Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Notes: McLemore, Mason, Giles, Bagley

September 30th, 2018 at 12:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Shooting guard Ben McLemore has been among the pleasant surprises in Kings‘ training camp, relays Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. The Kings made McLemore the seventh pick in the 2013 draft and he spent the first four years of his NBA career in Sacramento before signing with the Grizzlies last year. The Kings brought him back in a trade this summer.

“My confidence is on high and I want to continue to get better each and every day, help my teammates … and do whatever they want me to do,” McLemore said. “That’s defensive, offensive, whatever the case might be. I’ve prepared myself all summer for this moment, so I’m ready.”

A knee injury to Bogdan Bogdanovic that required arthroscopic surgery could provide an early-season opportunity for McLemore. Bogdanovic is projected to miss four to six weeks, opening up some minutes in the backcourt. McLemore believes he can claim them and likes the up-tempo approach the Kings have adopted.

“The style of play they want to play, it fits me perfect, the way I play, the things I do,” he said. “I shoot the ball well, I run the floor, play defense, all those kinds of things.”

There’s more today from Sacramento:

Frank Mason is counting on better judgment to help him win an expanded role this season, Anderson adds in the same story. A backup point guard, Mason excels at getting to the basket but his drives often resulted in turnovers or forced shots. “[Last] year, I got in there and made a couple of wrong decisions, and some games I made the right decisions,” Mason said. “It’s just watching film and making the right reads and the right plays.”
Harry Giles is happy that his long wait to play in an NBA game is almost over, Anderson relays in a separate story. The 20th player drafted in 2017, Giles sat out all of last season as the Kings tried to protect his knees after a series of surgical procedures. He showed promise during summer league play and will make his debut in a Kings’ uniform tomorrow night in the preseason opener. “I love Harry’s game,” said teammate Willie Cauley-Stein. “He’s going to be a beast. Like most of us, coming into the league, you’ve got to find that pace, and once you find that pace it’s going to be scary.”
Kings fans probably won’t see Giles and this year’s top pick, Marvin Bagley, in the lineup together for a while, Anderson writes in another piece.

Kalin Lucas Signs With Kings

September 29th, 2018 at 3:57pm CST by clarkcrum

Michigan State alum, point guard Kalin Lucas, has signed with the Kings, per RealGM’s transaction log. The signing’s imminence was first reported by Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.

Lucas, 29, appeared in one game for the Grizzlies back during the 2014-15 season, but has not played in the NBA since. He spent last season with Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League after being waived by the Magic in October. He also played in the G League for the Iowa Energy on two separate occasions.

Lucas may be a candidate to return to the G League and play for the Stockton Kings if he is waived, or he may return back overseas, because it’s unlikely he makes the Kings’ roster with De’Aaron Fox, Yogi Ferrell, and Frank Mason all on guaranteed contracts.

Kings Still Interested In Facilitating Butler Trade

September 27th, 2018 at 8:04pm CST by JD Shaw

The Kings remain interested in serving as a third team in any Jimmy Butler deal, tweets Sam Amick of USA TODAY. Sacramento is willing to take on a bad contract, but the team will be cautious with its future cap flexibility.

Kings Sign Brandon Austin To Camp Deal

September 27th, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have added another player to their roster for training camp, signing Brandon Austin to a camp deal, as James Ham of NBC Sports California tweets. Austin, who spent time in the G League last season, appears likely to end up with the Reno Bighorns this season, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento.

Austin, a 6’8″ wing, went undrafted out of Northwest Florida State College in 2016. Last season, he appeared in 15 games for the Bighorns, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, averaging 9.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 16.5 minutes per contest.

With Austin under contract, the Kings are now carrying 19 players, one short of the preseason limit. That roster count includes 15 players on guaranteed salaries, three (Austin, Cameron Reynolds, and Jamel Artis) on non-guaranteed deals, and one (Wenyen Gabriel) on a two-way pact.

Kings Sign Cameron Reynolds

September 25th, 2018 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have completed a long-rumored signing, adding undrafted rookie Cameron Reynolds to their training camp roster, per Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento (Twitter link). The Kings’ agreement with the former Tulane wing was first reported way back in June, right after the 2018 draft came to an end.

In his final college season in 2017/18, Reynolds averaged 15.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 36.0 minutes per contest for Tulane. Although his three-point numbers took a little dip from 2016/17, he still made 2.0 threes per game at a rate of 35.3%.

Reynolds, who was a member of the Kings’ Summer League squads in the Sacramento and Las Vegas leagues in July, won’t be getting a two-way contract, according to Cunningham, who tweets that the 24-year-old will instead be joining the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate. That means he likely received an Exhibit 10 contract, which will assure him of some bonus money if he sticks with the Kings’ NBAGL squad this season.

The Kings now have 18 players under contract, including 15 on guaranteed deals, two (Reynolds and Jamel Artis) on non-guaranteed pacts, and one (Wenyen Gabriel) on a two-way deal.

Willie Cauley-Stein: “I’m Ready To Get Paid”

September 25th, 2018 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

While most players on expiring deals downplay the extent to which they’re thinking about their contract situation, that’s not the case for Willie Cauley-Stein. The fourth-year Kings big man told James Ham of NBC Sports California that he’s entering his contract year “ready to get paid.”

“I’m ready for it,” Cauley-Stein said. “I’ve seen everybody else – all my peers. Alright, I’m ready for that. What do I got to do to do that? That’s what they’re doing? Alright, I’m going to go ahead and do this now. I was doing it this way, obviously it wasn’t working, so now let’s do it this way.”

Because he’s in the fourth year of his rookie scale contract, Cauley-Stein is eligible to sign a contract extension up until October 15. However, Ham writes that the Kings are unlikely to do a long-term deal for the former sixth overall pick at this point. He’s more likely to reach restricted free agency next summer, so his play this season could go a long way toward determining what his market looks like in 2019.

In 73 games (58 starts) last season, Cauley-Stein established new career highs in PPG (12.8), RPG (7.0), APG (2.4), and several other categories. However, his production was somewhat inconsistent on a night-to-night basis, which is something he’ll be looking to improve upon heading into 2018/19.

“Consistency, that’s the word of the decade for me,” Cauley-Stein told Ham. “Consistency. That’s what’s going to get you paid. So I’m going to say it until it happens. That’s how it works these days. Just keep on talking about it, eventually it’s just going to happen.”

While Cauley-Stein looks like the frontrunner to open the season as Sacramento’s starting center, the 25-year-old will face plenty of competition for playing time. Over the offseason, the Kings added Marvin Bagley III and Nemanja Bjelica to a frontcourt that already includes Zach Randolph, Skal Labissiere, and Kosta Koufos. The team also envisions a regular role for Harry Giles, who missed his entire rookie year while recovering from ACL injuries.

Kings Open To Facilitating Three-Team Butler Trade

September 25th, 2018 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

Only one NBA team still has any real cap space available for the 2018/19 season, and that team – Sacramento – is keeping a close eye on the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. According to Wojnarowski, the Kings have been “aggressive” in courting both the Timberwolves and potential Butler suitors, offering to use their cap room to accommodate unwanted contracts.

As Wojnarowski explains, the Kings – who have about $11MM in cap space – don’t have their own first-round pick for 2019, but could be in position to acquire another team’s first-rounder or other assets as part of a three-way Butler swap. Sacramento assistant GM Brandon Williams has let teams know that his club isn’t opposed to taking on multiyear contracts, whether that means Gorgui Dieng‘s deal or perhaps a pricey contract from a potential Wolves trade partner like the Heat, Clippers, or Nets.

While the Kings don’t have enough cap room to absorb, say, Dieng’s $15MM+ salary on its own, the club could send out any number of expiring contracts to make the math work. Zach Randolph ($11.7MM), Iman Shumpert ($11MM), Kosta Koufos ($8.74MM), and Ben McLemore ($5.46MM) are among the Sacramento veterans on expiring deals.

As the Kings explore ways to get involved in a possible Butler deal, teams interested in acquiring the All-Star wing have been receiving mixed signals from the Timberwolves on what kind of assets they value, sources tell Wojnarowski. According to ESPN’s report, clubs dealing with the Wolves are also confused about whether to deal with owner Glen Taylor or front office execs Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden — there’s a perception that the management and ownership groups may not be in agreement on the structure and timetable of a potential trade.

Although Thibodeau tried on Monday to convince Butler to report to the team during the preseason, the 29-year-old remains adamantly opposed to ever practicing or playing with the Timberwolves again and has implored Thibodeau and Taylor to trade him soon to avoid prolonging the drama, writes Wojnarowski. While there has been some optimism among opposing teams that Minnesota will comply with that request, “renewed uncertainty and hazy chains of communication” have dominated recent talks, Woj adds.

Bogdan Bogdanovic Has Surgery, Out 4-6 Weeks

September 24th, 2018 at 7:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 24th: The team has released a timetable of 4-6 weeks for Bogdanovic’s return to action following the surgical procedure, according to a press release.

SEPTEMBER 21st: Kings swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic will undergo a minor arthroscopic procedure on his left knee on Monday, according to a team press release.

He injured the knee while playing for Serbia in a FIBA World Cup qualifier against Estonia on Monday. The procedure will be performed in New York and an update on his recovery time will be provided when available.

While the injury isn’t serious, it could obviously affect Bogdanovic’s status on opening night. He’s projected to start at small forward. If he missing any games, Nemanja Bjelica and Justin Jackson are the most likely players to pick up those minutes.

Bogdanovic appeared in 78 games last season and averaged 11.8 PPG and 3.3 APG.

Jimmy Butler Rumors: Thibs, Kings, Nets, Pistons

September 24th, 2018 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Although Jimmy Butler didn’t participate in the Timberwolves‘ Media Day on Monday, he was in Minnesota and took his physical, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. As Reynolds relays, head coach Tom Thibodeau – who said that Butler could be about a week from being ready to play – also sounded like a man who was open to the idea of dealing his All-Star wing.

“We’re not going to make a bad deal,” Thibodeau said. “If it’s a good deal, we’re interested.”

According to Thibodeau, last week’s trade request from Butler was the first time the 29-year-old had taken such a stance, forcing the situation to come to “a head” (Twitter link via Chris Hine of The Star Tribune). Thibodeau also acknowledged that there was risk involved in acquiring Butler last year, but said he thought the Timberwolves would have a good chance to lock him up long-term. “It didn’t work out,” Thibodeau said today (Twitter link via Jerry Zgoda).

After making it clear that the Wolves will consider potential trades with teams besides the ones on Butler’s wish list, Thibodeau added that if Minnesota can’t make a deal in the next week and Butler is done with his conditioning and rehab work, the All-NBA swingman will be expected to rejoin the team (Twitter links via Michael Rand and Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune).

Here’s more on Butler:

Thibodeau said today that he isn’t worried about his own authority – or job – as a result of the Butler situation. “Not at all. I never worry about that,” Thibodeau said (Twitter link via Michael Rand). “[The] important thing is to understand … what your job is. Your job is to acquire best talent to help your team win.”
Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link) believes a trade will happen “sooner rather than later,” though probably not today.
League sources maintain to David Aldridge of NBA.com that the Timberwolves will hold out for at least one first-round pick as part of a Butler trade, and will also want some “young vets” who can grow with the club’s remaining core.
The Kings are on the list of teams interested in discussing a possible Butler trade with the Timberwolves, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
As of late Sunday night, the Nets weren’t negotiating with the Timberwolves on a Butler deal, according to Newsday’s Greg Logan, who believes Brooklyn isn’t eager to sacrifice a ton of assets for the Timberwolves wing (Twitter links).
Don’t count on the Pistons swinging a blockbuster trade for Butler, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News.

Tyler Ulis Signs Camp Deal With Warriors

September 24th, 2018 at 11:03am CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 24: The Warriors have officially signed Ulis, the team announced today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 21: Point guard Tyler Ulis will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Warriors, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. The former Suns guard will join them in camp, though he’ll likely wind up with the team’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Anthony Johnson of 2Ways10Days tweets.

Ulis also had similar offers from the Rockets and Kings, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets.

The Suns waived Ulis at the end of June, ending his disappointing stint with the club. The 2106 second-rounder out of Kentucky started 58 games in his two seasons with Phoenix and appeared in 132 games overall but the front office didn’t see him in its future plans. He was cut loose before his modest $1.54MM salary for the upcoming season became guaranteed, a move that upset star shooting guard Devin Booker.

Ulis has been seeking new employment ever since and had a workout with the Cavaliers earlier this month. The Warriors already have Shaun Livingston and Quinn Cook as options behind starting point guard Stephen Curry, so Ulis can be viewed as an insurance policy if an injury strikes.