Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Pacers, Nets, Others Interested In Kelly Olynyk

July 5th, 2017 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers, Nets, Kings, and Jazz are among the teams “coming on strong” for Kelly Olynyk, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who reports (via Twitter)

Gordon Hayward‘s decision on Tuesday likely helped jump-start the market for several other free agents, but none were impacted as directly as Olynyk. In order to help create cap room for Hayward’s maximum salary contract, the Celtics withdrew Olynyk’s qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent rather than an RFA.

Olynyk is now eligible to sign outright with a new team, which has created significant interest around the league. The Pacers, Nets, Kings, and Jazz all have cap room left over, and would each likely be able to offer more than the mid-level exception, though Brooklyn may want resolution on Otto Porter‘s offer sheet first, and Indiana is trying to shed some salary, per Amick.

Olynyk, 26, appeared in 75 regular season games for the Celtics last season, averaging 9.0 PPG and 4.8 RPG and once again showed off an ability to make an outside shot (.368 career 3PT%). His most memorable performance in Boston came in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Wizards, when he helped the C’s seal the series with a 26-point outburst.

C.J. Miles Drawing Interest From Heat, Hawks, Others

July 4th, 2017 at 6:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran swingman C.J. Miles is receiving interest from a handful of teams, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, who reports (via Twitter) that the Heat, Hawks, and Kings are among the teams in the mix. The Timberwolves also maintain interest in Miles, but don’t currently have the cap flexibility to make a competitive offer, Wolfson notes.

Miles, 30, hits the free agent market this summer after one of the strongest seasons of his career. In 76 games (29 starts) for the Pacers, the 6’6″ sharpshooter averaged 10.7 PPG and 3.0 RPG, converting a career-best 41.3% of his three-point attempts.

The Heat, Hawks, and Kings all have cap room left over, though Miami has a number of balls up in the air as the club waits for Gordon Hayward‘s decision. As for the Wolves, their commitments to Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson have eaten up virtually all of their cap space, so the most they could offer Miles – without moving salary or working out a sign-and-trade – would likely be the $4.3MM room exception.

Miles is expected to take free agent visits soon, according to Wolfson.

Southeast Notes: Porter, Bogdanovic, Isaac, Bosh

July 4th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings’ decision to use a major part of their cap space on George Hill and Zach Randolph leaves the Nets as the most significant threat for Wizards RFA Otto Porter, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. Porter met with the Kings on Sunday and reportedly received a max offer, but didn’t sign it, wanting to talk to other teams first. Sacramento’s moves today means it no longer has room for a max deal unless it unloads some other salary. The Wizards can match any offer sheet that Porter brings to them, and have stated that they plan to do so.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards plan to explore sign-and-trade options for Bojan Bogdanovic, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Bogdanovic appears to be on the way out after this week’s deals with Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott, but Washington won’t revoke his $4.7MM qualifying offer, hoping to deal him and create a traded player exception. Bogdanovic is reportedly seeking about $16MM per year, which seems unrealistic. Michael notes that the Wizards have made use of TPEs in the recent years, picking up Jared Dudley, Kris Humphries and Tim Frazier.
The Magic will hold first-round pick Jonathan Isaac out of the final two games of the Orlando Pro Summer League after he suffered a hip strain Monday, relays John Denton of NBA.com. Tests didn’t reveal any structural damage and the injury isn’t considered serious, but the Magic are keeping him sidelined as a precaution.
In a move to free up cap space, the Magic have reached an agreement with 2005 first-rounder Fran Vazquez that he won’t play in the NBA this season, tweets Keith Smith of Real GM. Orlando still owns the rights for the 34-year-old, and the move takes away his cap hold for the upcoming season.
The Heat are expected to end their seven-year relationship with Chris Bosh this week, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami will erase Bosh’s $52.1MM from its cap under a medical retirement in the wake of recurring blood clots. Bosh must be given 48 hours to clear waivers before the move becomes official, and it will push the Heat’s cap space from $9MM to more than $34MM this year.

Kings Didn't Try To Keep Collison

July 4th, 2017 at 12:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers, Knicks and Magic all contacted Darren Collison before he agreed to a two-year deal with the Pacers Monday night, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 in Sacramento. The Kings made no effort to keep Collison, he adds.

Free Agent Rumors: Rose, Hayward, Randolph, Bogut

July 3rd, 2017 at 10:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent point guard Derrick Rose wants to play for the Bucks, a source close to Rose told Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link). Milwaukee will have to shed salary to make it happen. The team is over the salary cap and can only offer the $8.4MM mid-level exception unless it moves a big contract or two. Rose met with the Bucks on Monday. The Knicks are interested in bringing back Rose but it’s possible that New York could do a sign-and-trade with the Bucks.

In other free agent developments:

Gordon Hayward will “sleep on” it before deciding which team he’ll sign with, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. The highly-coveted Jazz small forward met with Utah for 3 1/2 hours on Monday after meeting with the Heat on Saturday and the Celtics on Sunday.
The Kings don’t have much hope of signing veteran power forward Zach Randolph, sources informed Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The Cavaliers have a strong interest in Randolph, though he may have to leave money on the table to play for the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions.
Andrew Bogut and his agent will talk to more than 10 teams as he seeks to come back from a fractured tibia, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com reports. Bogut suffered the injury in his Cavaliers debut on March 6. He did not require surgery and Bogut shed his cast a few weeks ago, Aschburner continues. The veteran center expects to begin full basketball workouts within the next three weeks, Aschburner adds.

Pacers Sign Darren Collison

July 3rd, 2017 at 7:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 7: The Pacers have formally announced the signing of Collison.

“Having had Darren here in the past, we obviously knew what we were getting, both on the floor and in the locker room,” Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “When you bring in a player like Darren, you know you’re not only getting a point guard, you’re adding a veteran presence to your team.”

JULY 3: Point guard Darren Collison has agreed in principle on a two-year, $20MM contract with the Pacers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Collison averaged 13.2 PPG and 4.6 APG in 68 games, including 63 starts, with the Kings last season.

The second year is partially guaranteed, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. The agreement leaves the Pacers with approximately $13MM in cap space, Zach Lowe of ESPN tweets.

This is Collison’s second stint with Indiana. He was their starting point guard during the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons.

Indiana had a big hole to fill at that spot after Jeff Teague reached a three-year, $57MM agreement with the Timberwolves. They also have combo guards Monta Ellis and Victor Oladipo, who will be coming over from the Thunder in the Paul George deal.

The Knicks reached out to Collison but their interest was apparently lukewarm at best.

Collison served an eight-game suspension at the start of last season after a domestic battery incident. He has appeared in 563 career games, averaging 12.7 PPG and 4.8 APG while shooting 38% from long range.

The addition of Collison appears to be a stopgap move for a rebuilding Pacers club in the aftermath of trading their best player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.