Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

RFA Rumors: Dellavedova, Waiters, T. Johnson

July 1st, 2016 at 2:21am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier tonight, we heard that the Warriors plan to retain restricted free agent Harrison Barnes if they’re unable to land Kevin Durant. Here are several more updates on RFAs around the league:

The Kings, Hawks, Mavericks, and Bucks have all reached out to Matthew Dellavedova‘s camp early in free agency, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Dellavedova is in Australia preparing for the 2016 Olympics, so he’s unlikely to have face-to-face meetings with any suitors anytime soon, but it sounds like he’s interested in exploring his options. A return to the Cavaliers remains in play for the RFA guard, but it’s possible the price will get too high for Cleveland’s liking, Haynes writes.
Dion Waiters‘ representatives fielded interest from the Kings, Nets, Sixers, Bulls, Heat, and Thunder tonight, a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Oklahoma City extended a qualifying offer to Waiters earlier this week, making him a restricted free agent and giving the Thunder the right of first refusal.
On The Vertical’s free agency broadcast earlier tonight, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Tyler Johnson has received interest from a handful of teams, including the Nets and Pelicans, and is expected to begin taking meetings on Friday (Twitter links via Scott Kushner of The Advocate and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The restricted free agent guard, who got a qualifying offer from the Heat, could earn up to $10MM annually, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of the New York Post).

FA Rumors: DeRozan, Crawford, Clippers, Dudley

July 1st, 2016 at 12:47am CST by Luke Adams

Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News has updates on a pair of free agent shooting guards, reporting (via Twitter) that the Sixers and Lakers have inquired tonight on DeMar DeRozan, who is meeting with the Raptors in Los Angeles. Toronto remains the strong favorite to re-sign DeRozan. Wolfson also tweets that Jamal Crawford has received calls tonight from the Sixers, Knicks, Clippers, Magic, and Heat.

Here’s more from across the NBA:

In addition to reaching out to Crawford tonight, the Clippers also met with Austin Rivers in Orlando and Jeff Green in Miami, doing due diligence on their pending free agents, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. After meeting with the Clips, Rivers is expected to talk to the Knicks and possibly the Trail Blazers on Friday, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
The Nets, Jazz, and Suns are among the teams in pursuit of Jared Dudley, with the Wizards also in the hunt to bring back the veteran sharpshooter, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. Utah had a meeting with Dudley tonight, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
League sources continue to tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that the Kings may be preparing a “significant” offer for restricted free agent Dion Waiters. The Thunder would have the opportunity to match an offer sheet, but may not be aggressive in trying to retain Waiters now that they have Victor Oladipo.
The Thunder were indeed among the teams to reach out to Al Horford tonight, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. A Thursday report indicated that Oklahoma City has its eye on Horford as part of its pitch to keep Kevin Durant.
Speaking of Durant, during The Vertical’s free agency show tonight, Wojnarowski said that Jay-Z and Roc Nation tried to push Durant to take a free agent meeting with the Nets, but KD dismissed that idea (Twitter link via Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily).

FA Rumors: Turner, Batum, Gasol, Lin, Kings

July 1st, 2016 at 12:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks, Bulls, Pelicans, Mavericks, Lakers, and Grizzlies are in the mix for Evan Turner, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. No meetings have been finalized yet for Turner, but it sounds like he’ll meet with at least a few of those suitors. According to Deveney, there’s also still a possibility that the Celtics will re-enter the picture for Turner.

Here are more free agent updates from around the NBA:

Unsurprisingly, Nicolas Batum, who has generated interest from Dallas, New York, Charlotte, and a few other teams, is seeking a max contract, tweets Deveney.
According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, Trail Blazers and the Timberwolves are expected to be among the suitors for Pau Gasol, who has also been linked to Golden State, New York, and San Antonio.
Jeremy Lin‘s price tag is expected to be in the neighborhood of $12-14MM per year, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter).
The Kings have expressed interest in Dion Waiters and Allen Crabbe, per Wojnarowski (link via RealGM.com). Sacramento has also reached out to Courtney Lee, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
Jazz free agent Trevor Booker is drawing interest from multiple teams and is expected to have a starting salary around $10MM, sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).

Kings Interested In Anderson, Lee, Crabbe

June 30th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings are interested in Ryan Anderson and Courtney Lee, who are both unrestricted free agents, and restricted free agent Allen Crabbe, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.

Kings Submit Qualifying Offer For Curry

June 29th, 2016 at 9:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings have submitted a qualifying offer for combo guard Seth Curry, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (via Twitter). Curry’s offer is worth $1,215,696, with the 25-year-old having earned $947,276 for his 44 appearances this past season.

Latest Free Agency News

June 29th, 2016 at 8:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With free agency set to begin on Friday, here’s the latest news, notes and updates from around the league:

Unrestricted free agent Jamal Crawford has meetings set with the Clippers, Knicks, Magic, Mavericks and Heat for when the free agent signing period kicks off, Brad Turner of The Los Angels Times reports (via Twitter).
The Trail Blazers are potentially interested in signing unrestricted free agent center Dwight Howard to a short-term deal, Sam Amick of USA Today relays.
The Wizards want to re-sign unrestricted free agent Jared Dudley, but the Jazz are expected to make a run at the forward this summer as well, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
Unrestricted free agent forward Solomon Hill has four meetings scheduled for when the free agent signing period commences, though his former squad, the Pacers, are not among the franchises on the agenda, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star tweets.
The Blazers are expected to be very active in free agency this offseason, but one player who isn’t on the team’s radar is power forward Ryan Anderson, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com relays (on Twitter). Anderson is expected to be in high-demand around the league this summer.
On team that is indeed interested in Anderson are the Jazz, who plan to be aggressive this offseason in recruiting free agents, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. However, Utah is unlikely to land the stretch-four, Jones adds, classifying Luol Deng and Hill as more realistic targets.
The Clippers are interested in re-signing unrestricted free agent center Cole Aldrich, but will face competition from the Suns and Magic for the big man’s services, Turner tweets.
Restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas is open to returning to Houston and noted that the Rockets would be the first team he will meet with once the free agent period opens this Friday, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). The big man earned $2,288,205 for his work this past season.

Blazers Extend QOs To Crabbe, Leonard, Harkless

June 29th, 2016 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have ensured that their three players eligible for restricted free agents will indeed becomes RFAs when July begins. According to Jason Quick of CSNNW.com, Portland has issued qualifying offers to Allen Crabbe, Meyers Leonard, and Maurice Harkless, giving the team the right of first refusal on all three players.

Of the trio, Crabbe appears poised to cash in with the biggest deal this summer, after a breakout 2015/16 season that saw him set new career highs in PPG (10.3), FG% (.459), and several other categories, while shooting 39.3% on 3.5 three-point attempts per game. Three-and-D wings like Crabbe – whose qualifying offer is worth $2.725MM – should do well on the open market this year, so it’s no surprise that he’s drawing interest from several teams already.

Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that the 76ers, Nets, and Kings are among the teams with interest in Crabbe. If he signs an offer sheet with one of those clubs, or another suitor, the Blazers will have the opportunity to match it and bring him back.

The same can be said about Leonard and Harkless, who each receive qualifying offers exceeding $4MM. They’ll have the option of simply signing the QO (which is essentially a one-year contract offer), working out a new contract with the Blazers, or signing an offer sheet elsewhere, which Portland could match.

Both players were solid rotation pieces for the Blazers in 2015/16, though Harkless continued to struggle to shoot from outside, while Leonard’s increased usage came with a career-worst .448 FG%. Of course, Leonard’s dip in field goal percentage was partly the result of an uptick in three-point attempts (3.7 per game), on which he shot 37.7%. His ability to make outside shots and grab boards should generate plenty of interest around the league.

Kings To Target Ryan Anderson, Courtney Lee

June 27th, 2016 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Ryan Anderson and Courtney Lee are expected to be two of the Kings‘ top targets in free agency, according to James Ham of CSN California (link via Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk).

Williamson Interviews With Magic

June 26th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic interviewed Corliss Williamson Friday about becoming an assistant to new coach Frank Vogel, tweets Chris Mannix of The Vertical. Williamson is still a member of the Kings‘ coaching staff, so no decision has been made, tweets James Ham of CSNBayArea.

Pacific Notes: Rondo, Kupchak, Bender, Clippers

June 25th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings‘ decision to take big men in the first round of the draft may force them to make an aggressive offer to free agent point guard Rajon Rondo, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento traded down with its first pick and took center Georgios Papagiannis at No. 13, then later added forward Malachi Richardson at No. 22 and forward/center Skal Labissiere at No. 28. The selections leave the Kings with holes on the roster, Jones notes, and could make them desperate to keep Rondo, who led the NBA in assists this season.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

Kings GM/executive Vlade Divac said his team is “set” in the front court after draft night, Jones tweets. Divac adds that he is open to re-signing Rondo.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak hopes to surround all his young talent with some veteran leaders, posts Baxter Holmes on ESPN Now. L.A. selected Brandon Ingram on Thursday to team with D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson, if he re-signs with the team. “History tells you that a bunch of young guys on the team is probably not a good thing,” Kupchak said. “They look around for leadership or they look around for advice from somebody who’s been through this a couple times, and if there’s nobody to talk to, well, you don’t know how to handle the situation. So I think we will look to add some veteran leadership and hopefully it’s not only leadership but guys who can help us win games.”
The Suns feared Dragan Bender wouldn’t be available later if they didn’t take him at No. 4, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 in Phoenix. The Suns thought Denver would take Bender at No. 7, which is why they nabbed him with the fourth pick and waited until No 8 to take Marquese Chriss.
Even though they have limited cap room, the Clippers will make an effort to re-sign all their free agents, coach Doc Rivers told Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. “To a man, they all want to come back,” Rivers said. “Then there’s business. We’ll see once July 1st comes. It’s going to be interesting the way the cap’s going up. We have three Bird [Rights] guys we have a chance of signing [Jeff Green, Jamal Crawford and Luc Mbah a Moute], but they all may be — not all of them — but they may outprice and we can’t sign all three. But we’re going to try.”