- Following last month’s DeMarcus Cousins trade, the Kings were considered likely to slide down the standings, but no one in the locker room wants to hear the “T-word” (tanking), says Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. In fact, Sacramento is still committed to competing for that No. 8 seed in the West, Jones writes in a separate piece for The Bee. Despite those ambitions, the club is 1-5 since moving Cousins, and now ranks seventh in our 2016/17 Reverse Standings.
For the first time since his January injury, Kings veteran Garrett Temple went full speed in practice. The 30-year-old has been cautious with the injury, Jonathan Santiago of Kings.com writes, but finally found himself comfortable enough to return to the court.
“I’ve been out longer than I guess expected just because I know that I wanted to make sure that I got it all the way right,” Temple said this week before suiting up for the Kings in Sunday’s contest. “The setback I had last time was during the first day of practice. So after I got through my first day of practice yesterday without any other effects – a nice long two-hour practice – it helped my confidence.”
In 49 contests for the Kings this season, Temple had posted 7.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
- Thrust into a larger role ever since the Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento big man Skal Labissiere has run with the opportunity. Shahbaz Khan of Kings.com spoke with the rookie about his experience during the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
On Sundays, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown:
- The Jump Ball discussed Joel Embiid‘s case for Rookie of the Year.
- Kwame Fisher-Jones of The 76er Files wrote about Philadelphia’s recovery from three straight sub-20 win seasons.
- Mike Cortez of Hardwood and Hollywood implored the Knicks to build through the draft rather than overspend on free agents.
- Daniel C. Lewis of Denver Stiffs thinks Jamal Murray should take home Rookie of the Year honors.
- Mitchell Maurer of Brew Hoop assesses Thon Maker‘s athletic potential.
- Tyler Birss of Hardwood and Hollywood chronicled Matt Barnes‘ history with the Warriors.
- Kings coach Dave Joerger is holding off on playing younger guys until they’re ready, Omer Khan of SacTown Royalty writes.
- Tim Wray of Behind the Buck Pass answered questions in his weekly mailbag.
- Josh Padmore of 8 Points, 9 Seconds took a look at Rakeem Christmas‘ impressive play of late.
Here are the D-League transactions for Sunday:
- The Mavericks recalled A.J. Hammons and Nicolas Brussino from the Texas Legends, the team announced in a press release. Brussino recorded a double-double last night for the Legends, whereas Hammons recorded 11 rebounds over 23 minutes.
- The Kings recalled Georgios Papagiannis from the Reno Bighorns, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports (Twitter link). Papagiannis has appeared in six NBA games this season.
- The Spurs assigned Davis Bertans and Dejounte Murray to the Austin Spurs, the team announced on its official website. Bertans and Murray will each be available for this afternoon’s match-up with the Salt Lake City Stars.
- The Pelicans recalled Cheick Diallo from the Greensboro Swarm, the team announced in a press release.
- Character issues played into the Kings’ decision to waive Barnes, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee tweets. The team attempted to trade him and felt he was a bad influence on DeMarcus Cousins on and off the court, Voisin adds. Barnes and Cousins were sued following an incident in a New York nightclub in December.
European star swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic will not yet commit to joining the Kings next season and has signed with his Turkish team, Fenerbache, through next season. The 6’6” Bogdanovic posted on his Twitter feed that he hasn’t made a decision about his future plans, a post that was relayed by CSNBayArea.com’s James Ham. This may come as a surprise to Kings GM Vlade Divac, who said in recent interview that Bogdanovic would be “coming over next season as another asset.”
Bogdanovic has signed with his current Euroleague team through next season and has a contract buyout in excess of $1MM, international journalist David Pick tweets. Per the collective bargaining agreement, Sacramento can pay up to $675,000 of the buyout, according to Ham.
Bogdanovic and the Kings have operated as if he’ll played in the NBA next season since Sacramento acquired him from the Suns in a draft-night trade, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets, though Bogdanovic’s Twitter post at least throws some doubt into that expectation.
“I will not discuss the NBA or make a decision on my future until after my season with Fenerbahce is finished,” Bogdanovic wrote on Twitter. “I always live in the present day and love playing for Fenerbahce.”
Bogdanovic was the 27th overall pick of the 2014 draft and has lived up to the billing of a draft-and-stash prospect. The Kings acquired his rights, along with the 13th and 28th overall picks in last year’s draft and a future second-rounder, from the Suns in exchange for the No. 8 overall selection. Phoenix used it to draft power forward Marquese Chriss.
Even though he’s under contract overseas through the 2017/18 season, Bogdanovic has financial incentives to pursue a buyout and join the Kings. Bogdanovic will no longer be bound by the restrictions of the NBA’s rookie scale. By waiting this long to make the jump to the NBA, he will be free to negotiate any amount.
It’s natural to speculate whether the DeMarcus Cousins trade has given Bogdanovic second thoughts about joining Sacramento. Not only did the Kings trade away their franchise player, but the centerpiece of the deal for Sacramento was rookie shooting guard Buddy Hield. That would seemingly take away any hope of Bogdanovic securing a starting spot, unless the Kings use him as an undersized small forward.
Bogdanovic is a member of the Serbian national team, which captured a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Rio. The Serbian-born wing is averaging 13.3 PPG, 4.3 APG and 2.9 RPG in 28 MPG this season, though he missed 23 games with an ankle injury. He’s generally considered one of Europe’s top perimeter shooters.
- Kings guard Tyreke Evans is excited to be back in Sacramento, where he won Rookie of the Year honors seven years ago, writes Shahbaz Khan of NBA.com. Evans, who was part of the deal that sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans, says he has become a different type of player. “I’m more mature now,” he said. “Now, it’s about me knowing how to make the right play and I think that I’ve gotten better at that.”
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- Pistons rookies Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije are headed back to the D-League, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Both players should have the opportunity to play significant minutes tonight for the Grand Rapids Drive, Detroit’s NBADL affiliate.
- The Kings sent rookie big man Georgios Papagiannis to the D-League today, per Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Playing for the Reno Bighorns this afternoon, Papagiannis chipped in 19 points and four rebounds in a loss to Windy City.
- The Jazz have recalled rookie forward Joel Bolomboy from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to a press release issued by the team. Although he has barely seen any action for Utah this season, Bolomboy has been a double-double machine in the D-League, averaging 16.1 PPG and 13.3 RPG in 20 games.
- Matt Barnes‘ contract with the Kings didn’t feature any set-off language, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical (via Twitter). That means that Barnes will continue to earn his full salary on his deal with Sacramento, and will receive a prorated minimum salary from the Warriors on top of that.
Kings GM Vlade Divac explains his comments about having a better offer for DeMarcus Cousins two days before the deal in an interview with Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee about last week’s shocking trade.
Divac says the offer came from the Pelicans, who were proposing Buddy Hield and two first-round picks, rather than the final package of Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and this year’s first- and second-rounders. He blames the center’s agents, Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana, for driving down Cousins’ price.
“I talked to DeMarcus’ agents to inform them we were having talks, negotiating terms, and they called teams and threatened them,” Divac explained, “saying that if Cousins was traded, he would not sign an extension. [The Pelicans] got scared and dropped it down to a second-round pick. I thought if I waited longer, I would get less. I needed to act.”
Divac also addressed the urgency created by a possible extension for Cousins, recent comments about keeping the big man in Sacramento and the decision to waive Matt Barnes in a wide-ranging discussion. Here are some highlights:
On the decision to pull the trigger on the trade to New Orleans:
“It was a lot of things, but basically, I thought it was time to start over. There was a lot of bad stuff happening here the last five years, a lot of bad habits. There were always issues, many you don’t even know about. Now I believe strongly this was the right thing to do for our future. Now I have a clear vision. This city deserves better, and I want to create that. With DeMarcus’ situation, I basically was stuck.”
Divac explains the stuck comment by noting that the Kings were looking at another non-playoff season with the prospect of either giving Cousins a massive extension this summer or trying to trade him with an expiring contract, which Divac believes would have scared teams away.
On a statement to ESPN earlier this month that Cousins was staying in Sacramento:
“Because I really did not have [good offers] for DeMarcus. In all the conversations I was having with GMs, we weren’t going to get anything. People were scared because of his history. So I felt confident he was going to stay with us, and I was going to work with him, and we would do the best we can. But then I got the offer from the Pelicans a few days before the All-Star Game. That was a difference of, what, two weeks from what I had said to ESPN? Everything changed.”
On recommending anger management therapy for the sometimes volatile star:
“Actually, that happened, and this time, they seemed more receptive. But I wasn’t sure if that was because the contract was coming up or what, so I wasn’t sure how to take it. Again, I wanted change, to start over. Acquire assets, build it right. At the same time play hard, play up-tempo, share the ball. Be a team, grow together.”
On releasing Barnes, who was waived Monday to open a roster spot and allow the deal to be completed:
“I want to build a culture, and he didn’t fit in my culture. Before we were just talking, preaching. But if we’re going to do it, you do it. The good thing about our situation now is that we have some very nice assets, a few more shooting guards, and time to take a look at Willie [Cauley-Stein], Skal [Labissiere] and Malachi Richardson] when he gets healthy, and Georgios Papagiannis. Ty Lawson has been very good for us, and Darren [Collison] is playing well, and he will be a free agent. Kosta [Koufos] has been good. We have [Bogdan] Bogdanovic coming over next season as another asset.”
On taking heat for moving Cousins:
“That’s my job, and I take responsibility. And I totally understand why some fans would be upset. They supported DeMarcus, and I like DeMarcus a lot. But I believe we are going to be in a better position in two years. I want to hear again from these same people in two years. If I’m right, great. If I’m wrong, I’ll step down. But if I go down, I’m going down my way.”