but I’d speculate that we’ve seen the last of Cauley-Stein in Sacramento.

The Kings were eyeing an upgrade at the center spot. They reportedly had interest in Al Horford, though the organization feared that he would end up signing elsewhere. Sacramento was also in the mix for Clint Capela had the Rockets opted to trade him either by himself or via a sign-and-trade that involved Jimmy Butler. There’s no word yet on whether the Kings are done shopping at the center spot.

Dedmon, who is entering his age-30 season, spent his last two seasons in Atlanta. In 2018/19, he averaged 10.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG, and 1.1 SPG with a .492/.382/.814 shooting line in 64 games (25.1 MPG) for the Hawks.

In a recent podcast, ESPN’s Zach Lowe identified Dedmon as “sneakily the most coveted under-the-radar free agent in the league,” suggesting that teams would be thrilled to land him at the mid-level. Sacramento had to go higher than that to secure a commitment, but will still have cap room left over after adding Dedmon and Harrison Barnes.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Plan To Make Offer To Al Horford

June 30th, 2019 at 12:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:18pm: Horford has “very real interest” in joining the Sixers if they can make it possible, Amick tweets. Philadelphia is reportedly willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade for Jimmy Butler, but has Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick to address as well. The Kings have a better chance at signing Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon, Amick adds, and are among the teams willing to take on Clint Capela if the Rockets trade for Butler (Twitter link). Houston has found multiple teams interested in Capela and will send him to the highest bidder.

11:58pm: The Kings are ready to pounce on Al Horford with a significant offer once free agency begins, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Sacramento has the cap room to offer the rumored four-year deal in excess of $100MM, and a source tells Stein that the organization “definitely” has strong interest in Horford.

That report is confirmed by James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link), who adds that the Kings consider Horford a “major target.” However, a source tells Sam Amick of The Athletic that team officials expect him to sign with someone else (Twitter link).

Sacramento is looking for an upgrade at center over Willie Cauley-Stein, and Horford definitely qualifies. He has put up solid numbers for more than a decade in both Atlanta and Boston, earning five All-Star appearances, and is the mobile, floor-stretching style of big man that the Kings want to add.

Horford had been considered likely to stay with the Celtics, either by opting into a $30.1MM salary for next season or negotiating a longer deal with the team. However, he surprised the league two weeks ago by opting out and indicating that another team waiting with a massive contract.

DeMarcus Cousins Interested In Kings, But They’re Looking Elsewhere

June 30th, 2019 at 9:32am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins would be open to returning to Sacramento, league sources tell Jason Jones of The Athletic, but the Kings are looking for someone who fits their up-tempo style of play.

Cousins made three All-Star appearances during his six and a half years with the franchise, though he was often the center of controversy. He clashed with management, particularly coach George Karl, and criticized the organization for not assembling more talent around him. The Kings traded Cousins to New Orleans midway through the 2016/17 season to launch their rebuilding process.

Cousins played in 30 games for the Warriors this season after returning from a ruptured Achilles. His performances were uneven, but he managed to put up 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per night. He suffered a quad injury during the playoffs, but was able to return for the NBA Finals.

Dewayne Dedmon is a better fit for the Kings’ approach to the game, Jones adds, and we relayed their interest in the Hawks’ center last night.

Sacramento’s plan in free agency is to get an early commitment from Harrison Barnes on a four-year deal in the $88MM to $90MM range and then concentrate on finding a center. Jones states that when the offseason began, the front office was considering a new deal for incumbent starter Willie Cauley-Stein, but not the big-money contract he is hoping for. His inconsistency during the season is part of the reason the Kings are looking to make a move.

“If you’re talking about the Sacramento Kings, we know exactly how we’re going to play,” GM Vlade Divac said, “uptempo, athleticism and shooting. The big guy has to check all those boxes for us.”

Dewayne Dedmon Drawing Interest From Kings

June 29th, 2019 at 9:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings are interested in free agent center Dewayne Dedmon, a source tells James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

Sacramento is looking for an upgrade from Willie Cauley-Stein, who is on the market as a restricted free agent. The Kings issued a qualifying offer to Cauley-Stein on Friday, but that can be withdrawn if they find a better option.

Dedmon, who will turn 30 in August, has spent the past two seasons in Atlanta and is coming off a career-best year. He averaged 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds in 64 games.

A report earlier this week indicated that several teams are considering mid-level offers for Dedmon.

And-Ones: Trades, Antetokounmpo, World Cup

June 29th, 2019 at 1:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jae Crowder would be a nice contingency plan for the Warriors should they lose Kevin Durant in free agency, Kevin Pelton contends in a piece for ESPN+. Pelton argues a deal that sends Crowder, who has one year left on his contract, to Golden State for Shaun Livingston and a future first-rounder makes sense for both sides.

Other ESPN insiders write about the trade they’d like to see this summer, with Bobby Marks breaking down a Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade that sends Eric Gordon to Philadelphia and Clint Capela to Sacramento. The whole piece is worth checking out.

As we brace for an offseason of change, let’s take a look at some notes from around the league:

Giannis Antetokounmpo will play for Greece in the Basketball World Cup, according to Demetris Nellas of the Associated Press. “Whether I play the 1 [point guard] or the 5 [center], I don’t care,” the NBA MVP said. “I’m a basketball player. I want to help the team any way I can.”
The NBA has announced that the Academy Games will be in the United States for the first time in history. Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com provides a detailed look at the games in Atlanta, relaying that the camp will feature eight teams and approximately 90 players from around the world.
Isaiah Whitehead will play for the Trail Blazers‘ Summer League team, The Athletic’s Michael Scotto relays (Twitter link).
The Mavericks have announced their Summer League roster and former first-rounder Cameron Payne is among the notable players. Kostas Antetokounmpo, the brother of Giannis, is also playing for the team in Las Vegas.
Semaj Christon will play for the Kings‘ Summer League team, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia tweets.
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox has been invited to join Team USA’s Select Team, which will hold training camp in Las Vegas this summer, Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports passes along (Twitter links). Nets center Jarrett Allen has also been invited.

[In case you missed it: Team USA Announces 20-Player Roster For World Cup]

Pelicans, Kings Interested In Al Horford

June 29th, 2019 at 12:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pelicans are interested in Al Horford but fear that another team will outbid them for his services, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports (Twitter link).

Sacramento could be the team that the Pelicans are fearing. SI’s Chris Mannix tweets that many around the league see the Kings are a strong threat to make Horford a lucrative offer once free agency begins. Mannix adds that Horford fits what the team needs on the floor and could add leadership in the young locker room.

Stein had previously passed along that there was a sense around the league that Horford had a mystery team willing to make him a four-year offer worth in excess of $100MM. The scribe recently tweeted that the Pelicans may not be that suitor. While New Orleans is interested, the Kings might be the aggressive suitor that rival teams fear will win the Horford sweepstakes.

Kings Issue Qualifying Offer To Willie Cauley-Stein

June 28th, 2019 at 11:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have tendered a qualifying offer to Willie Cauley-Stein, making the big man a restricted free agent, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic (via Twitter).

While the news was expected, it won’t thrill Cauley-Stein’s agent, Roger Montgomery, who said last weekend that his client needs a “fresh start” and would be better off with another team. Montgomery hoped that Sacramento would choose not to issue a qualifying offer to Cauley-Stein, allowing him to reach the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

The Kings have been linked to bigger-name free agent centers in recent weeks, and there’s a good chance they’ll let Cauley-Stein walk if they can land a player like Al Horford, Nikola Vucevic, or Brook Lopez. However, it wouldn’t have made sense for Sacramento not to give Cauley-Stein a qualifying offer — retaining the right of first refusal on WCS will give the Kings a solid fallback option if they strike out on other targets.

Cauley-Stein’s qualifying offer is worth $6,265,631, and he’ll have a cap hold of $14,090,625, per Basketball Insiders. That cap hold will cut into the Kings’ cap flexibility, but the team has the ability to renounce it and clear it from the books if it decides Cauley-Stein won’t be back.

In 81 games (27.3 MPG) for the Kings in 2018/19, Cauley-Stein – the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft – averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG.

Kings Plan To Offer Four Years, Nearly $90MM To Harrison Barnes

June 28th, 2019 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are working toward a deal with free agent forward Harrison Barnes that would be worth approximately $88MM over four years, according to Carmichael Dave of The Drive 1140 (via Twitter).

Marc Stein of The New York Times corroborates the report, tweeting that he has heard Sacramento plans to offer Barnes a four-year contract worth nearly $90MM when free agency opens on Sunday.

Barnes, 27, was traded from the Mavericks to the Kings at February’s trade deadline in the third year of the four-year, maximum-salary contract he signed with Dallas back in 2016. For the season, he recorded 16.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG with a .420/.395/.824 shooting line in 77 games (32.9 MPG).

Barnes had a player option for the 2019/20 season that would have paid him more than $25MM, but opted to turn it down. Based on today’s update, it’s clear why he went in that direction — if he and the Kings finalize an agreement in the four-year, $90MM range, it wouldn’t be quite worth $25MM annually, but it would give him substantially more long-term security than his option would have.

When the Kings acquired Barnes from Dallas during the season, reports indicated that the team viewed him as its answer at small forward. However, head coach Dave Joerger ended up frequently using his new acquisition at the four. Presumably, Sacramento’s front office and new head coach Luke Walton are aligned on how to best use Barnes going forward.

Even if they complete a deal with Barnes, the Kings should have significant cap room left over to address other positions, including center. Sacramento’s exact cap-room figure will hinge on what they do with potential restricted free agent Willie Cauley-Stein and non-guaranteed guard Yogi Ferrell, among others. But the club could theoretically get up to $40MM+ in space after signing Barnes.

The Kings have been linked to free agent centers like Al Horford, Brook Lopez, and Nikola Vucevic, as well as veteran point guard Patrick Beverley. They should still have the flexibility to pursue a center and Beverley after locking up Barnes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Eyeing Horford, Lopez, Vucevic

June 28th, 2019 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers and Kings are among the potential suitors for Al Horford, according to ESPN’s report. Sacramento, in particular, has a clear path to making Horford a big offer, but the club is believed to have other centers – including Brook Lopez and Nikola Vucevic – on its list of potential targets, per ESPN.

[SOURCE LINK]

Kings Interested In Patrick Beverley

June 27th, 2019 at 10:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings are interested in Patrick Beverley, a source tells Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Beverley would help take the pressure off of De’Aaron Fox, serving as the point guard’s backup.

Beverley is reportedly seeking a deal in the three-year, $40MM range. The Kings should have no problem accommodating that type of contract, as the team has just under $53MM in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season.

The Mavericks, Bulls, Clippers, and Lakers are all also expected to have interested in Beverley. Most of those teams seem to have some sort of connection between them and the point guard. Beverley is from Chicago. He shares an agent with Mavs star Luka Doncic and he played in Los Angeles this past season.

Beverley made slightly more than $5MM last season and will almost certainly see a raise on his annual salary next season.