Kings Rumors

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Morris, Nance Jr.

December 28th, 2015 at 4:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In an interview with Tzvi Twersky of Slamoline.com, Kings center DeMarcus Cousins said that he believes because he’s been on a struggling team for his entire career he doesn’t get the credit for being a tough leader the way that the Timberwolves’ Kevin Garnett has. “This is what I’ve come to conclude: Winning covers up everything,” Cousins told Twersky. “If KG was always losing and was the same person, they would think he was the worst guy ever. That’s basically the situation I’m in. Since I’m losing, no one loves a loser—everyone loves a winner. That’s how it goes. I don’t see a difference between me and Joakim Noah. If anything, I feel Joakim has more crazy moments than I do—but his is passion, mine are an attitude or anger problems.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

It’s unclear if and when the Suns will look to trade disgruntled forward Markieff Morris, but there are a number of teams that are intrigued with the combo forward and his reasonable contract, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays (Twitter links). There is likely too much bad blood between Morris and the Suns organization for that relationship to be salvaged, but there is belief around the league that Morris can thrive in a different environment than Phoenix’s, Mannix adds.
The Lakers have moved rookie Larry Nance Jr. into the starting lineup thanks to his energy and versatility, but he’ll need to look for his shot more often if he wants to continue in that role, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. “I talked to him today that again when you have an open shot, you got to take the shot,” coach Byron Scott said. “[I told him] ‘You have a nice enough stroke’ and if he can make them on a consistent basis, the defense will start to respect him. But he moves the ball. That’s the only thing about Larry. He doesn’t take a lot of shots; he doesn’t even take the ones that are open. That’s one of the main reasons we changed the starting lineup – to get more ball movement.“

D-League Notes: Hardaway Jr., Ennis, McCallum

December 27th, 2015 at 3:35pm CST by Will Joseph

The Hawks have assigned Tim Hardaway Jr. to the D-League, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Atlanta does not have its own affiliate so Hardaway will likely join the Austin Spurs, based on the league’s flexible assignment system and the fact that the Hawks have an on-going relationship with the D-League franchise this season, Vivlamore writes. Hardaway played for the Canton Charge in his previous D-League stint.

It will be the second D-League stint for Hardaway, who has been a non-factor for the Hawks this season after he was acquired in a trade from the Knicks in June. Hardaway has appeared in only four games this season with Atlanta. Still, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer seems to remain optimistic about Hardaway’s development, as Vivlamore writes.

“I can promise you he is doing well and he is in a good place,” Budenholzer told reporters, including Vivlamore on Saturday. “A lot of it has been his approach to it. He’s been very professional. There is a real emphasis on player development with us and we’ve seen guys who have come in and maybe not started out gangbusters but through work, time and effort they find a way. I was say he is following that path in a very good way.”

Here are more moves and notes regarding the D-League:

The Grizzlies assigned James Ennis to the D-League three days after recalling him, the team announced in an emailed press release. This will be Ennis’ sixth stint with the Iowa Energy, Memphis’ D-League affiliate.
The Spurs assigned Ray McCallum to the Austin Spurs, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This marks McCallum’s third stint with the Austin Spurs this season.
The Kings have recalled power forward Duje Dukan from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter). It was Dukan’s fourth stint with Reno on the season.
The Mavericks recalled Justin Anderson and Salah Mejri from the D-League, the team announced in an emailed press release. Anderson has played sparingly in 18 games, including one start, while Mejri has seen action in only five games for Dallas this season.

Kings Notes: Cousins, Hunter, Casspi

December 26th, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins have bonded as teammates and the Kings hope that some of Rondo’s ability to shrug off criticism rubs off on the big man, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. “He’s 25 out here with a lot of pressure, the franchise on his back,” Rondo said. “He’s a strong individual. Me coming in, I just want to help him along the way, make some of the right decisions, push forward and continue to be a good person.” One benefit Rondo’s presence provides Cousins is that he removes some of the pressure from the center to be the face of the franchise, a role that the point guard understands and is comfortable with, Jones adds. “With [Cousins’] leadership and responsibility, it’s a big part to our team,” Rondo said. “I can’t put all the pressure on him. He accepts the pressure and I accept a lot of the pressure. It starts with both of us. I’m the quarterback in the front, he’s the quarterback in the back.”

Here’s more from out of Sacramento:

Kings training camp cut Vince Hunter is on the radar of a number of NBA teams for a possible 10-day contract thanks to his strong play in the D-League, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets. Hunter is averaging 21.5 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s D-League affiliate.
Omri Casspi, who re-signed with the Kings this past summer on a two-year, $6MM deal, has proven to be a bargain with his solid all-around play and the organization is thrilled with his high-energy style of play, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee writes. “Omri played great for George [Karl] the second half of last season and we wanted to bring him back if we could,” said Kings executive Vlade Divac. “His threes are like layups now. I’m very happy it worked out so well for both of us.“

The Beat: James Ham On The Kings

December 24th, 2015 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Nobody knows NBA teams better than beat writers, save for those who draw paychecks with an NBA owner’s signature on them. The reporters who are with the teams they cover every day gain an intimate knowledge of the players, coaches and executives they write about and develop sources who help them break news and stay on top of rumors.

We at Hoops Rumors will be chatting with beat writers from around the league and sharing their responses to give you a better perspective on how and why teams make some of their most significant moves. Last time, we spoke with Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post about the Heat. Click here to see all the previous editions of this series.

Today, we gain insight on the Kings from James Ham of CSN California and CSNBayArea.com. You can follow James on Twitter at @James_Ham, on Facebook at facebook.com/JamesHamKings and on Instagram at instagram.com/james_ham15/. Check out his stories here.

Hoops Rumors: From DeMarcus Cousins trade rumors to the recent team meeting to reports of frustration with George Karl, the Kings organization has a reputation for turmoil. Are Vivek Ranadivé and Vlade Divac learning any lessons from all this about how to keep situations from getting out of hand?

James Ham: Ranadivé has had to learn on the fly over his two-plus years running the Kings. It hasn’t always been easy. He makes plenty of mistakes, but hopefully he has learned from them.

The addition of Divac has brought a calm to the franchise. From the outside looking in, Sacramento is chaotic and dysfunctional. But the issues are being worked through and Divac is making the best of a situation that very few general managers would even attempt to take on.

Divac has developed a tight bond with Cousins. There is trust between the two big men, which isn’t an easy thing to accomplish when it comes to the Kings All-Star center. The gamble Divac made of bringing in Rajon Rondo has given Cousins a mentor.

As crazy as it may seem, the Kings are in a much better place than most media reports would have you believe. With the backing of Ranadivé, Divac is giving the Rondo/Cousins pairing a real chance to succeed before buying into any narratives concocted from the outside. It may not be a perfect situation, but when you are an NBA outpost, you do what you can to build a winner.

Hoops Rumors: Caron Butler seems like he’s played an important role in the locker room this season, but now the Kings have reportedly promised to trade him so he can see more playing time. If that’s true, who’s next in line to inherit that leadership capacity?

James Ham: It sounds like the Kings will take care of Butler and find a better spot for him to finish out his career. While Butler has been a veteran presence, the Kings have plenty of other experienced players to turn to.

Rondo has quickly risen to the top of the team’s leadership hierarchy. Butler will be missed, but there is a large group of players on this team that are extremely close to one another. Divac added plenty of seasoned winners to the roster.

Hoops Rumors: Recent controversy aside, Rondo has looked so much better this season than he did last year. What’s made the difference for him?

James Ham: There are a couple of reasons for Rondo’s success. First and foremost, he is completely healthy for the first time in a while. You can see that he has his explosive first step back.

Rondo missed training camp the previous two seasons due to injury. When he showed up in San Diego for day one of Kings camp he instantly began to put his personal stamp on the team. That may make some cringe, but the Kings were looking for a floor general and Rondo is a coach both on and off the floor.

There is no question that Rondo has a big personality. When he was traded to Dallas mid-season last year, it didn’t work. He was surrounded by too many veterans. They were already a winning club and they weren’t looking for a leader as much as they were looking for a lead guard.

Rondo is getting a fresh start in Sacramento. For better or worse, this is his team. He has made mistakes, but he has also been a star on plenty of nights.

Hoops Rumors: We haven’t seen too much of Willie Cauley-Stein and Cousins on the court together, thanks to injuries that have kept them both out at different times. Still, how have they meshed when Karl has put them both on the floor at the same time?

James Ham: Cauley-Stein has a ton to learn about the pro game. He is a quick study, but the Kings have had to start from scratch with him. He had very little exposure to the weight room and according to him, he had never really studied film before being drafted to the Kings.

Injuries have kept these two from playing together for much of the season and that will likely continue with Cauley-Stein’s finger injury. This should be a good long-term fit, but the early returns are not great.

Cauley-Stein knows to stay out of Cousins’ way on the floor. On the defensive end he is active when healthy, but he needs to add strength to compete against NBA regulars.

Hoops Rumors: Speaking of tandems, can Rondo and Darren Collison effectively share the floor, and if not, what can the Kings do about it?

James Ham: This is a tough question. On paper, this should work. Collison spent plenty of time playing off the ball with Chris Paul in Los Angeles, but the transition to working with Rondo is an advanced statistics nightmare.

We have seen some developments on this front over the last week or so, but it is a work in progress. Last season, Collison was the man. This season, Rondo is garnering all the acclaim. The Kings need both players to succeed, especially with Karl’s penchant for running dual point guards.

Long term, I think it works. Collison’s early injury forced Rondo into 48-minute-a-night duty. The team became overly reliant on his style of play and when Collison returned from injury, he tried to fit in instead of being himself.

We are starting to see Collison come in and change the pace when he is leading the team and find his spots when Rondo is in charge. It’s a tough transition, but Collison is a quality NBA guard and a very good locker room guy. Chemistry may take a little more time, but this is an important combination for the Kings.

Hoops Rumors: Ben McLemore has looked sharp on occasion, and he’s shooting a higher percentage on 3-pointers, but his minutes, and thus many of his other numbers, are down this season from last year. What has to happen for him to start seeing more playing time and live up to his billing as last year’s No. 7 overall pick?

James Ham: McLemore is in a tough spot. For his first two seasons, the Kings were rudderless and he was given every opportunity to play major minutes. Maybe he wasn’t handled properly during this stretch, but now he is on a completely different team.

The Kings added 10 new faces during the offseason, including three guards. The addition of Rondo has pushed Collison to take time at the two. Marco Belinelli is a seasoned pro with an elite skill and he too needs time.

Karl has tried plenty of three guard sets against smaller clubs, but McLemore’s inconsistency has hurt him. He’s still only 22 years old, but he now finds himself on a veteran-laden team. He has to produce. There are no nights off or bad stretches of inefficient ball. If he wants to play, he has to develop as a defender, a playmaker and continue to play aggressively.

McLemore is a great kid and an extremely hard worker, but he’s fighting for minutes against players with years of experience both in the regular season and in the playoffs. The Kings are dedicated to his development, but they have made a commitment to winning as well. It is up to him show that he can help this team on a consistent basis. If not, Karl has plenty of other options.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Nance Jr., Kerr

December 23rd, 2015 at 7:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers rookie Larry Nance Jr. has impressed the team’s coaching staff with his work ethic and versatility, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “Well, the one thing that Larry does for us is gives us a guy who is going to play the right way every single time on the basketball court,” coach Byron Scott said. “He’s never trying to play outside the box. He’s going to give you everything he’s got. He’s got great athleticism. But he works his butt off, he plays extremely hard. Trying to get him to take open shots when he has them. He’s been reluctant at times to do that. But he’s been one of those guys that just does everything that you want him to do.“

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kings coach George Karl has settled on the primary eight players in his rotation, but he would still like to find extra minutes for combo guard Seth Curry, who has been solid during his limited playing time this season, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. When asked how he can get Curry on the court more consistently, Karl responded, “That’s a tough question. Every morning, [the coaches] talk about playing more players, but when you get into the nature of the game, it is my instincts. … None of my ones, twos or threes are playing poorly, so there’s no reason to take minutes from anybody. I hope Seth is patient, and I think sometimes experimenting at home is easier to do than on the road.”
Despite the excellent job done by interim coach Luke Walton, the Warriors need Steve Kerr to return if they hope to repeat as NBA champions, an assessment that star point guard Stephen Curry agrees with, Mark Purdy of The San Jose Mercury News writes. “He just has a way of refocusing guys,” Curry said of Kerr. “And that’s whether it’s in the middle of the game or day to day at practice. Even if we’re playing well or winning games or not, there’s always something we can work on. And he presents it in a way that kind of fuels us as opposed to, like, calling guys out. … There’s a subtle or joking way he gets his point across that we appreciate.“
The Lakers have recalled Ryan Kelly and Tarik Black from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was the second stint with the D-Fenders on the season for both players.

Eric Moreland Breaks Foot, Out Eight Weeks

December 21st, 2015 at 11:58am CST by Eddie Scarito

DECEMBER 21ST, 11:58am: Moreland had surgery today and is expected to resume basketball activities in eight weeks, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.

DECEMBER 16TH, 6:30pm: Power forward Eric Moreland will be out of action indefinitely after sustaining a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during practice today, the Kings announced. Moreland will require surgery and Sacramento will announce the timetable for his return after the procedure has been performed, according to the team’s release.

Moreland’s minimum salary deal includes a partial guarantee of $200K and it will become fully guaranteed on January 10th. Sacramento would still be on the hook for the full amount of his contract if it were to waive Moreland prior to him being medically cleared to play, which isn’t likely going to occur before that deadline given the severity of his injury. The Kings currently possess the league maximum of 15 players on their roster, which means a corresponding move would be required if the team wished to add a replacement player.

The 23-year-old has appeared in five contests for the Kings this season, averaging 0.8 points and 1.2 rebounds on 66.7% shooting in just 4.8 minutes per game.

Celtics Rumors: Stevens, Smart, Cousins, Crowder

December 20th, 2015 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Changes appear to be coming to the Celtics, starting with a shakeup of the rotation, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. After three straight losses — and with the impending return of Marcus Smart from a bruised knee — coach Brad Stevens seems ready to try something different. “It’s one of the things that we’ve talked about,” Stevens said. “If we’re going to talk about our depth being a positive, then we should utilize it. So we’ll see. We’ll see what we think is best, not only for this particular game, but more so as we move forward.”

There’s more this morning out of Boston:

A healthy Smart would certainly help, but it could be after Christmas or even the new year before he’s back in uniform, writes Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com. The injured guard hasn’t played since colliding with the Nets’ Thomas Robinson in a November 20th game. He was able to do some on-court work Friday and Saturday, but Stevens said he is taking a “wait-and-see” approach with Smart’s return.
It will take a major move from president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to get the Celtics beyond their current level, according to Paul Flannery of SB Nation. There have been rumors for some time about Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, but Flannery writes that Boston’s front office isn’t convinced he’s the player to try to build around. Any move will likely focus on draft picks, with the Celtics owning possibly four first-rounders and several second-rounders for 2016.
The Celtics have been pleasantly surprised by what they’ve gotten from Jae Crowder since he was included in the Rajon Rondo deal with Dallas last December, writes Taylor Bradford of WEEI.com. Boston has a 43-40 record in games that Crowder has played, and he has averaged 10.4 points per contest in that time. “I knew people had told me they thought he could be a pretty good player,” Stevens said. “I knew he was tough when he played at Marquette. And I knew nothing else.”

Western Notes: Kings, Morris, Knight

December 19th, 2015 at 11:08pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Coach George Karl believes the Kings’ lack of professionalism and effort are major reasons why the team isn’t winning this season, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. “If we get a more serious, play-hard mentality, a more serious defensive mentality, I’ll take all the blame in the world,” Karl said. “You can blame me all night long. But when I’m managing attitude, when I’m managing approach, when I’m managing professionalism then yeah, my X’s and O’s aren’t good, either.”

The Kings attempted to add professionalism during the offseason, Jones adds, when they brought in 10 new players, many of whom are veterans who have been part of winning situations. Yet, changing habits takes time and the team understands that.

“That’s part of the process of trying to change the culture with winning ways, winning habits, and we’ve got some guys who can help do that,” Rajon Rondo said. “Marco [Belinelli] is a winner; [Caron Butler] is one. We’ve got enough strong personalities to help change the culture. It’s just a matter of time if the team stays consistent with it.”

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

Eric Saar of Basketball Insiders looks at potential Markieff Morris trades, and he believes a swap with the Pelicans for Ryan Anderson is the best-case scenario for the Suns. Anderson will be a free agent at the end of the season and Saar speculates that he will command near-maximum salary on the open market, which is something the Pelicans may not be inclined to give him.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines Brandon Knight‘s play since he signed his five year, $70MM contract during the offseason. The Suns were 4-7 last year with Knight in the lineup and they are 10-18 to start this season.
The Mavericks assigned Jeremy Evans to their D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, according to a team press release. Evans is averaging only 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game for Dallas this season.

2016/17 Salary Cap Projection: Sacramento Kings

December 19th, 2015 at 10:15am CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league prior to the official numbers being announced had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM. Many league executives and agents believe that the salary cap will escalate to a whopping $95MM for 2016/17, a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM. This significant bump is a result of the league’s new $24 billion TV deal that kicks in just in time for next season.

The increase in the salary cap will almost assuredly set off a flurry of activity in the free agent market next summer, and it will also make it easier than ever for teams to deal away their higher-priced stars. Prudent executives are acutely aware of exactly how much cap room they have to play with, not just for the current campaign, but for next season and beyond as well. While the exact amount of 2016/17’s salary cap won’t be announced until next summer, it always pays to know just how much salary is on the books for each franchise. With this in mind, we at Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise, and we’ll continue onward with a look at the Sacramento Kings:

Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $65,013,484*
Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Non Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $1,925,597
Total Projected Salary Cap Commitments: $66,939,081

*Note: This amount includes the $882,630 due Wayne Ellington, who was waived via the stretch provision. It also includes the player options for Caron Butler ($1,551,659), James Anderson ($1,139,123) and Seth Curry ($1,015,696).

If the salary cap were to fall in line with the projection of $89MM, Sacramento would have approximately $22,060,919 in cap space, or $28,060,919 if the cap were to be set at the higher mark of $95MM. Again, these are merely predictions until the exact cap amounts are announced, and they are not meant to illustrate the exact amount that the team will have available to spend this coming offseason.

Sacramento will also need to make a decision regarding Eric Moreland, who is eligible to become a restricted free agent next summer. If the Kings wish to retain the right to match any offer sheet the player were to receive the team would need to submit a qualifying offer worth $1,180,431. That number would merely be a placeholder until Moreland either inked a new deal or signed his qualifying offer, which would then set him up for unrestricted free agency the following offseason.

Trades and long-term free agent signings made during the season will also have a significant impact on the figures above, and we’ll be updating these posts to reflect the new numbers after any signings and trades have been made official.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

And-Ones: Holmes, D-League, Butler

December 18th, 2015 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings coach George Karl says that he had spoken with small forward Caron Butler weeks ago about his decreased playing time, and he cited the solid play of Omri Casspi as the primary reason for the change, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee relays in a series of tweets. The coach thinks of Butler as insurance at small forward, and he is aware that the veteran has spoken to team executive Vlade Divac about the situation, Jones notes. Jones also relays that all indications still point to the team trading Butler, as was reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com earlier this week.

Here’s more from around the league:

Lakers camp cut Jonathan Holmes underwent surgery today to repair a torn labrum and he is expected to require approximately five months of recovery time, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays in a series of tweets. Holmes had suffered a dislocated right shoulder during the preseason and as a result Los Angeles will be on the hook for his entire salary of $525,093 for the 2015/16 campaign, not just his partial guarantee of $100K, Pincus notes. The combo forward is expected to be ready for action in time for summer league play, the Basketball Insiders scribe adds.
Front office officials have been unusually reluctant to talk trades recently because so many teams are so close together in the standings, giving rise to playoff hopes around the league, an NBA GM said to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
The Mavericks have reassigned center Salah Mejri and swingman Justin Anderson to the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (on Twitter). This will be the fourth jaunt to the D-League on the season for both players.

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