Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Marcus Smart Meeting With Teams In Vegas

July 11th, 2018 at 7:44am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11, 7:44am: The Nets are among the teams to meet with Smart in Las Vegas, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. However, Lewis is skeptical of Brooklyn’s willingness to do an aggressive offer sheet for the veteran guard, noting that the team has less than $11MM in cap room available and has been trying to avoid taking on salary beyond 2018/19.

JULY 10, 3:56pm: As he continues to seek a new deal, restricted free agent guard Marcus Smart met with two teams on Monday in Las Vegas and is meeting with two more on Tuesday, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. That group of teams includes clubs from both conferences, per Himmelsbach’s source.

There have been conflicting reports in recent weeks on Smart’s asking price and on which teams might be interested in him. According to Himmelsbach, a source familiar with the negotiations said that the Celtics guard is open to a multiyear contract worth less than $15MM per season. Smart’s price tag may have come down since free agency began, since he said in the spring that he believed he was worth more than $12-14MM per year.

As for potential suitors, the Kings were said on Monday to be preparing an offer sheet for Smart, but a report out of Sacramento this morning disputed that notion. A league source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that the Kings don’t have interest in making a play for the 24-year-old.

If the Kings are really out on Smart, it’s not clear which club represents his best chance for an offer sheet. While the Hawks and Bulls still have cap room available, neither team has been linked to him. The Nets could also have enough room to put together an offer sheet after buying out Dwight Howard, but they have a backcourt logjam of their own and wouldn’t be able to offer more than about $11MM without additional roster moves.

Smart could try to negotiate a new deal with the Celtics, but a source close to the player tells Himmelsbach that Smart’s camp had no further talks with Boston on Monday. The C’s seemingly prefer to let Smart find an offer sheet, with the intention of matching any offer within reason. If no offer sheet emerges, the former sixth overall pick may simply sign his one-year qualifying offer.

Kings Preparing Offer For Marcus Smart?

July 10th, 2018 at 8:11am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 10, 8:11am: A source tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that there’s “nothing to” the report of the Kings’ interest in Smart, suggesting that no offer sheet is imminent (Twitter links).

Over the last couple weeks, Sacramento has been linked to Smart, Rodney Hood, and Jabari Parker, all of whom remain available. There was also a report indicating that the team planned to focus on the trade market using its cap room, so it appears there’s no clear consensus on which direction the Kings will go with that remaining space. The club currently has about $19.5MM available.

JULY 9, 8:30pm: The Kings are preparing an offer sheet to Celtics restricted free agent guard Marcus Smart, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston tweets.

The Kings have been aggressive in free agency, giving Bulls guard Zach LaVine a four-year, $78MM offer sheet that Chicago opted to match. They are apparently intent on upgrading their off-guard position.

It’s unlikely Smart will get an offer anywhere near that amount but it’s also less likely that Boston will match a large multi-year deal. Smart has been frustrated with the lack of offers and by the Celtics’ unwillingness to reach out to him to negotiate a new contract.

Blakely reported on Saturday that Smart was likely to accept the Celtics’ $6.1MM qualifying offer and try his luck as an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Kings’ interest in Smart could change that dynamic.

Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe recently reported that teams are willing to give Smart about $9MM annually, but he is looking for much more.

Smart battled through injuries last season, appearing in 54 regular-season games while averaging 10.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 4.8 APG.

Bagley To Miss Remainder Of Summer League

July 9th, 2018 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings lottery pick Marvin Bagley III has a pelvic bone bruise and will miss the remainder of summer-league action, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports tweets. Bagley, who suffered the injury during the Kings’ game against the Suns on Saturday, will be able to resume basketball activities after 1-2 weeks of rest. The 6’11” Bagley was the No. 2 pick in the draft after one season at Duke.

Kings Have Kicked Tires On Nick Young

July 9th, 2018 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) describes the Rodney Hood sweepstakes as a three-team race involving the Cavaliers, Kings, and Bulls. Sacramento and Chicago are two of the only teams with the cap room necessary to make a viable offer to Hood — we wrote about the Kings’ interest in the RFA swingman earlier today.
Free agent swingman Nick Young has received some interest from the Kings, Grizzlies, Rockets, Cavaliers, Jazz, and Timberwolves, among others, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. According to Wolfson, Young views Minnesota as as “good opportunity” but the club’s interest hasn’t been as aggressive as it was a year ago.

Kings Have Shown Interest In Rodney Hood

July 9th, 2018 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings were unable to secure Zach LaVine‘s services this weekend, with the Bulls officially matching Sacramento’s four-year offer sheet to the guard on Sunday. However, the Kings may still be considering another move on the restricted free agent market.

League sources tell Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that Sacramento has shown interest in Cavaliers RFA Rodney Hood, though Jones cautions that talks haven’t progressed to the point where an offer sheet is imminent.

As Jones notes, the Kings are close to having a full roster, but still have approximately $19.5MM in cap room and remain on the lookout for a small forward. As such, it might make sense for the team to make an aggressive play for someone like Hood, a swingman who is young enough that he could continue to develop along with the rest of Sacramento’s young roster.

Hood, 25, spent his first three and a half seasons in Utah before being sent to Cleveland in a deadline-day trade in February. The former first-round pick struggled with the Cavs, but posted solid overall numbers in 60 regular season games in 2017/18, averaging 14.7 PPG on .429/.381/.860 shooting.

The Cavaliers have $106MM+ in guaranteed salaries on their books so far for 10 players, and certainly won’t want to go back into tax territory this season, so they may not match an aggressive offer for Hood.

If the Kings don’t make a play for Hood or another free agent, they’ll likely turn to the trade market as they look to add a small forward and use their remaining cap room to absorb an unwanted contract or two and pick up extra assets.

Bulls Match Kings’ Offer Sheet For Zach LaVine

July 8th, 2018 at 11:38am CST by Arthur Hill

As expected, the Bulls have officially matched the offer sheet the Kings presented to Zach LaVine, the team announced on Twitter.

The contract, which is fully guaranteed with no options, will pay LaVine $78MM over the next four years. It also includes financial protections for the Bulls in case LaVine experiences further problems with his surgically repaired left knee. Under NBA rules, the Bulls cannot trade LaVine without his consent or send him to the Kings under any circumstances for an entire year, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.

“We were excited last summer when we got a dynamic athlete in Zach LaVine through the trade,” said Bulls executive John Paxson, “and we’re excited now that we get to keep him.” (Twitter link from K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.)

LaVine was the centerpiece of a deal that sent Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves on the night of the 2017 draft. Chicago was willing to gamble on LaVine even though he was coming off a torn ACL. He sat out the first half of his first season with the Bulls, then averaged 16.7 PPG in 24 games after recovering.

Chicago appears to still be functioning as an over-the-cap team after matching LaVine’s offer, but it could get up to about $19MM in space by waiving Sean Kilpatrick, Paul Zipser (non-guaranteed) and Julyan Stone while keeping David Nwaba‘s cap hold on its books. That would also involve renouncing all the team’s exceptions, including three traded player exceptions.

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Grant, Payne, Stone

July 7th, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls will be investing in an unknown commodity by matching the Kings’ four-year, $78MM offer sheet for Zach LaVine, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Chicago’s most recent offer to LaVine was only about $2MM less per year than the deal with the Kings, so it’s not a great financial burden for the team to take on. The bigger question is what kind of player LaVine will be after an ACL tear limited him to a combined 71 games over the past two seasons.

The 23-year-old got into just 24 contests in his first season with Chicago and wasn’t particularly effective. LaVine averaged 16.7 points per game, but shot a career-low 38.3% from the floor and the Bulls were outscored by 7.2 PPG while he was on the court. Friedell states that LaVine hasn’t progressed beyond what he was when he entered the league, an athletic marvel who lacks efficiency on offense and consistency on defense.

The Bulls may also have to repair their relationship with LaVine, who said he felt more wanted by the Kings in free agency. The front office believes it has to match LaVine’s offer sheet so it won’t lose the centerpiece of the Jimmy Butler trade, Friedell adds, but it isn’t certain that it’s getting a player to build around for the next four seasons.

There’s more news out of Chicago:

An escalating salary cap will make LaVine’s new contract look better in future years, notes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Conflicting reports give LaVine a starting salary of either $18.1MM or $19.5MM, which would be either 17.8% or 19.1% of the salary cap, and that percentage will fall in future years as the cap continues to rise. Johnson also notes that the Kings did the Bulls a favor by putting substantial injury protection for themselves in the deal in case LaVine has more problems with his left knee. Chicago’s front office didn’t suggest that in its negotiations out of fear of angering LaVine and his representatives.
Tonight’s decision to trade Jerian Grant was a sign of confidence in Cameron Payne as the backup point guard, Johnson adds in a separate story. The Bulls will save about $1MM in swapping Grant for Julyan Stone and another $1,656,092 by waiving Stone before his August 1 guarantee date. Injuries have limited Payne to just 36 games since being acquired from the Thunder at the 2017 trade deadline.
The Bulls will create a $2.6MM trade exception in tonight’s deal, tweets salary cap specialist Albert Nahmad. The team can open as much as $29MM before officially matching LaVine’s offer sheet by waiving Paul Zipser and Sean Kilpatrick (Twitter link).

Kings Waive Nigel Hayes

July 7th, 2018 at 2:22pm CST by clarkcrum

The Kings have placed the contract of forward Nigel Hayes on waivers, reports James Ham of NBC Sports California. Hayes’ deal was non-guaranteed until January 10, so the Kings will not be on the hook for any of Hayes’ salary, nor will the team incur a cap hit.

Hayes, who was scheduled to earn $1.38MM this season, was a casualty of the Kings’ offer sheet to Zach LaVine. To clear the required $19.5MM in cap space to fit LaVine’s offer, the Kings were also forced to renounce their rights to Vince Carter and Bruno Caboclo, whose combined cap holds totaled nearly $17MM.

It’s also likely that the acquisition of Marvin Bagley and Harry Giles’ expected return from injury made Hayes expendable; however, per Ham, Hayes remains a member of the Kings’ Las Vegas Summer League team. Accordingly, Sacramento may still plan to bring him back at a later date.

Hayes, 23, played nine games during his rookie season in 2017/18, where he averaged 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.

Zach LaVine Signs Kings’ Offer Sheet; Bulls To Match

July 6th, 2018 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:10pm: The Bulls plan to match the offer sheet, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The cap hit for the Bulls will be $19.5MM annually, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

7:04pm: Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine has agreed a four-year, $80MM offer sheet from the Kings, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Chicago has 48 hours to match the offer for the restricted free agent.

The offer includes a full guarantee with no options, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.

The Bulls made LaVine an offer, but not nearly for the amount Sacramento placed on the table, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears.

“I’m disappointed that I had to get an offer sheet from another team. But Sacramento stepped up and made a strong impression,” LaVine told Spears. “It appears that Sacramento wants me more than Chicago.”

Spears reports the offer as $78MM. In any case, Chicago will have to pony up to retain the talented wing.

LaVine averaged 16.7 PPG in 24 games last season after returning from a torn left ACL. He was traded last offseason by the Timberwolves in the Jimmy Butler blockbuster.

The Kings are the first rival suitor to make a concrete offer to a restricted free agent this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings To Focus On Trade Market With Cap Room?

July 6th, 2018 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are one of three NBA teams with significant cap room still available and have been linked to big-name restricted free agents like Jabari Parker and Zach LaVine within the last week or two. However, rather than making a bid for an RFA, Sacramento may take another route with its cap space.

According to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, the Kings intend to focus on the trade market, hoping to use their cap room to absorb an unwanted contract or two and collect extra draft assets. The ideal scenario for the team, Jones suggests, would be to acquire a veteran small forward in a trade and pick up a 2019 first-rounder, since Sacramento’s own 2019 pick is headed to the Celtics or Sixers.

While Jones confirms that Sacramento has expressed interest in Parker and LaVine, the prospect of reshaping the roster around either player, plus the uncertainty surrounding an offer sheet – which could be matched by the Bucks and Bulls, respectively – may ultimately discourage the club from pursuing either RFA. The Kings also view Parker as a power forward and aren’t looking to add more players at that spot, Jones notes.

The Kings have been on the lookout for a small forward in free agency, offering slightly more money to Mario Hezonja than the $6.5MM he’ll reportedly receive from the Knicks. However, if the team can add a small forward in a trade that also includes another asset or two, it may be a win in both the short- and long-term for the franchise.

While Jones doesn’t identify any specific trade partners the Kings may talk to, Bobby Marks’ list of clubs with the highest projected 2018/19 team salaries gives us a pretty good idea of which teams might be looking to cut costs.

The Thunder are one possible trade partner, though Alex Abrines and Kyle Singler may not appeal much to the Kings, and Carmelo Anthony is unlikely to approve a trade to Sacramento. The Raptors could be an intriguing fit if they’re looking to get out of the tax, or at least to reduce their projected tax bill — Norman Powell is believed to be available, and C.J. Miles could be too.