- The Magic and Kings are also worth keeping an eye on, according to Kyler, who identifies Nikola Vucevic and George Hill as a pair of potential trade candidates. Orlando isn’t looking to shake things up for the sake of it, but Vucevic figures to draw interest. As for Hill, his significant cap hit limits his trade value, but he’d probably “welcome a move,” says Kyler.
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The Kings would like to give more playing time to small forward JaKarr Sampson, but they are limited by his two-way contract, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Sampson can’t spend more than 45 days in the NBA and must be signed to a regular contract if he exceeds that number. To do that, the team would have to open a roster spot and part with one of its 15 guaranteed contracts.
Sampson has played just six games in Sacramento, but has impressed the coaches with his defensive abilities. He has the size to guard wing players who otherwise give the Kings problems. He is also averaging 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 17 minutes per night. He has previous NBA experience with the Sixers and Nuggets, but was out of the league last season.
There’s more news from Sacramento:
- Personnel moves have cut into the opportunities for second-year shooting guard Malachi Richardson, Jones adds in the same story. Last year’s trade for Buddy Hield and the addition of Bogdan Bogdanovic have pushed Richardson down in the rotation. He faces competition at small forward from Garrett Temple, Vince Carter and rookie Justin Jackson. Richardson has gotten into just 13 games so far this season.
- Free agent addition Zach Randolph considers himself a “dinosaur” because of the way he plays, but he has become the team’s best player, Jones states in a separate story. In the first season of a two-year, $24MM contract, the 36-year-old is averaging 15.2 points and 7.0 rebounds in 26 games. That’s despite a low-post game that seems best suited to another era. “Basketball is basketball; it’ll all come around,” Randolph said. “…You’ve still got to play in that paint; you’ve still got guys rolling. When you need a bucket, you go to the post. It comes back around.” Randolph adds that he hasn’t considered retirement and believes he can play several more seasons.
- After a rough start in Sacramento, fellow offseason signee George Hill has stepped up his game, Jones notes in the same story. Hill is shooting better than 53% in his last nine games and he provides a veteran presence to ease the pressure on rookies De’Aaron Fox and Frank Mason.
- Several opposing team executives told Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net earlier this week that they’ve received calls about Kings point guard George Hill. Hill, who has seen his minutes cut back in Sacramento and has seemed frustrated with the team’s performance, is one of 94 players who became trade-eligible today.
- Recently added Kings guard George Hill understands that his role with his new team will fluctuate over the course of the season. While he’s scored 16 or more points six times in 24 games this season he’s scored six or fewer nine times. “That’s the rotation coach wants to go with,” Hill told Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “You’ve got to respect that he’s trying put the young guys in situations where they can learn and things like that. Whatever he asks me to do, I’ve been trying to do it to the best of my ability.“
- Second-year Suns forward Marquese Chriss returned to his hometown of Sacramento for a contest against the team that drafted him. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic writes that the forward preferred to not play for the Kings and was happy when Phoenix acquired him on draft day. “I’m the type of person I want to do stuff on my own,” Chriss said. “Just kind of expand what I’m learning instead of staying in the same environment. I’m grateful that they did trade me. I think I’m in a better situation for myself and my career.“
- Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines the job security for head coaches around the NBA, concluding that Frank Vogel (Magic), Mike Budenholzer (Hawks), Dave Joerger (Kings), and Fred Hoiberg (Bulls) are among those whose seats are hottest.
- Rookie Justin Jackson and second-year players Skal Labissiere and Malachi Richardson have been recalled from the Kings‘ G League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, per an official tweet from the club. The Kings’ next game is Sunday against Toronto.
George Hill becomes eligible to be traded in six days, and Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee expects rumors involving the Kings point guard to start emerging soon. Like most players who signed contracts over the offseason, Hill can be traded beginning December 15. He probably envisioned a larger role when he inked a three-year, $57MM deal with Sacramento, as he is getting just 25.5 minutes per night, even though he has started all 23 games that he has played.
Hill’s playing time might diminish even further if he stays with the Kings. First-round pick De’Aaron Fox is Sacramento’s point guard of the future and the organization views him as a developing star. Second-round pick and fellow point guard Frank Mason has been a pleasant surprise, leaving Hill to play off the ball more often. His numbers are down across the board after averaging 16.9 points for the Jazz next season, and Jones suggests a trade would be best for both Hill and the Kings.
There’s more out of Sacramento:
- Zach Randolph, another veteran offseason free agent addition, has developed into the Kings’ most consistent player, Jones writes in the same piece. Coach Dave Joerger doesn’t believe in using young players just for development purposes, so Randolph has pushed rookie forward Justin Jackson and second-year forward Skal Labissiere to the bench. Joerger’s policy is to reward production with playing time, and Randolph has earned his minutes by averaging 15.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per night.
- The Kings made the right decision to send Jackson, Labissiere and Malachi Richardson to the G League this week, Jones contends in a separate story. Sacramento doesn’t have enough playing time to devote to the nine first- or second-year players on its roster. Fox and Mason are joined by rookie Bogdan Bogdanovic in the rotation, and Joerger is reluctant to use too many young players at the same time. “It’s just generally not great practice for us if we put at least four young guys on the floor together,” he said. “It can get ugly.”
- The Kings’ focus has changed since adding free agents Hill, Randolph and Vince Carter over the summer, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Those signings were made by Scott Perry, who has since left the organization to become GM of the Knicks. The new regime reportedly told its three free agent additions and fellow veteran Garrett Temple that the emphasis is now on acquiring a top five pick in next year’s draft rather than contending for the playoffs.
- The Kings have given JaKarr Sampson a chance to show what he’s capable of providing and the versatile 24-year-old hasn’t disappointed. “He has a body that we need – an athletic, 6-foot-8 guy who can play a couple of positions,” head coach Dave Joerger told Alex Kramers of the team’s official website. “It’s a little easier for him to stand in front of some versatile dudes, some drivers and some physical guys … He was ready for the moment and I think we’ll be seeing more of him.“
The Kings own the second-worst record in the league and free agent signee George Hill isn’t happy with the team’s level of success. He sent out an emotional tweet after a recent loss to the Bucks, though he shoulders the blame for Sacramento’s woes.
“The way that we started the game, down 14-0, just didn’t sit well with me,” Hill said (via Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee). “I’m one of the leaders here, so that affected me. I felt like I let my team down.”
Sacramento’s roster is full of inexperienced players, and inconsistent play has been a staple of the team’s season so far. Hill’s never encountered this type of situation at the professional level and he acknowledged that it can be challenging.
“I think on every team I’ve been with, we’ve had that cohesiveness and a lot of veterans that played multiple years in the league, so it was easy to kind of fill in,” Hill said. “I feel like here we’re so young it’s kind of difficult to figure out what’s going to be my direction, what’s going to be my style of play, what’s this guy’s role or my role. We’re still trying to learn those things.”
Here’s more from Sacramento:
- Hill added that many of his teammates are “still babies” professionally and he knows he was brought in to help them develop, Jones writes in the same piece. “Right now we’re just trying to teach the young guys and mentor them,” Hill said. “In the long run, our whole job is try to build this for them to take over and have the keys. It’s not about me, (Vince Carter), (Garrett Temple) or any of us. It’s about how can we develop the young guys to the best of our ability.”
- Willie Cauley-Stein, who will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension after the season, has thrived since being relegated to the bench, Nate Wolf of NBAMath explains. Wolf notes that the success is driven by the team splitting Cauley-Stein and $24MM addition Zach Randolph.
- Currently, Cauley-Stein is sidelined with a back injury, and head coach Dave Joerger said earlier this week that the team will “use caution” when it comes to bringing him back (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of ABC10). That comment suggests that the young center’s absence may extend beyond the Kings’ two-game road trip.
- The Kings have made a pair of G League moves, assigning Skal Labissiere to the Reno Bighorns and recalling Georgios Papagiannis, according to the team. Of the two 2016 first-rounders, Labissiere has been the more regular fixture in Sacramento’s rotation this season, averaging 17.1 MPG in 23 contests.