Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Waive Nerlens Noel, Neemias Queta

September 12th, 2023 at 8:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

8:12pm: The duo has officially been waived, according to a team press release.

5:02pm: The Kings are waiving centers Nerlens Noel and Neemias Queta, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Both big men were signed by Sacramento this offseason to partially guaranteed one-year deals, but the Kings subsequently signed JaVale McGee to a guaranteed one-year deal after he cleared waivers.

The Kings want to give Noel and Queta an opportunity to hook on with another organization before training camp rather than hanging onto them and then waiving them shortly before the season begins.

Noel was signed to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal as a free agent this summer. He received a $300K guarantee, which would have increased to $600K if he made the 15-man opening night roster.

Noel has appeared in 467 career regular season games since being drafted sixth overall in 2013 but didn’t play much in 2022/23. After being traded from New York to Detroit during the 2022 offseason, the 29-year-old appeared in 14 games for the Pistons, who bought him out at the end of February. He signed a 10-day contract with Brooklyn and played in three games for the Nets, but didn’t get a second 10-day and finished the season as a free agent.

The Kings signed Queta to a two-year, minimum-salary contract. His $2,019,706 salary for the upcoming season included a $250K guarantee, while the second season was non-guaranteed. The guarantee for the upcoming season would have doubled if he was on the opening night roster.

Queta has been on Sacramento’s roster the past two seasons, appearing in a total of 20 NBA games. The 7’0” Queta was a second-round pick in 2021 out of Utah State.

Noel and Queta were projected to fight for one roster spot as the No. 3 center behind Domantas Sabonis and Alex Len. That changed when the Mavericks waived McGee and the Kings signed him after he cleared waivers. Sacramento has 14 guaranteed contracts and could explore other options, or just leave open the 15th roster spot.

Kings Sign Jordan Ford To Camp Deal

September 12th, 2023 at 8:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:11pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

8:11pm: The Kings are bringing back guard Jordan Ford on an Exhibit 10 contract, Kings radio reporter Sean Cunningham tweets.

Ford was on Sacramento’s camp roster last season but he was waived in mid-October.

Undrafted out of St. Mary’s in 2020, Ford started 32 games last season for the G League’s Stockton Kings. He averaged 14.7 points and 4.6 assists in 26.1 minutes per game. He also appeared in six Summer League games for Sacramento, averaging 14.2 points and 5.0 assists in 27.7 minutes.

If he’s waived before the season starts, Ford could earn a bonus of up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with Stockton. The Kings could also convert his contract to a two-way deal. Sacramento has one two-way slot available, as our roster counts page shows.

Len, McGee Likely To Make Roster

September 10th, 2023 at 8:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Alex Len and JaVale McGee are expected to make the Kings’ opening night roster and compete for backup minutes at center, James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com tweets. That doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering they both have guaranteed contracts. That also means Neemias Queta and Nerlens Noel, who have partially guaranteed deals, will essentially be competing for the final roster spot, assuming Sacramento decides to carry 15 players.

Pacific Notes: Paul, Labissiere, Warriors Rookies, Lakers

September 9th, 2023 at 10:54am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Warriors made one of the splashiest moves of the offseason when they acquired Chris Paul from Washington after he was sent to the Wizards by Phoenix in the Bradley Beal trade. Even though the Warriors sent out Jordan Poole in the deal, lineup questions arose for Golden State, who return 2022/23 starters Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney — that could leave CP3 as the odd man out in the starting five.

However, appearing on a recent episode of Yahoo Sports’ Vince Goodwill’s “Good Word With Goodwill” podcast (Podcast link), Andscape’s Marc J. Spears said he expects the Warriors to start Paul.

“I do expect him to start. And I think it’s like five-minute spurts,” Spears said on the podcast. “I don’t know that they really want his minutes to be high, but I think they’re gonna try it. I could be wrong, but that’s the gist I’m getting. This isn’t an opinion that he’s expected to start; it’s what I’m hearing. He’s never not started in his career.”

As Spears notes, Paul has started in all 1,214 of his NBA appearances. If that streak continues, it means one of the Warriors’ entrenched starters would have to move to the bench. Looney is a natural candidate, but the Warriors are lacking size and going that route would put them at a disadvantage in that regard, since it would make 6’6″ Green and 6’7″ Wiggins the tallest players in the lineup.

We have more notes from the Pacific Division:

The Kings plan to sign and then waive Skal Labissiere on the same day, meaning he won’t report to the team’s training camp The Kings Beat’s James Ham tweets. This was always the expected outcome for Labissiere, especially after the team secured his G League rights in a trade on Friday. Labissiere, 27, played for the Kings from 2016-19 after being drafted by the team with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2016 draft. He holds career averages of 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 148 NBA appearances between the Kings and the Trail Blazers.
Warriors rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis are becoming closer throughout the offseason, recently touring several attractions in San Francisco, Shayna Rubin of The Mercury News writes. Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, who could both play rotational roles for a Warriors team seeking to contend, are becoming acclimated to the city and the franchise, according to Rubin. Rubin reports that the two were part of a players-only mini-camp hosted by Curry at the end of August, and the entire team grew closer as a result of the event.
Signing Christian Wood is the latest in a series of flashy Lakers moves this offseason, but Heavy’s Sean Deveney writes that rival executives believe coach Darvin Ham is going to have his hands full with developing and sticking to a rotation. “They’re deep,” the executive said, per Deveney. “They’re 12 deep. That’s great when you look at it on paper. But when happens when the ball goes up and you’re playing nine guys, and one of those guys is playing eight minutes? That gets sticky for a coach. [Ham] is as good as anyone at relating to players, but a depth chart like that can be a coach’s nightmare.” Deveney suggests that Wood wouldn’t have joined the Lakers if his role wasn’t going to be big. Los Angeles also brought in a handful of players in free agency, including Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince, while retaining Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell. Second-year player Max Christie is also in line for more playing time.

Kings Sign, Waive Skal Labissiere

September 8th, 2023 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 8: The Kings have officially signed and waived Labissiere, per RealGM’s transaction log.

Stockton made a trade this week to acquire Labissiere’s G League returning rights, so he’ll get an Exhibit 10 bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the NBAGL club.

AUGUST 21: The Kings are signing Skal Labissiere to a one-year contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The Labissiere acquisition is for the G League Stockton Kings, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. As Ham explains, the hope is that he’ll join the franchise on an Exhibit 10 contract after a trade with the Mexico City Capitanes (G League) is finalized.

Labissiere hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019/20 season, when he saw action in 33 games with the Trail Blazers. Labissiere, the 28th pick of the 2016 draft, spent the bulk of his NBA career with Sacramento. He played 106 games for the Kings, including 41 starts.

In the last few years, he has spent time in the NBA G League, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

For his NBA career, he’s averaged 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game in 148 appearances.

Pacific Notes: McGee, Warriors, Kings, Vanderbilt, Vogel

September 8th, 2023 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings beat out the Warriors for free agent center JaVale McGee, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who suggests both Pacific clubs were in pursuit of the big man after he was waived by Dallas last week.

McGee’s new deal with Sacramento is only for one year and is worth the veteran’s minimum, but it’s fully guaranteed. It’s unclear whether or not Golden State was willing to offer a fully guaranteed contract to the former Warrior. According to Amick, the Kings envision McGee playing a “significant” role in 2023/24 if he shows he’s capable of handling it.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

The Stockton Kings – Sacramento’s G League affiliate – announced in a press release on Thursday that they’ve acquired Skal Labissiere‘s returning rights from the Mexico City Capitanes in a three-team trade that sent DJ Steward‘s rights to the Maine Celtics. Labissiere has agreed to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Kings, while Steward has reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Celtics. This trade will ensure both players are in line to receive their Exhibit 10 bonuses.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt became extension-eligible on Thursday, notes Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Vanderbilt, whose maximum extension would be $75MM over four years, will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 if he doesn’t sign a new contract before then.
In a two-part interview with Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, new Suns head coach Frank Vogel discussed several topics, including the philosophy he’ll bring to his new job and what he’s looking for in Phoenix’s fifth starter alongside Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Deandre Ayton. “We’ll have a lot of guys that have an opportunity to be that fifth guy,” Vogel said. “The versatility of maybe being able to guard multiple positions or maybe it’s an elite shooter. Maybe it’s just another play-maker. I think we have a lot of guys with a lot of different skill sets and we’ll put a lot of different combinations throughout the year.”

McGee Isn't Guaranteed Roster Spot

September 3rd, 2023 at 8:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have signed JaVale McGee to a one-year contract. McGee got a guaranteed veteran’s minimum deal but that doesn’t mean he’s assured of making the roster out of training camp, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes.

The Kings have McGee, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, Neemias Queta and Skal Labissiere on the camp roster as potential backups to star center Domantas Sabonis. Labissiere is ticketed to the G League but Len has a fully guaranteed one-year deal, while Noel and Queta have partial guarantees. That means four players are essentially vying for two roster spots.

JaVale McGee Signs With Kings

September 2nd, 2023 at 9:09pm CST by Tristan Tucker

SEPTEMBER 2: The signing is official, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

SEPTEMBER 1: McGee is signing a guaranteed minimum-salary contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

AUGUST 31: Free agent center JaVale McGee is signing with the Kings, according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The Mavericks officially waived McGee on Tuesday and now he’s set to join another Western Conference contender.

McGee, 35, signed with Dallas last year on a three-year, $17MM deal and opened the year as a starter, but quickly fell out of the rotation altogether. In all, McGee averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 42 games (career-low 8.5 minutes) with the Mavericks. Once it was clear McGee was no longer in the team’s future plans, Dallas cut him loose this offseason and is stretching his remaining salary over the next five years for roughly $2.35MM through 2027/28.

The Kings will hope McGee, a three-time champion, has enough left in the tank to help contribute to a team that ended a 16-season playoff drought last year. McGee is just one season removed from averaging 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in Phoenix, where he played in 74 games and made 17 starts.

Sacramento’s interest in McGee was reported shortly after he was waived by Dallas. It’s unclear what kind of deal he’s signing, but it likely isn’t for more than the veteran’s minimum and may not be fully guaranteed.

Sacramento’s roster is stacked with backup centers. Nerlens Noel, Neemias Queta, Alex Len and Skal Labissiere (reported) are likely to compete with McGee for minutes and/or a roster spot. Queta and Noel are in more direct competition with McGee for a roster spot. Len’s roster spot appears safe and Labissiere is joining on a training camp deal with the goal of him playing for the Stockton Kings next year. Meanwhile, Noel has a $300K partial guarantee and Queta has a $250K partial guarantee.

Kings Notes: Vezenkov, Monk, McGee

September 1st, 2023 at 5:51pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Olympiacos star Sasha Vezenkov decided to come stateside for the 2023/24 season, signing a three-year, $20MM contract with the Kings, who held his draft rights. At his introductory press conference on Thursday, Vezenkov said the team’s months-long pursuit to sign him played a factor in his decision, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee relays.

“I’m really happy, really excited,” Vezenkov said. “It was a big decision for my career and I’m really happy to do it for Sacramento. I’m really thankful to the organization because throughout the last year, they came overseas. They show me their commitment. They show me how much they want me to be here and I’m really happy.”

The reigning EuroLeague MVP had a lot of success playing with Olympiacos, winning back-to-back domestic titles the past two seasons and losing the EuroLeague final to Real Madrid by one point in 2022/23. The Kings’ success last season — winning 48 games and breaking their 16-year playoff drought — was another reason the Bulgarian forward wanted to join the team, according to James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com.

“I like to win,” Vezenkov said. “That’s why we play basketball — to enjoy, to win games. This helped in my decision. As we saw last year, the Kings were a fantastic team, playing beautiful basketball, but most importantly, winning.”

Here’s more on the Kings:

Adjusting to the pace, space, and athleticism of the NBA can sometimes be a challenge for European players, especially right away. But Vezenkov is confident he’ll make an impact with Sacramento and believes it will be a good fit, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net. The 28-year-old sharpshooter said it was a “dream” to play in the league. “The NBA was like a goal, a dream for me,” Vezenkov said. “Every kid who plays in Europe wants to come to the NBA. … I am here to help with my experience, with whatever coach needs from me for this team to continue to win games and perform better and better.”
Ham of TheKingsBeat recently touched on Malik Monk‘s contract situation in an appearance on ESPN 1320’s D-Lo & KC show (Twitter video link). Monk, who is entering the final year of his deal, will only have Early Bird rights in 2024 after signing a two-year contract with the Kings, and he is not extension-eligible. That means Sacramento will be somewhat limited in what it can offer him in free agency next summer, Ham notes. After a solid regular season as the team’s sixth man, Monk had a breakout performance in Sacramento’s first-round playoff loss to Golden State, averaging 19.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 3.6 APG in seven games (29.3 MPG).
Veteran center JaVale McGee is reportedly signing a one-year, fully guaranteed minimum-salary contract to join the Kings after being waived by Dallas. He’s expected to compete for minutes behind Domantas Sabonis, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who writes that McGee has the trust of head coach Mike Brown, as they won a pair of championships together with Golden State. McGee’s mother also played for Sacramento’s WNBA team, the Monarchs, Amick adds.

Jordi Fernandez Further Bolstering Résumé With World Cup Performance

August 30th, 2023 at 7:48am CST by Luke Adams

No World Cup team has registered a better point differential through three games than Canada (+111). The work Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez is doing with the Canadian national team is further strengthening his case to become an NBA head coach, which is expected to happen sooner or later, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.