Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Sign George Hill

July 10th, 2017 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10th, 4:13pm: The Kings have officially announced the Hill signing via press release. The three-year deal, $57MM contract is guaranteed for $40MM, according to Amick (Twitter link).

JULY 4th, 3:47pm: The third year of Hill’s deal will be partially guaranteed, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

12:32pm: The Kings and free agent point guard George Hill have reached an agreement on a three-year, $57MM contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical.

Although injuries limited Hill to 49 games in 2016/17, he was excellent when he played, comfortably establishing a new career high in PPG (16.9) for the Jazz despite averaging fewer minutes per game than he had with the Pacers. The 31-year-old provided solid defense and shot over 40% from downtown for a second straight season. In Sacramento, he’ll act as a veteran mentor to the team’s new point guard, De’Aaron Fox, and his ability to play off the ball should allow both guards to share the court at times.

Hill reportedly received interest from the Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Pacers, Knicks, and Spurs, among other teams. However, many of those teams didn’t have the cap flexibility to make him the sort of offer he has now received from the Kings, and some clubs – such as the Lakers – may have not been willing to go up to three years.

Hill’s former team, the Jazz, wasn’t viewed as a serious contender for the veteran point guard after the team acquired Ricky Rubio from the Timberwolves last week. At least one report suggested that losing Hill may adversely affect Utah’s chances of retaining Gordon Hayward, but Hayward reportedly likes the idea of playing with Rubio as well, so Hill’s formal departure may not have a major impact on his decision.

Word of Sacramento’s agreement with Hill broke around the same time that it was reported the team would also sign Zach Randolph to a two-year pact worth $24MM. The Kings entered the free agent period with only about $44MM in commitments on their 2017/18 cap for their incumbent players and their three 2017 first-round picks.

However, with deals now in place for Hill, Randolph, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings appear to no longer have room for a reported max offer for Otto Porter unless they’re able to shed a contract or two. That could bode well for Porter’s return to the Wizards, perhaps at a more reasonable rate than Washington anticipated, though the Nets continue to lurk and could put a big offer sheet on the table.

The terms on Hill’s new three-year, $57MM deal are identical to the reported terms on Jeff Teague‘s agreement with the Timberwolves, so that deal likely served as a reference point during discussions between the Kings and Hill’s camp.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Clippers Sign Milos Teodosic

July 10th, 2017 at 3:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 10, 3:27pm: Teodosic has officially signed his contract with the Clippers, according to a tweet sent out by his agency.

JULY 6, 1:44pm: European point guard Milos Teodosic has reached an agreement with the Clippers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. It will be a two-year, $12.3MM contract with a player option on the second season (Twitter link).

Several teams have been in competition for the 30-year-old, who is considered to be one of the top players outside the NBA. He was reportedly seeking a three-year deal worth $25MM to $30MM, but his new contract is substantially less, at least in the first season.

The Heat, Kings, Nuggets, Jazz, Nets, Bulls and Timberwolves were among the other teams that expressed interest. Minnesota offered its room exception, but understood that he could get more money elsewhere, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Brooklyn decided that Teodosic’s defensive shortcomings made him a poor candidate for big money or big minutes, according to NetsDaily (Twitter link).

A star with Serbia at the 2016 Olympics, Teodosic made his current team, CSKA Moscow, one of the best in the Euroleague. He has averaged 16.1 points per game over the past two seasons and 6.5 assists over the last three. The Russian squad was hoping to keep him, but admitted that it couldn’t compete financially with NBA teams.

Teodosic’s signing may end the Clippers’ interest in Derrick Rose, who met with the team on Wednesday. With Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams already on the roster, there doesn’t seem to be any room for Rose.

NBA Teams With Cap Room Remaining

July 10th, 2017 at 11:08am CST by Luke Adams

We’re only on the 10th day of the NBA league year, but already, the number of teams with cap room still available is dwindling.

Clubs without cap room remaining could create space at some point — the Knicks, for instance, used the last of their cap room to finalize Tim Hardaway‘s offer sheet, but may try to clear salary by trading Carmelo Anthony and/or Courtney Lee. For now though, only a handful of teams have a useful amount of cap space left.

Those teams with cap room are listed below, along with an informal breakdown of what their situation looks like. Many deals haven’t yet been finalized, so these figures our based on our projections, with the help of information from Basketball Insiders and HeatHoops.

Teams with cap room remaining:

Atlanta Hawks: With agreed-upon deals for Mike Muscala and Tyler Dorsey not yet official, the Hawks retain about $18-19MM in cap room. And that’s not counting whatever amount of money Jamal Crawford was willing to give up in his buyout, so that figure may creep a little higher.
Brooklyn Nets: The Nets remain in a holding pattern with Otto Porter, but after he officially moves over to the Wizards’ books and Brooklyn completes its trade for DeMarre Carroll, the team should have about $16-17MM in cap room. The Nets could create a little more space by waiving one or more non-guaranteed players.
Denver Nuggets: Once the Nuggets’ signing of Paul Millsap becomes official, the team won’t have much cap flexibility left, though that could change if Mike Miller is waived and/or Mason Plumlee is renounced. If both of those players remain on the cap, Denver will only have about $2MM in room. If they move on from both players, the Nuggets could get up to about $11MM+ in space.
Indiana Pacers: Assuming the Pacers stretch Monta Ellis‘ salary, as has been reported, they should have in the neighborhood of $7-8MM in remaining cap room, even after finalizing the acquisitions of Darren Collison, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Cory Joseph.
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers have approximately $17MM in cap room left, though they’d have to renounce their remaining unrestricted free agents to make use of all that space.
Orlando Magic: The Magic could have retained their exceptions and cap holds and stayed over the cap, but it looks like they’re operating under the cap, signing Shelvin Mack with room instead of the mid-level exception. Orlando doesn’t have much space available, but could get up to $8MM+ in room by waiving C.J. Watson, and could increase that number a little more by cutting other non-guaranteed players.
Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers’ remaining cap room will depend on the exact numbers for J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson, but it figures to be in the neighborhood of $16-17MM.
Phoenix Suns: Alex Len‘s $12MM+ cap hold is a significant factor in the Suns’ remaining cap room. If they were to renounce Len, the Suns could get up to about $23MM in room, with the ability to create even more by waiving non-guaranteed contracts. However, if they keep Len on the books, Phoenix’s cap room is below $11MM, and will be reduced further when Alan Williams‘ new deal becomes official.
Sacramento Kings: Deals for George Hill, Zach Randolph, Vince Carter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic will use up most of the Kings’ space, but the team should still have room in the $8-10MM range after those signings become official.

Teams that went under the cap, but have used all (or virtually all) of their room:

Boston Celtics
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks

These teams went below the cap this summer to accommodate big-money moves. In some cases, those deals aren’t yet official, but when they’re finalized, they’ll eliminate any cap room these teams have left. A couple of these clubs have already committed their room exception to certain players, with the Celtics on track to sign Aron Baynes and the Wolves lining up a deal with Jamal Crawford.

Teams that are operating over the cap, but could create some cap room:

Chicago Bulls
Dallas Mavericks
Utah Jazz

These teams are currently operating as over-the-cap clubs in order to retain their full mid-level, bi-annual, and trade exceptions, but there could be scenarios in which it makes more sense to renounce those exceptions and dip below the cap.

In the Bulls’ and Mavs’ cases, it would likely only happen if they don’t retain top RFAs (Nikola Mirotic and Nerlens Noel, respectively). Meanwhile, the Jazz could only create up to about $12MM in room if they were to waive their non-guaranteed contracts and wait to sign Joe Ingles.

Note: Items on Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic were edited after publication to adjust figures.

Pacific Notes: Gallinari, Randolph, Ingram

July 9th, 2017 at 9:24pm CST by Austin Kent

Expect the system the Clippers have in place to complement the skills of newly acquired Danilo Gallinari, Tyler Blint-Welsh of the Los Angeles Times writes.

“One of the reasons I chose [the Clippers] is because of the team that we have,” he said. “So I have no doubt that I’m gonna fit in.”

The versatility that Gallinari brings to the franchise will help the squad play positionelss basketball, something ever more important in today’s evolving NBA. Having such options on the perimeter should make life easier for Clippers big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in the post.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers shut Brandon Ingram down for the Summer League as a precautionary measure, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. The second-year forward gave his team a scare when he suffered a cramp in his leg toward the end of Friday’s Vegas league contest but the injury is minor.
When the Kings added Zach Randolph they added the type of veteran that will benefit their young players. Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee interviewed Randolph’s former coach with the Grizzlies about what he brings on and off the court. “This is a process,” Lionel Hollins said, “And the process is enhanced by the quality of your veterans. You can’t have guys who sit on the bench, get paid and don’t help their young teammates. You have to have the right veterans because that will help the young players move up faster. So the young kids better come ready out there, because Zach is going to teach them how to be tougher, more physical and professional.“
The decision that Kevin Durant made to take less money that what he was eligible for allowed the Warriors to retain their core and club general manager Bob Meyers is quick to applaud him for the gesture. “I can pretty much unequivocally say without it, we’re not looking at the team we have right now. What Kevin did shows who he is, shows what he’s about and I think it’s clear that that’s winning,” Myers told the Associated Press.

Kings Sign Fifth Overall Pick De’Aaron Fox

July 7th, 2017 at 7:29pm CST by Austin Kent

The Kings have officially signed fifth-overall pick De’Aaron Fox, the team announced via Twitter. The 19-year-old speedster joins the franchise after posting 16.7 points and 4.6 assists per game with Kentucky.

Per the NBA’s rookie contract scale, Fox will presumably make $24.6MM over the course of a four-year deal, starting with $4.6MM in 2017/18.

Fox will share point guard duties with George Hill.

The team had previously reached agreements with Harry Giles and Justin Jackson.

And-Ones: Clark, Shved, Bogdanovic

July 6th, 2017 at 11:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Add Warriors guard Ian Clark to the list of wing players who interest the Timberwolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. C.J. Miles remains their prime target, but Minnesota doesn’t have enough cap room left to make a competitive offer. The Wolves have discussed a sign-and-trade that would send center Cole Aldrich and Oklahoma City’s 2018 first-rounder to Indiana in exchange for Miles, according to an ESPN report.

Here’s more from around the league:

Alexey Shved may void the final year of his contract with Khimki Moscow in order to return to the NBA, a source tells international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Shved last played in the NBA for the Knicks during the 2014/15 campaign.
The Kings are covering all of Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s $850K NBA buyout with Fenerbahce, a source tells Pick (Twitter link). Sacramento signed the swingman to a three-year deal worth $27MM, which is the richest contract for a rookie in league history.
Phil Ricci will join the Kings’ coaching staff as an assistant player development coach, James Ham of NBC Sports tweets. Ricci played professionally abroad for several seasons before coaching at the high school level.
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace has penned a thank you letter to Zach Randolph for his contributions over the past eight years. The note, which is posted on the team’s website, credits Randolph for helping to establish Memphis’ “grit and grind” identity. Randolph agreed to a two-year, $24MM deal with the Kings on Tuesday. The Grizzlies also announced today that Randolph’s number will be retired.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post

Kings Sign First-Round Pick Justin Jackson

July 6th, 2017 at 5:54pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings have signed Justin Jackson to a rookie scale deal, according to NBA.com. Jackson will take home nearly $13.5MM over the next four years, assuming he signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale.

Sacramento traded down from the No. 10 pick in order to select Jackson with the No. 15 selection as well as Harry Giles with the No. 20 overall selection. Outside of their draft night trade, the Kings also nabbed De’Aaron Fox with the No. 5 overall pick and Frank Mason III with the No. 34 overall pick.

Jackson spent three seasons at UNC where he helped lead the team to a national title last year. As a junior, he earned the ACC Player of the Year award in a season where he scored 18.3 points per game while pulling down 4.7 rebounds.

RFA Rumors: Mirotic, Noel, Simmons, Green

July 6th, 2017 at 5:06pm CST by Luke Adams

A handful of restricted free agents have made out well so far this year on the open market. Tony Snell, Joe Ingles, Cristiano Felicio, and Andre Roberson got lucrative new multiyear deals from their respective clubs, and Otto Porter reportedly has a maximum salary offer sheet in place with the Nets, though the Wizards have yet to receive it.

Still, there are a number of RFAs still on the market as league-wide cap room begins to dwindle. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News takes a closer look at six big-name RFA still seeking a new contract, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

Prior to free agency, rival executives estimated that Nikola Mirotic would seek something in the range of $20MM annually. However, the Bulls‘ power forward may have to settle for something closer to $12MM per year, according to Deveney, who notes that team owner Jerry Reinsdorf has played “hardball” in these situations in the past.
Deveney predicts that the Mavericks and Nerlens Noel will eventually negotiate a deal in the four-year, $85MM range.
The Spurs are expected to match reasonable offers for Jonathon Simmons, which could mean something in the range of $30MM over three years, per Deveney. The Kings and Knicks have expressed interest in Simmons.
Grizzlies RFA JaMychal Green has drawn some interest from the Bulls and he may be a backup plan for the Spurs depending on what happens with Simmons, says Deveney, adding that Memphis still wants to retain Green.
Bojan Bogdanovic‘s price tag is “quickly dropping,” according to Deveney. The Wizards RFA was believed to be seeking something in the range of $50MM over three years, but that doesn’t seem realistic at this point. The Kings may be Bogdanovic’s best bet if they don’t land another small forward, writes Deveney.

Kings Sign Harry Giles To Rookie Contract

July 6th, 2017 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially signed 2017 first-round pick Harry Giles to his first NBA contract, according to the league’s transactions log. Sacramento has not yet issued a formal announcement on Giles’ deal, and may be waiting for fellow first-rounders De’Aaron Fox and Justin Jackson to sign on the dotted line as well.

Giles, the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, was viewed a probable lottery pick based on talent alone, but his history of knee problems made him a risky pick. The Kings, who traded down from No. 10 to grab the 15th and 20th overall picks, had already made two selections in Fox and Jackson before drafting Giles, so he was a worthwhile gamble for the franchise.

Giles’ rookie deal with Sacramento figures to be worth $1.859MM in year one, and $10.622MM over four years, as our chart of this year’s rookie scale salaries shows.

Less than one third of 2017’s first-rounders remain unsigned.

JaVale McGee To Meet With Kings

July 6th, 2017 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent center JaVale McGee continues to look for a new home and has lined up a meeting with the Kings for Thursday, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Sacramento has already been active during the free agent period, striking deals to sign George Hill and Zach Randolph. However, the Kings still have some cap room left over, creating the flexibility to outbid rival suitors for McGee if they so choose.

The Kings’ frontcourt currently includes Randolph, Willie Cauley-Stein, Georgios Papagiannis, Kosta Koufos, Skal Labissiere, and – when he gets healthy – Harry Giles. There’s no shortage of options there, but many are young, developing players, so if McGee were to sign in Sacramento, he’d likely have an opportunity to take on a bigger role than he had in Golden State.

A nine-year NBA veteran, McGee played a career-low 9.6 minutes per game for the Warriors last year, but his per-minute production skyrocketed in Golden State. The veteran center averaged a career-high 23.0 points per 36 minutes, and his .652 FG% was also easily the best of his career.

McGee has received interest so far from the Warriors and Clippers, so it appears he’s a good bet to stay out west.