- The Cavaliers supposedly wanted the option of buying out Kings guard George Hill after this season, which is one reason the two teams couldn’t complete a trade, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports (via Dan Feldman of NBC Sports). Currently Hill’s $19MM for 2018/19 is fully guaranteed. Only $1MM of Hill’s $18MM in 2019/20 is guaranteed, however.
After suffering a health scare during Sunday’s game in San Antonio, Kings head coach Dave Joerger has been cleared to return to the team’s sideline, the team announced today in a press release. Joerger is expected to resume coaching the Kings sometime within the next week.
Joerger experienced some light-headedness during the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Spurs and had to take a knee on the sideline. He returned home to Sacramento and underwent a series of precautionary medical evaluations and tests this week, with the results suggesting that he’s in “fine health,” according to the Kings.
Assistant coach Elston Turner will assume interim head coaching duties until Joerger is ready to return, beginning with Tuesday night’s game in New Orleans. Sacramento’s next game will be at home on Friday, so it’s possible Joerger will be good to go for that contest.
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee answered several reader questions pertaining to possible trades and the Kings‘ future.
- While his name has been embroiled in trade speculation, Kings guard George Hill is intent on being a good teammate in Sacramento for as long as he’s in Sacramento, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. “Right now, I’m with the Sacramento Kings, and I’m trying to help these young fellas learn,” Hill said. “It’s about the relationships I’ve got with the players. We’ve got a bond, and it’s my job to teach those guys what I’ve been successful with.“
Nuggets veterans Kenneth Faried and Emmanuel Mudiay could be had in trades at this year’s deadline, league sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who suggests that the asking prices for those players likely wouldn’t be too high. I identified both Faried and Mudiay as potential trade candidates in my look at the Northwest on Wednesday.
If the Nuggets become a seller, Will Barton would also be a very intriguing trade chip, Kyler writes. However, that may be wishful thinking on the part of rival teams. Denver currently holds a playoff spot in the West and Barton has played the second-most minutes on the club, so it seems unlikely that the Nuggets would move him. Ultimately, the team may not end up trading anyone — Kyler suggests there’s a sense around the NBA that Denver isn’t looking to make a deal as aggressively as several other teams.
Here’s more from Kyler:
- Sources close to the Heat acknowledge that teams have called about Hassan Whiteside, but say he probably won’t be made available at the deadline, writes Kyler.
- The Mavericks “have had eyes” for Julius Randle, and would be a potential trade partner for L.A. if the Lakers move the big man. Kyler refers to Dallas a “open for business” in terms of trades.
- According to Kyler, the prevailing thought around the NBA is that Willy Hernangomez is the player most likely to be moved by the Knicks, though he’s unlikely to net a significant return.
- While many league insiders think Nikola Mirotic will end up in Utah, the Jazz don’t currently seem to be on board with sending a first-round pick to the Bulls, says Kyler.
- Team sources tell Kyler that Garrett Temple and Zach Randolph are more likely than not to finish the season in Sacramento, but the Kings have been “very open and receptive” to trying to find their veterans new homes.
- Although the Magic are viewed as a team that could be active at the deadline, the team is reluctant to take back long-term salary and would be happy to ride out the season and make changes in the summer if necessary, per Kyler.
Despite multiple reports earlier this week suggesting that momentum was building toward a trade that would send George Hill to Cleveland, the Cavaliers and Kings are further apart than initially believed, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. According to Vardon, there are still “significant hurdles” to clear before a deal can be completed.
Reports on Tuesday indicated that the Cavs and Kings were making progress on a trade that would include Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye, and perhaps Derrick Rose and/or a second-round pick. However, one source tells Vardon that the two teams were speaking “conceptually” and weren’t on the verge of pulling the trigger. Another of Vardon’s sources said that the Cavs wanted to change the parameters of a potential deal.
As I noted on Tuesday, a deal involving Hill, Shumpert, Frye, and Rose would make sense for both clubs. Shumpert, Frye, and Rose have a combined cap hit of $19.23MM this season, which nearly matches Hill’s $20MM cap charge. Both Frye and Rose are on expiring contracts, which would appeal to the rebuilding Kings, who would subsequently be on the hook for Shumpert’s $11MM player option for 2018/19 instead of Hill’s fully guaranteed $19MM salary. The Cavs, meanwhile, would add a veteran guard who has had a down year but would be a good fit in their rotation if he can recapture his previous form.
The Cavs still have two weeks until the February 8 trade deadline, so there’s plenty of time to work out the specifics on a trade for Hill. If the two teams can’t reach an agreement and the Kings don’t find another taker for the veteran guard, a buyout isn’t out of the question, according to Vardon, who writes that Sacramento is ready to move on from Hill.
As they weigh the merits of a deal, the Cavs are also making changes to their lineup in the hopes of busting out of their current slump. Head coach Tyronn Lue said today that Tristan Thompson will replace Jae Crowder in the club’s starting lineup, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Nuggets will face a crucial decision with third-year center Nikola Jokic after this season, and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports examines the possibilities. Denver has a team option to keep Jokic for the minimum salary of a little more than $1.6MM next season, but that would make him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019. The Nuggets could choose to decline that option, making him a restricted free agent this summer with Denver being able to match any offers. Feldman estimates Jokic could get about $109MM [about $27MM annually] over four years in restricted free agency or $146MM over five years [about $29MM annually] in an offer from the Nuggets.
There are benefits to keeping Jokic on a minimum salary for another year with more than $110MM already committed for 12 players next season. Giving Jokic a max deal for 2018/19 could put the team so far into the luxury tax that it couldn’t escape by trading Kenneth Faried or Mason Plumlee. Opt-out decisions by Wilson Chandler [more than $12.8MM for next season] or Darrell Arthur [nearly $7.5MM] could help ease the tax burden, but neither is certain to do that.
There’s more today out of Denver:
- After being slowed by illness for much of the season, Juan Hernangomez is healthy and ready to contribute, relays Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. The second-year center contracted mononucleosis in October and was available for just two of the season’s first 12 games. He was sidelined by the flu in late December and has appeared in only 18 games so far. “I said to Coach [Michael Malone], ‘I’m ready if you need me,’” Hernangomez said. “I don’t say ‘I need to play.’ Of course I want to play. But I don’t [put] pressure on him, because he’s the coach and he makes the decisions. I just tell him I’m ready, in any case, and I’m ready to bring my energy.”
- The Nuggets need to admit Emmanuel Mudiay was a failed draft pick and find a veteran to help them reach the playoffs, contends Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. The seventh pick in the 2015 draft, Mudiay has struggled with his shot since coming to Denver. Kizsla suggests Sacramento’s George Hill as an option, although the Kings would have to be persuaded to take Faried’s contract in return, or possibly Orlando’s D.J. Augustin as a lower-cost option.
- Jusuf Nurkic made his first trip back to Denver this week since being traded to Portland last year and wasn’t eager to reminisce, Mizell writes in a separate story. Nurkic said he has “no relationship” with Malone. “Everybody knows why we didn’t work [in Denver],” Nurkic said. “To be honest, I’m happy I’m here. The story’s over. I have a new story, and I’m really excited where I am.”
The Kings have made Skal Labissiere and Malachi Richardson available for a possible trade, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. Jones cites the possibly looming George Hill trade as the driving factor behind their looking to unload a young player.
If the Kings are to take on Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye from the Cavaliers as has been reported (in addition to draft compensation), they would need to first clear up a roster spot.
Last season the Kings addressed a similar scenario by waiving Matt Barnes ahead of the DeMarcus Cousins trade in which they netted one additional player. This time around, however, the club could potentially benefit more from parlaying one of their prospects into something valuable than just outright releasing somebody.
While Richardson has been buried behind players like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield in the depth chart, Labissiere showed considerable promise following the Cousins deal that went down part-way through his rookie season.
Labissiere, still just 21 years old, is averaging 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 2017/18 but posted 10.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game after the All-Star break in 2016/17 (sans Cousins).
4:05pm: The Kings would receive some sort of draft compensation from the Cavs in the proposed deal for Hill, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Meanwhile, Frye would likely become a buyout candidate if he’s dealt to Sacramento, Stein adds.
If a deal happens and the Kings and Cavs agree on a second-round pick rather than a first-rounder, it would have to change hands sometime down the road — Cleveland has traded its next three second-round selections, though the club does hold Miami’s 2020 second-rounder.
3:32pm: The Cavaliers’ reported interest in Kings guard George Hill is “real,” according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who tweets that the Cavs appear more open to taking on money beyond 2017/18 than they were two months ago. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Cleveland and Sacramento continue to talk about a possible deal involving Hill, with Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye among the probable outgoing pieces for the Cavs.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (video link) also hears that Cleveland has made legit progress in talks on Hill, suggesting today during an appearance on The Jump that the two teams are “way down the road” on a potential trade. It’s at the “one-yard line,” according to Windhorst.
Of course, the last time we heard that sort of NFL-inspired metaphor applied to NBA trade talks was in an offseason report suggesting that the Rockets were getting close to acquiring Carmelo Anthony — obviously, that swap didn’t pan out. Still, it appears that the Cavs are in position to potentially pull the trigger on a deal for Hill before the February 8 deadline, if they so choose.
Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link) hears that the Kings – who have a full 15-man roster – are looking to move a player or two to clear the roster space necessary to complete an unbalanced trade. According to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, a deal for Hill could include Derrick Rose in addition to Shumpert and Frye, in which case Sacramento would need to open up two roster spots.
A trade along those lines would make sense for both clubs. Shumpert, Frye, and Rose have a combined cap hit of $19.23MM this season, which nearly matches Hill’s $20MM cap charge. Both Frye and Rose are on expiring contracts, which would appeal to the rebuilding Kings, who would subsequently be on the hook for Shumpert’s $11MM player option for 2018/19 instead of Hill’s fully guaranteed $19MM salary. The Cavs, meanwhile, would add a reliable veteran guard who has had a down year but would be a very good fit in their rotation if he can recapture his previous form.
Combo guard Lou Williams hasn’t made any progress with the Clippers regarding an extension, Sam Amick of USA Today reports. Williams is enjoying a career year and has an expiring contract that could draw interest from numerous contenders, but it sounds like the veteran wouldn’t mind staying put and reaching an agreement to stay in L.A. “I’m putting everything on the line out here for this organization, and you know the season I’m having I would like to be rewarded for it and just appreciated,” he told Amick.
In other Pacific Division developments:
- Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball has missed the last four games with a left knee injury and he may remain sidelined during the team’s upcoming five-game road trip, ESPN.com’s Ohm Youngmisuk reports. Ball is expected to join the team on the trip, which begins Friday in Chicago. The Lakers are 2-8 in games he’s missed. “Whether he plays or not [on the trip], that all depends on the knee,” coach Luke Walton told reporters. “We are not going to rush him back from a sore knee. Once that gets better, we will get him back on the court.”
- Kings GM Vlade Divac‘s job is safe despite the club’s disappointing season, writes The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones. Divac’s contract runs through the 2019/20 season and it wouldn’t do the organization any good to begin another rebuild with a different GM at this point, according to Jones, who adds that the way that next season unfolds will determine if Divac sticks long-term.
- With the Kings resting veterans and going all-in on their youth movement in the second half, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee takes a closer look at several of the team’s young players, exploring what the team wants to see down the stretch from Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield, De’Aaron Fox, and others.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.