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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 4/3/19

April 3rd, 2019 at 7:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Warriors have recalled rookie wing Jacob Evans from the G League, the team announced today in a press release. The Santa Cruz Warriors’ season is over after they were eliminated in the Western semifinal, so Evans should be back with Golden State for the rest of the season.

Earlier updates:

  • The Kings have recalled recently-signed shooting guard B.J. Johnson from the G League, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link via Jason Jones of The Athletic). With their own G League affiliate done for the season, the Kings sent Johnson to his old team, the Lakeland Magic, for Tuesday’s semifinal vs. Long Island. Despite Johnson’s 22 points and 11 rebounds, Lakeland lost and was eliminated from the NBAGL playoffs, so the 23-year-old should stick with Sacramento for the rest of the season.
  • The Nets have recalled rookie forward Dzanan Musa from the G League after Tuesday’s semifinal, the team announced today (via Twitter). The NBAGL Finals are set to begin on Sunday, so Musa seems like a good bet to rejoin Long Island for that best-of-three series.
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Kings Sign B.J. Johnson

April 2nd, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

2:19pm: In their announcement officially confirming Johnson’s signing, the Kings added that he’ll be assigned to the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s affiliate. That move will allow Johnson to continue his NBAGL playoff run with Lakeland.

11:09am: After signing a pair of 10-day contracts with Atlanta earlier this year, rookie swingman B.J. Johnson will finish the 2018/19 season with another NBA team. According to Jason Jones of The Athletic (via Twitter), the Kings are signing Johnson for the rest of the season. NBA.com’s official transactions log confirms that the move was finalized on Monday.

Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, has spent most of his first professional season playing for the Lakeland Magic in the G League. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .476/.444/.841 in 39 NBAGL games, earning him an NBA shot with the Hawks.

Over the span of 20 days in Atlanta, the 23-year-old appeared in six games, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.3 RPG in limited minutes (7.2 MPG).

The Kings had an open spot on their 15-man roster after Cody Demps‘ 10-day deal expired, so no corresponding move is necessary to create room for Johnson, who figures to earn a rest-of-season minimum salary worth just over $47K. There’s no indication yet that his new contract includes any form of team option for 2019/20.

Jones adds that the Kings intend to immediately assign Johnson to the G League so he can resume playing in the postseason. However, Sacramento’s own affiliate – the Stockton Kings – has been eliminated from the NBAGL playoffs, and it’s not clear that assignment rules would allow the Kings to send him back to his old team in Lakeland. We’ll wait for official word on Johnson’s status.

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Pacific Notes: Bell, Chase Center, Oubre, Kings

March 31st, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by marksuleymanov

Following a one-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team,” Warriors big man Jordan Bell has apologized to the team and hopes to move on from the incident, ESPN’s Nick Friedell writes.

“I made an error of judgment,” Bell said to NBC Sports Bay Area. “And I thought I was doing something funny, and it wasn’t. But I apologized to the individuals involved, and I hope to continue to move forward from this mistake.”

The incident in question involved Bell making unauthorized charges to assistant coach Mike Brown’s hotel room, as Friedell confirms. While the nature of the incident reportedly stems from a rookie hazing Bell underwent himself, the Warriors are also concerned about Bell’s work ethic this season.

Check out more Pacific Division notes:

  • The Warriors are in the midst of building a new home arena, Chase Center, which is set to open later this season. However, the new venue has generated over $2 billion in revenue before it’s official opening, according to a Bloomberg report.
  • Suns wing Kelly Oubre has nothing but fond memories of his tenure with the Wizards in Washington, Josh Luckenbaugh of NBC Sports Washington writes. “It’s always love,” Oubre said. “D.C. fans have embraced me from day one, and I have nothing but love for them.” 
  • After Saturday’s loss to the Rockets, the Kings were officially eliminated from postseason contention. As Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes, the loss ended a promising season that generated plenty of optimism for the team’s future.
  • ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Subscription required) dives into the Kings‘ next moves, which includes key decisions on the long-term futures of Buddy Hield and Willie Cauley-Stein
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/28/19

March 28th, 2019 at 9:10pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

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Pacific Notes: Vucevic, Clippers, Bell, LeBron

March 28th, 2019 at 11:06am CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings will be among the teams chasing Magic center Nikola Vucevic in free agency this summer, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. In a question-and-answer column, Amick states that Vucevic is a target for Sacramento, adding that it will likely take a maximum offer to land him. The Kings’ cap space will depend on what Harrison Barnes does with his $25.1MM player option, but they may be able to put together a max deal even if Barnes opts in.

At age 28, Vucevic doesn’t quite fit with the Kings’ collection of young players, but Sacramento’s interest could be an indication that the club is speeding up its timeline to become a contender. Signing Vucevic would probably mean the Kings would be done with Willie Cauley-Stein, who will be a restricted free agent this summer.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler are the free agents most likely to want to join the Clippers if they can open two max salary slots, Amick adds in the same column. However, he adds that sources have told him L.A.’s interest in signing Butler is “slim to none.” Amick also expects the Clippers to be among the teams submitting a trade offer to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis.
  • Jordan Bell‘s one-game suspension was the result of charging a hotel purchase to assistant coach Mike Brown, report Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The amount that Bell charged at a Memphis hotel hasn’t been released and it’s not clear if the purchase was intended as a prank, but the team believed it warranted disciplinary action. “The (press) release was self-explanatory,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters Wednesday. “He’s suspended for tonight’s game for conduct detrimental to the team. Beyond that, it’s our business and nobody else’s. We’ll move on.” This may be Bell’s last season with Golden State, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports, who notes that Bell is headed toward restricted free agency and the Warriors have one of the league’s largest luxury tax bills.
  • With the Lakers out of playoff contention, they are no longer playing LeBron James in both ends of back-to-back games, relays Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. James didn’t make the trip to Utah on Wednesday, with coach Luke Walton saying he remained behind for treatment. The long-term health of the 34-year-old star will be the organization’s top priority for the rest of the season.
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Bobby Marks Previews Kings' Offseason

March 27th, 2019 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams
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Knicks Offered Porzingis To Kings For Fox

March 26th, 2019 at 10:04am CST by Arthur Hill

With Luka Doncic on the draft board, the Kings received several offers for De’Aaron Fox last June, including one from the Knicks that included Kristaps Porzingis, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN. Sources tell Lowe that New York was asking for additional assets along with Fox or would have required Sacramento to take on some unwanted salary.

That trade and others never materialized because the Kings didn’t want to move down and risk losing Marvin Bagley III. They also weren’t interested in taking Doncic because they didn’t want to interfere with Fox’s development as a playmaker.

“I like Luka,” GM Vlade Divac said, “but we didn’t want to overload with players who — maybe they don’t have the exact same characteristics, but if you want to develop the guys you have, you have to make sure they have room to develop.”

Fox has rewarded their confidence, posting a 17.4/3.8/7.2 line in his second NBA season and putting himself in the running for Most Improved Player. He also sparked a turnaround for the Kings that had them in contention for their first playoff berth in more than a decade before tailing off.

Sacramento’s front office will face some important decisions soon about how to build for the future, Lowe notes. Fox, Bagley and Harry Giles are all in their early 20s. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes, who was acquired from the Mavericks last month, are all 26 with free agency looming next summer. Willie Cauley-Stein will be a restricted free agent in July, and Lowe suggests that his defensive shortcomings should make the Kings pass on matching any offer that exceeds the mid-level exception of about $9MM.

Divac isn’t concerned about the gap in the timeline or the danger of losing any key pieces in free agency.

“I would be if Foxy, Harry and Marvin weren’t better than people think,” he said. “They will be ready earlier. And if they are not, they are still the core. We will surround them with players who will help them get to the next level.”

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Joerger: Bagley Is Better Than Doncic

March 25th, 2019 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have taken a lot of criticism for passing on Luka Doncic with the No. 2 pick last June and selecting Marvin Bagley III instead but head coach Dave Joerger says the franchise made the right decision, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes.

“I think you look (at) — especially high picks — to me, just take the best player you can get, and I think we got the best player,” the Kings’ coach said. “I just think the sky’s the limit for Marvin, and I don’t know how high Luka’s (ceiling) is. I think he’s had a terrific season. I’ve enjoyed watching him, (but) we’re fired up about our guy. You talk about just scraping the tip of what he can do talent-wise. I think it’s going to be really fun to be around him for a long, long time.”

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/23/19

March 23rd, 2019 at 9:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Kings have assigned Cody Demps, who signed a 10-day contract yesterday, back to their Stockton affiliate, tweets Jason Jones of The Athletic. He’s posting an 11.8/4.8/3.2 line in 49 G League games.
  • The Spurs assigned Lonnie Walker to Austin for tonight’s regular season finale, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).
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Kings Sign Cody Demps To 10-Day Contract

March 22nd, 2019 at 10:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have signed free agent guard Cody Demps to a 10-day contract, the club announced today in a press release. Sacramento had an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary to create room.

Demps is a local product who played his college ball at Sacramento State and has spent the past two years with the Kings’ G League affiliate. In 49 games (41 starts) for the Stockton Kings this season, he has averaged 11.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.2 APG on .446/.308/.802 shooting.

Sacramento’s roster looks fairly healthy at this point, so it’s not clear whether Demps will see much playing time in the next 10 days. If he impresses the Kings during that stretch, perhaps he’ll earn a rest-of-season contract, though his 10-day stint in Sacramento could end up being more of a reward for the work he has put in for the club’s NBAGL squad.

As a rookie, Demps will earn $47,371 over the course of his 10-day deal.

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