Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Lakers, Clippers, Kings

October 25th, 2015 at 7:15pm CST by Will Joseph

Lakers coach Byron Scott said a decision will come Monday on the team’s final cut, but offered no further details on whether it will be veteran Metta World Peace or second-year guard Jabari Brown, notes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Both players practiced on Sunday, Holmes adds.

Because players need 48 hours to clear waivers, the Lakers will be required to pay either World Peace or Brown for two days of salary, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times points out (assuming one is kept and the other is not). The waived player will receive only the two days of pay, so the Lakers will either owe World Peace approximately $18,000 or Brown $10,000, Pincus adds.

Here is more news out of the Western Conference:

Luc Mbah a Moute earned the Clippers‘ final regular season roster spot over Chuck Hayes mostly because of his defense months after the Kings voided his contract after a failed physical, Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com writes. In regards to the Kings, Mbah a Moute said, “I wish them luck. No hard feelings. I’m excited about the opportunity I have here now,” per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
While the Kings are expected to be better this season than in recent years, the team could just as likely implode with several interesting personalities, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. The vibe around the team, Jones adds, has been positive since training camp.
Rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay cut down on his turnovers and showed promise in what should be considered a mostly successful training camp for the Nuggets under new coach Michael Malone, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post writes.

Pacific Notes: Karl, Lakers, Upshaw, Frazier

October 24th, 2015 at 8:10pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kings minority owners would be reluctant to pay the salary of yet another fired coach, Grantland’s Zach Lowe hears, suggesting George Karl‘s job is safe. The minority owners have talked about their frustrations over Ranadive’s management of the team, though they don’t have the power to usurp his decision-making unless Ranadive sells, Lowe adds.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Robert Upshaw has cleared waivers and will sign with the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reports (Twitter link). The Lakers waived Upshaw earlier this week.
Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) hears that Michael Frazier will be signing with the Lakers‘ D-League affiliate as well.
The Lakers currently have 16 players under contract, as our Roster Count page shows, and Metta World Peace is one of four players on a non-guaranteed deal. The team is embracing the 35-year-old’s presence and his role as a mentor may help him to make the opening night roster, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. “We’re a better team with Metta,” said Julius Randle, who praised World Peace for teaching him about offensive and defensive rotations, footwork, mental preparation and playing off the ball. “It’s not our decision if he’s on the team or not. But Metta’s knowledge and wisdom that he brings to this team is amazing. It’s fun playing with him.”

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post

Kings Waive David Stockton

October 22nd, 2015 at 7:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

7:20pm: Stockton has officially been waived, the Kings announced.

5:58pm: The Kings have waived point guard David Stockton, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Stockton’s contract was non-guaranteed, so Sacramento won’t be responsible for any salary as a result of this move.

Stockton, the son of NBA legend John Stockton, went undrafted in 2014 after four seasons at Gonzaga. The younger Stockton was in training camp with the Wizards last season but didn’t make it onto Washington’s regular season roster. The point guard originally joined the Kings during the 2014/15 campaign when the team inked him to a lone 10-day pact, but Stockton only appeared in one contest while on that deal, scoring one point in seven minutes of action. He later re-joined the team in April, signing a multiyear contract. Stockton spent the bulk of last season in the D-League with the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate. In 43 D-League appearances he averaged a stellar 20.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 9.9 assists.

Parting ways with Stockton reduces Sacramento’s roster count to 15 players, which is the regular season maximum.

Pacific Notes: Crawford, Barnes, Ezeli, Hibbert

October 21st, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

It took a sell job from Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, but Jamal Crawford is on board with continuing to be a part of a crowded rotation, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register details. Rivers and Crawford spoke about their issues over the summer and again before camp, and while Crawford took to social media this summer to drop vague hints that he was dissatisfied, the two-time Sixth Man of the Year now says it can “easily work” for him in L.A. Rivers said in September he was unlikely to trade Crawford, swatting down rumors. See more from the Pacific Division:

Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob would like to see the team sign Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli to extensions before the November 2nd deadline, but he’d still be OK with them ending up in restricted free agency next summer, as Lacob said in a podcast with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Lacob also made it seem as though it’s unlikely that Steve Kerr will coach the team in the opener as he continues to nurse his ailing back.
Roy Hibbert is fostering team chemistry in a way that no one did on the Lakers last year, Jordan Clarkson tells Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. The big man doesn’t see it as all that important but thinks that if he can help others perform, it will reflect well on him in the future. Hibbert is poised to hit free agency this coming summer. “When the team wins,” Hibbert said, “everybody wins. So helping them is going to help me on the court in the long run and then that will help whatever contract stuff. So you have to be selfless.”
Omri Casspi is struggling in the preseason, but coach George Karl isn’t worried about the player in whom the Kings invested $5.8MM on a new two-year deal this summer, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I think the way he played at the end of last year, he’s earned the right to be given some freedom and opportunity to figure out what happens this year,” Karl said.

Pacific Notes: Bryant, Weems, Moreland

October 20th, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jim Buss, Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations, doesn’t regret signing Kobe Bryant to a two-year, $48.5MM extension back in 2013, regardless of how Bryant’s tenure with the franchise ends, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. “You give Kobe Bryant $50MM for two years,” Buss told Amick. “Are you kidding me? What did he bring us? In this day and age, what did he bring us, for 20 years? And if that isn’t what you’re supposed to do, then I have no idea what life is all about. You pay the guy. You believe in the guy. If he ends up [staying healthy], that’s fantastic. Well everybody [in the media] cut me up for that, but I’d say over 200 fans have come up to me and said, ‘Thank you so much for letting my kid see Kobe Bryant for two more years.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m glad I can see him for two more years.’ ”

Buss also took the time to refute a report by Henry Abbott of ESPN which indicated that the organization was anxious for Bryant to depart so it could begin rebuilding in earnest, Amick adds. “It’s [expletive], that’s exactly what that was,” Buss said when asked about the article. “The organization absolutely loves him. You know why? Because he has made a living, as we [have] with the Lakers for the last 20 years, because of this man. Magic Johnson carried us [to] this part [of their history] … and Kobe Bryant has carried us for 20 years. So every person that works in that organization, why would they hate him? Why would they want him out of there? There’s only a basketball or a Kobe hater that would want that. There’s no other reason.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific:

Sonny Weems has impressed the Suns‘ coaching staff with his playmaking ability, a part of his game that Weems credits his time playing overseas for developing, writes Matt Petersen of NBA.com. “When I first went over there [Europe], I was just the guy they got to score,” Weems said. “I paid attention over there instead of just going over there to play basketball. I learned a few things watching the European guards over there. It’s kind of a thing I picked up these last two or three years when I was in Russia. It just stuck with me.”
Power forward Eric Moreland is fighting long odds to secure a regular season roster spot with the Kings, but the level of hustle and energy he has exhibited has impressed coaches and may help him stick with the team, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Coach George Karl indicated Moreland deserves a roster spot on opening night, Jones adds. “It’s going to be difficult to get minutes between Cuz [DeMarcus Cousins], Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein when you want to play forward,” Karl said. “But I think he’s a good insurance policy. I think he and Quincy Acy both will serve as insurance policies and there may be situations where he can get on the court.”

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Young, White, Mitrovic

October 19th, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors have largely the same roster they did when they won the title in June, but with a handful of players entering the final season of their contracts and Steve Kerr on a health-related leave of absence, this year’s team has a different feel, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Stephen Curry says it’s “weird” not having Kerr around and acknowledges the challenges of everyone coalescing once more, as Aldridge relays.

“We are, technically, the same team,” Curry said. “We have everybody minus David Lee back, and Jason Thompson. But we’re different in that regard. Because everybody’s in a different place in their careers. Maybe stuff’s going on off the court. You’ve got to kind of separate what we did last year from this year, even though it’s the same personalities in the locker room. Support each other, encourage each other, figure out how we can mesh all the different storylines together into one goal, which is doing what we did last year.”

See more from the Pacific Division:

Nick Young calls the trade rumors that surrounded him this summer “confusing” and “motivating,” but the Lakers didn’t find a taker, and Young and coach Byron Scott are entering this season preaching optimism about their continued partnership, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details. “Me and Byron are good, but I’m using it as motivation,” Young said. “I’m just trying to do my part and stay alive. I’m trying to do everything he tells me to do. Anything I got to do to stay out there on the court.”
Suns camp cut Terrico White will play for Phoenix’s D-League affiliate, a source tells Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link). White cleared waivers this weekend after the Suns released him Thursday. NBA teams can retain the D-League rights to as many as four players they waive, so White appears to be one of Phoenix’s four.
Kings draft-and-stash prospect Luka Mitrovic is expected to miss several months because of a left knee injury, Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi tweets. Mitrovic, the last pick of this year’s draft, signed an extension with Crvena Zvezda of Serbia this summer. Sacramento holds his NBA rights as a result of the cap-clearing trade with the Sixers this summer.

Western Notes: Smith, Rondo, Mavs

October 18th, 2015 at 2:40pm CST by Will Joseph

In order to make the team, Rockets rookie center Joshua Smith, who is 350 pounds, has to cut down on his tendency to commit fouls, notes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Smith has committed 23 fouls in five games this preseason, spanning 90 minutes played, as Watkins points out. “It’s been OK, I can get a lot better, the foul trouble is one for me I got to correct,” Smith said. “It’s never good when your mom is telling you to stop hacking. I got to fix that.”

The Rockets have 14 players with fully guaranteed contracts for the regular season. Smith is on a non-guaranteed deal.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

Rajon Rondo does not believe he has to defend his reputation as a bad apple in locker rooms and contends that the perception of his character is the creation of the media, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. Jones caught up with Rondo after reports that the Kings point guard is already butting heads with coach George Karl were taken seriously even though, as Jones points out, Rondo was only kidding. “When things are positive the media doesn’t make a big deal about it,” Rondo said. “When we go out here and do things for the community, we do things for charity events, it’s not a big deal. But as soon as you make a mistake or get a technical foul it’s running across the ESPN ticker. That’s the way the world is. You’ve just got to make a difference one day at a time and hopefully the media, well you have to do your job, but the world thrives on bad news.”
Mavs rookie small forward Maurice Ndour has suffered a stress reaction in left leg and is out indefinitely, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). Ndour has a fully guaranteed salary worth $525,094 this season.

Pacific Notes: Butler, Collison, Redick, Weems

October 17th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Caron Butler, who was signed in the offseason to bring a veteran presence to the Kings, told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee he knows that role very well. Butler, who joined his ninth NBA team in 14 years, agreed to a deal in July that will pay him more than $3MM over two seasons. “Just because you’ve been in so many different environments, you know how to play, you know how to adapt to systems and stuff like that,” Butler said. “And when you play for so long, you have so much insight into the game, and [I’m] playing with young guys now, so that’s the role that you have to take so you can give them information and help them.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

One of the few holdovers after an offseason of change, Darren Collison could play a vital role in how successful the Kings become, writes James Ham of CSNBayArea.com. “If I had to bet, I think Darren Collison probably has as good a chance to have the best year he’s ever had in his career this year,” said coach George Karl. “I think he’s just going to like what we do [and] how we use him.” Collison is signed for more than $10.2MM over the next two seasons.
The Clippers’ J.J. Redick has raised his assessment of the organization’s offseason, according to Kenny Ducey of SI.com. The veteran guard gave it an F when he thought DeAndre Jordan had signed with Dallas, but that grade improved considerably when he saw how all the moves played out. “We had no cap space,” Redick said, “and we re-signed our best player that was a free agent, and we picked up Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, traded for Lance [Stephenson], Wes Johnson, Pablo Prigioni. We have 13 rotation players, so it’s definitely an A.”
Even though much of Sonny Weems‘ basketball experience has come outside the NBA, it may be enough to give him the edge in the battle to be the Suns‘ backup shooting guard, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. The 29-year-old hasn’t played in the NBA since 2011, but has become a star in the Euroleague. He is competing for the position with 18-year-old rookie Devin Booker and 20-year-old Archie Goodwin. “I’m not coming in the league all frantic and in a rush to do everything,” Weems said. “I’ve been here before. I’ve been playing professionally overseas. I’m used to everything. It’s just about being me.”

Pacific Notes: Staten, Murray, Henderson, Kerr

October 16th, 2015 at 6:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Juwan Staten, who was waived by the Warriors earlier today, will sign with Golden State’s D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). Colin Bryant, Staten’s agent, confirmed the news to Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (on Twitter). NBA teams can retain the D-League rights to up to four players they waive. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers have officially signed Tracy Murray for the remainder of the season as the team’s shooting coach, Los Angeles announced. “I’ve known Tracy a long time, and he was one of the purest shooters I’ve ever seen,” said coach Byron Scott. “I think he’ll be a benefit to our players, especially our young guys, and I look forward to working with him as a member of our staff.” Murray appeared in 659 games during his 12 year NBA career.
The Kings have offered point guard Marshall Henderson a spot on their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, Spears relays (via Twitter). The 24-year-old, who was waived by Sacramento on Thursday, is also garnering interest from teams overseas, the Yahoo scribe adds.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who took a leave of absence from the team after experiencing complications related to back surgery he had undergone in July, is expected to return to the team soon, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com relays. Of Kerr’s impending return, interim coach Luke Walton said, “I think it’s great. Obviously Steve’s one of those guys just having him around makes everything better, so he wouldn’t be coming down with us at all if he was still as bad as he was. So I think it shows signs of improvement. I don’t think it means he’ll be back within the next two days, but all we can ask for is that he keeps getting better.”

Kings Waive Marshall Henderson, Vince Hunter

October 15th, 2015 at 5:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings have waived point guard Marshall Henderson and combo forward Vince Hunter, the team announced. Both players were signed to partially guaranteed deals, so Sacramento will be on the hook to each for $35K this season if they clear waivers. These moves reduce the Kings’ roster count to 16 players.

Henderson, 24, went undrafted out of Mississippi in 2014 after a number of incidents involving narcotics, the string of which began during his Senior year of high school. During his final season at Mississippi back in 2013/14, Henderson averaged 19.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.1 minutes per contest. His slash line was .353/.342/.817. The 6’2″ guard played overseas last season for both Al Rayyan of the Qatari Basketball League and the Iraqi club Nift Al-Janoub.

The 21-year old Hunter made 33 appearances for UTEP during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 14.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 28.5 minutes per contest, and he owned a slash line of .526/.400/.602. Hunter played for the Sixers’ squad in the Las Vegas Summer League, logging averages of 7.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG in four appearances after going undrafted this year.