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Kings Sign Colby Jones To Four-Year Deal

July 2nd, 2023 at 8:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have become the first team to use the NBA’s cap exception for second-round picks, having signed No. 34 overall pick Colby Jones, per NBA.com’s official transactions log.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Sacramento agreed to give Jones a four-year contract worth $8.76MM. The first two years will be guaranteed, Charania adds.

The second-round pick exception is a new addition to the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. It allows teams to sign their second-rounders without requiring cap room or a cap exception like the mid-level. In past years, the Kings would have had to use a portion of their cap space (or the non-taxpayer mid-level, if they’d operated over the cap) in order to give Jones a four-year contract.

The second-round pick exception requires four-year deals to include a team option in the final year. It allows Jones to receive salaries worth more than the rookie minimum in the first two seasons of the deal, with minimum salaries in the last two.

The signing also won’t count against the Kings’ cap room until the end of July — this is to ensure a club can sign its second-rounders for Summer League play without having to worry about the impact on the team’s financial flexibility.

Jones is coming off a strong junior season at Xavier, where he averaged 15.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 4.4 APG with a .509/.378/.653 shooting line in 36 games (34.0 MPG) in 2022/23.

Jones has already been part of two trades in his brief NBA career. The Hornets technically drafted the 6’6″ wing, but his rights were flipped to the Celtics and then to Sacramento. The Kings sent a future second-round pick to Boston in order to move up four spots from No. 38 to land Jones.

Taking into account their reported deals with Alex Len, Trey Lyles, and Sasha Vezenkov, as well as PJ Dozier‘s non-guaranteed contract, the Kings now have 14 players on standard contracts.

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Kings Re-Sign Keon Ellis To Two-Way Contract

July 2nd, 2023 at 7:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have re-signed shooting guard Keon Ellis to a two-way contract, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

Sacramento had tendered Ellis a two-way qualifying offer in the days leading up to free agency, making him a restricted free agent, so he may have simply accepted that QO.

Ellis, who went undrafted out of Alabama in 2022, signed a two-way contract with the Kings last July and spent his entire rookie season within the organization. He was deployed sparingly at the NBA level in 2022/23, appearing in 16 games and playing just 71 total minutes.

Ellis played extensively for the Stockton Kings in the G League, however, averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per night in 23 regular season appearances (30.4 MPG) while registering an impressive shooting line of .517/.444/.784.

Sacramento still has two-way slots available for 2023/24 after bringing back Ellis. The team also tendered a qualifying offer to its other two-way player from ’22/23, Neemias Queta, but because Queta has been on a two-way deal with the Kings for two seasons instead of just one, his QO is equivalent to a standard (partially guaranteed) minimum-salary deal rather than another two-way contract.

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Checking In On NBA’s Top Remaining Free Agents

July 2nd, 2023 at 7:29am CST by Luke Adams

Technically, most of this year’s top free agents remain unsigned. Until the moratorium in place at the start of the 2023/24 league year lifts at 11:01 am Central time on July 6, most of them are ineligible to sign their new contracts.

However, within the last 40-ish hours, 36 of the players from our list of 2023’s top 50 free agents have taken themselves off the market by reaching contract agreements with teams around the league.

[RELATED: 2023 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

While those are just tentative agreements and could still fall apart, that usually doesn’t happen more than once or twice in a given offseason, so it’s safe to pencil those deals in for the time being and assume those free agents are off the board.

So who does that leave? As of early Sunday morning, here are the top free agents from our top-50 list who have yet to agree to new deals:

  1. Miles Bridges, F, Hornets (RFA)
  2. P.J. Washington, F, Hornets (RFA)
  3. Grant Williams, F, Celtics (RFA)
  4. Christian Wood, F/C
  5. Kelly Oubre, F
  6. Eric Gordon, G
  7. Malik Beasley, G/F
  8. Matisse Thybulle, F, Trail Blazers (RFA)
  9. Lonnie Walker, G/F
  10. Mason Plumlee, C
  11. Ayo Dosunmu, G, Bulls (RFA)
  12. Torrey Craig, F
  13. Hamidou Diallo, G
  14. Paul Reed, F/C, Sixers (RFA)

The Hornets are very much in the mix for all three of the remaining free agents in our top 20. As long as their qualifying offers to Washington and Bridges remain on the table, they control those players’ free agencies, with the ability to match any offer sheet they sign.

A report on Saturday indicated Charlotte is also mulling the possibility of an offer sheet for Williams. If the Hornets went ahead with a pursuit of the Celtics forward, it would presumably mean moving on from at least one of Bridges or Washington. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Washington has received interest from a few other teams and may be looking at a deal in the range of the one Rui Hachimura got from the Lakers (three years, $51MM).

Since being restricted can slow down the free agency process for players who don’t quickly negotiate a deal with their own teams, it’s possible there won’t be resolution right away for Thybulle, Dosunmu, and Reed. However, the rest of the players in this group are unrestricted and could move faster.

Scotto also has an update on Beasley, reporting today that the veteran shooter has drawn interest from the Sixers, Suns, Raptors, Mavericks, Bucks, and Warriors since reaching free agency. Some of those teams are limited to a minimum-salary offer.

The Kings and Pistons are among the teams that have displayed interest in Craig, according to Scotto, who notes that Detroit’s new head coach Monty Williams was a fan of the wing in Phoenix.

The following free agents were noted in the honorable mention section of our top-50 list and aren’t yet spoken for:

Here are our full lists of free agents by position/type and by team.

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Alex Len Signs One-Year Deal With Kings

July 1st, 2023 at 9:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 10: Len’s new deal is official, the Kings announced (Twitter link via James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com).

July 1: Alex Len will stay with the Kings on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. It will pay him $3,196,448.

The 30-year-old appeared in just 26 games last season, averaging 1.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per night. He claimed a role as the team’s backup center late in the season, but his playing time was sporadic in the seven-game playoff series against the Warriors.

There may be a clearer path to regular minutes for Len in 2023/24 following Sacramento’s trade of Richaun Holmes and the free agent departure of Chimezie Metu.

However, with the offseason far from over, the team also may still bring in another big man to be Domantas Sabonis‘ primary backup.

Len was the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, but he has never been able to live up to that status. He returned to the Kings as a free agent in 2021 after briefly playing for them during the 2019/20 season.

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No Deal Yet For Duarte

July 1st, 2023 at 10:58am CST by Rory Maher
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Spurs, Rockets Have Most Remaining Cap Room

July 1st, 2023 at 7:41am CST by Luke Adams

As we enter the first day of the NBA’s 2023/24 league year, two Southwest rivals – the Spurs and Rockets – are the teams with the most projected cap room still available, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links) and Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

San Antonio and Houston were active on Friday night. The Spurs reached agreements to re-sign restricted free agents Tre Jones and Julian Champagnie, while the Rockets made one of the biggest splashes of the summer so far by agreeing to a three-year, maximum-salary contract with Fred VanVleet. However, Jones and Champagnie have cap holds below their projected salaries, while Houston entered the offseason with approximately $64MM in room, so both teams still have plenty of flexibility.

Marks projects the Spurs at $29MM in remaining space, while Smith suggests they could actually still create up to $34MM+ if needed. Either way, they still have more spending power than any team in the NBA. Both Marks and Smith have the Rockets at approximately $25MM.

The Kings, Jazz, and Pacers are among the other clubs that still project to have more than $10MM in cap room remaining, though Sacramento’s and Indiana’s figures are hard to pin down because they’ll hinge on whether the teams complete their rumored trade involving Chris Duarte. The Kings also still have a path to remain an over-the-cap team if they want to, since none of their reported moves so far absolutely require cap space.

Here are a few other things to watch as the second day – and first full day – of the free agent period gets underway:

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Trey Lyles Re-Signs With Kings On Two-Year Deal

June 30th, 2023 at 5:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 7: Lyles’ two-year deal is official, the Kings announced (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 News).

June 30: Power forward Trey Lyles is re-signing with the Kings, Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report tweets. It’s a two-year deal, James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com tweets.

The base value of the contract is $16MM, plus bonuses, Sam Amick of The Athletic tweets. There are no team or player options in the deal.

Lyles proved to be a valuable reserve for a franchise that finally ended its long postseason drought this past season. Lyles expressed his desire to stay late last season, saying he felt “at home” in Sacramento. Lyles has also played for Utah, Denver, San Antonio and Detroit.

Lyles appeared in 74 regular season games off the bench for Sacramento, averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game. Lyles, who also saw action in seven postseason contests, played for a modest $2.625MM salary last season.

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Warriors Rumors: Green, DiVincenzo, Kuminga, Poole, Paul, Thompson

June 30th, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors are optimistic about re-signing Draymond Green and have been discussing a three-year deal with his representatives, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater says trading for Chris Paul was a win-now move that the team wouldn’t have made without a level of confidence that Green will return. He projects a new contract for Green starting close to the range of the $27.6MM player option that he declined, but adds that every $1MM the Warriors can save is important because of their inflated tax bill.

There may not have been a realistic market for Green in free agency, Scotto adds. The Kings were floated as a possibility because their head coach is former Warriors assistant Mike Brown, but Scotto points out that they’re hoping to sign Kyle Kuzma and had to work out a new deal with Harrison Barnes. The Pistons and Grizzlies were also mentioned, but Slater states that Memphis dropped out of consideration with the Marcus Smart trade.

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Donte DiVincenzo is expected to sign elsewhere and may be able to land a non-taxpayer MLE, which would be more than twice what Golden State can offer him, according to Scotto. Sources tell C.J. Holmes of The San Franciso Chronicle that the Knicks have emerged as the favorite to land DiVincenzo, who prefers to play on the East Coast and is hoping to receive a contract starting at $9-12MM. However, Scotto isn’t convinced that DiVincenzo would be a good fit in New York considering the number of guards already on the roster.
  • The Pacers were among the teams that inquired on Jonathan Kuminga, offering mainly draft assets in return, sources tell Scotto. Slater also cites interest from the Raptors and says Golden State began asking about OG Anunoby before the trade deadline. However, Slater doesn’t believe the Warriors have been shopping Kuminga, saying the organization still has confidence in him and he’ll likely be on the team when next season begins.
  • The decision to part with Jordan Poole in the trade for Paul was necessary to unload his contract, but coach Steve Kerr welcomed the chance to move on from a player who was fourth in the league in turnovers last season and often took poor shots, Slater states. Slater envisions Paul as the leader of the second unit, helping to develop young players such as Kuminga and Moses Moody.
  • Getting rid of Poole’s contract increases the chances for a Klay Thompson extension, according to Slater. Paul’s $30MM salary for 2024/25 is non-guaranteed, so more long-term money is available for Thompson. Slater doesn’t believe the Warriors have started negotiating a salary with Thompson yet, but he expects the veteran guard will have to accept a reduction from his current $43MM.
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Kings Sign Harrison Barnes To Three-Year Extension

June 29th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

10:00pm: The extension is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

7:11pm: The Kings will keep veteran forward Harrison Barnes off the free agent market, having reached an agreement on a three-year, $54MM contract extension, agent Jeff Schwartz tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal will include a 10% trade kicker, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Barnes has been a full-time starter for the Kings since they acquired him from Dallas at the 2019 trade deadline. The 31-year-old has appeared in 317 games since then, averaging 15.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG with a .472/.387/.827 shooting line in 34.0 minutes per contest.

Barnes signed a four-year, $94MM contract as a free agent in 2016 and got $85MM for four years in 2019. Given his age and the fact that so few teams had cap room this summer, it makes sense that he’d have to settle for a slightly lesser annual salary.

However, it’s also not a surprise that he’ll receive well above the mid-level, since his performance hasn’t noticeably dropped off in recent years. Barnes had a disappointing playoff showing vs. Golden State, but was as solid as ever during the 2022/23 regular season, with averages of 15.0 PPG and 4.5 RPG on .473/.374/.847 shooting. He was also one of just 10 NBA players not to miss a single game this year.

The Pacers were reportedly among the teams believed to have interest in Barnes, but he’ll officially sign a new deal with Sacramento before reaching free agency, since he remained extension-eligible until June 30.

Barnes’ new contract will cut into the Kings’ projected cap room, but the team should still have approximately $18MM in space, according to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

As Gozlan observes, Sacramento could use that room to give Domantas Sabonis a raise via a contract renegotiation-and-extension while still having enough left to go after another rotation player in free agency. The club would also have the room exception – projected to get a bump to $7.7MM – once it uses up its cap room.

The Kings would also have the ability to operate as an over-the-cap team, which would allow them to access their full $12.4MM mid-level exception and $4.5MM bi-annual exception, but would remove the option of a Sabonis renegotiation.

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Free Agent Rumors: Brown, Mavs, Lakers, Gordon, Yurtseven, Kuzma, Barnes

June 29th, 2023 at 6:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Unrestricted free agent Nuggets forward Bruce Brown plans to meet with the Mavericks at the start of free agency on Friday, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

Many teams appear primed to pursue Brown, according to MacMahon (Twitter link), who anticipates his market to be around the $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, if not higher. The Lakers are one suitor said to be confident about their chances. MacMahon adds that Brown may be open to taking a discount to return to the champs, who only have his Non-Bird rights available, which would cap them at a $7.8MM offer for next season.

The 6’4″ vet proved invaluable as a versatile, defense-first sixth man during Denver’s 16-4 run to the title this spring. Across 20 playoff games off the bench, he averaged 12.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 SPG and 0.5 BPG.

Here are more of the latest free agent rumors from around the league:

  • After opting not to retain shooting guard Malik Beasley and center Mohamed Bamba, the Lakers now project to remain well below the $172MM tax apron for 2023/24, which will enable them to use the full $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN, suggesting that Brown and Brook Lopez will be among Los Angeles’ targets. According to McMenamin (via Twitter), the Lakers may also consider adding more than one player with its mid-level exception money. In that scenario, point guard Dennis Schröder and shooting guard Eric Gordon could be targets, sources tell McMemamin.
  • Gordon is looking to land with a contender that will have a defined rotation gig for his services, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Beyond the Lakers, sources tell The Athletic that the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Bucks, Suns, and Trail Blazers have some interest.
  • After declining to tender a qualifying offer to center Omer Yurtseven, the Heat don’t appear to be focused on trying to re-sign him to a minimum-salary deal, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). “We’re grateful we got a chance to be there,” agent Keith Glass said, per Jackson. “We’ll try to find a place that values him and helps him reach his potential.”
  • Free agent power forward Kyle Kuzma appears more likely to end up with the Rockets than the Kings, but Sacramento shouldn’t be ruled out entirely as a Kuzma landing spot, per James Ham of Kings Beat. Sources inform Ham that the Kings’ own incumbent free agent starting power forward, Harrison Barnes, is hoping to earn a deal that pays him $20MM annually.
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