- Chimezie Metu rejoined the Kings‘ rotation as the backup center on Monday for the first time since early December and had his best game of the season, with 11 points and nine rebounds in 14 minutes. The performance went a long way toward rebuilding head coach Mike Brown‘s trust in Metu, according to Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. Brown said he thought the big man “relaxed just a little bit” before losing his spot in the rotation last month.
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents during the 2023 offseason. We consider whether their stock is rising or falling due to their performance and other factors. Today, we’re focusing on a handful of Pacific players.
Russell Westbrook, G, Lakers
2022/23: $47,063,478- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Up
There were concerns about whether Westbrook would accept a more limited role entering the 2022/23 season, given his combativeness and lack of accountability at the end last season’s disastrous campaign. He clearly didn’t respect former head coach Frank Vogel, despite the Lakers winning a title under Vogel in ’19/20.
The ’16/17 league MVP is on the downside of his career at 34 years old, and he’s certainly not going to approach his current salary on an annual basis in free agency. Moving to the bench also hasn’t helped him score more efficiently — his 49.3 true shooting percentage is his lowest mark in 13 years, and very close to a career low (48.9 as a rookie).
So why is his stock up?
His attitude, effort level and effectiveness on defense have changed dramatically under Darvin Ham. He’s also been less of a ball-hog and a more willing passer in ’22/23.
Before the season started, I thought he might be looking at a one-year deal in the $3-7MM range in free agency. Now, I think he could get something like a two-year deal for the standard mid-level exception ($23.3MM), although it is admittedly difficult to come up a list of suitors – his playing style is polarizing.
JaMychal Green, F/C, Warriors
- 2022/23: $2,628,597
- Note: Green is also earning $5,571,403 from his previous contract with the Thunder.
- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Down
Taking into account his full salary following a buyout agreement with the Thunder, Green has earned between $7MM and $8.5MM in five of the past six seasons primarily due to his inside-outside game and ability to rebound at a solid clip.
However, the outside part of his game has been lacking the past two seasons. He shot just 26.6% from deep with the Nuggets in ‘21/22 and is at 26.5% through 28 games this season.
Green is still rebounding well, but he’s turning the ball over more, has always been fairly foul-prone, and will be 33 in June. If the poor outside shooting continues, he’s likely looking at another veteran’s minimum deal in a best-case scenario, because he’s not big enough (6’8″, 227 pounds) to protect the rim as a center and isn’t shooting well enough to be serviceable as a stretch four.
Harrison Barnes, F, Kings
- 2022/23: $18,352,273
- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Neutral
Barnes had a very slow start this season, averaging just 9.9 points on a .368/.167/.800 shooting line through nine games. Unsurprisingly, he has rebounded nicely by averaging 15.9 PPG on .505/.378/.818 shooting over the past 30 contests, with only four games below double-digit points.
The 31-year-old doesn’t excel in any one area, but he does a lot of things pretty well, and he also doesn’t have easily exploitable weaknesses. Those types of players tend to be even more valuable in the postseason than the regular season, so Barnes will have a long list of suitors if he reaches free agency.
Barnes is in the last year of a four-year, $85MM contract. Being on the wrong side of 30 hurts a little (he turns 31 in May), but he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to land another deal at similar value.
Thomas Bryant, C, Lakers
2022/23: $2,133,278- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Up
Bryant, 25, has been one of the league’s best bargains this season, producing at a high level offensively while pulling down 11.8 rebounds per 36 minutes on a veteran’s minimum deal. He plays with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, something the Lakers desperately needed.
Given his defensive limitations, I’m not sure you necessarily want him to be a full-time starter – having a solid foundation in the middle is really important. Still, he has shown that he’s over his ACL tear and will certainly command a raise as a free agent – something in the $7-12MM range annually should be within reach.
Dario Saric, F/C, Suns
- 2022/23: $9,240,000
- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Down
Saric’s current situation is somewhat reminiscent of Bryant’s last season — the reason Bryant got a “prove it” contract for the minimum is that he didn’t quite look fully recovered from his ACL tear. Unless he turns things around in the second half of ‘22/23, that’s likely what Saric will be facing in the offseason as well, because he’s struggled mightily to this point.
Having said that, he’s only 28, and his game isn’t predicated on athleticism, so there’s a chance he could be a nice buy-low candidate in free agency.
JANUARY 9: Dozier’s 10-day contract with the Kings is now official, per Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 News (Twitter link).
JANUARY 8: Veteran shooting guard PJ Dozier is signing a 10-day deal with the Kings, Dozier’s agent Kevin Bradbury informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Dozier signed a training camp deal with the Timberwolves this summer, but did not make the team’s opening night standard roster. Most recently, the 6’6″ swingman had been playing with Minnesota’s NBAGL affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.
During Iowa’s Showcase Cup run this fall, Dozier averaged 14.4 PPG on .444/.353/.722 shooting splits. He also contributed 6.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.2 SPG and 0.8 BPG across 13 contests, including seven starts.
Across five NBA seasons with the Thunder, Celtics, and Nuggets, the 26-year-old out of South Carolina holds career averages of 6.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.8 APG and 0.6 SPG. He tore his ACL in December 2021 while with Denver, and indicated in June of 2022 that he had been cleared to resume all basketball activities.
James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento tweets that Dozier has an ally on the Kings bench. Current Sacramento associate head coach Jordi Fernandez was previously an assistant coach with the Nuggets, with whom Dozier also spent the past three NBA seasons.
Ham adds that the Kings view Dozier as an intriguing two-way option. Sacramento could especially use Dozier’s help on the defensive side of the ball, where the team has been struggling.
- Coach Mike Brown was upset about the Kings‘ defense in Saturday’s loss to the Lakers, and the team sees potential help in PJ Dozier, who’s expected to sign a 10-day contract, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
The Kings are keeping KZ Okpala on their roster, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link), who hears from a source that the forward had his contract guaranteed for the rest of the season.
The 32nd overall pick of the 2019 draft, Okpala spent his first two-plus seasons with the Heat. However, Miami traded him to Oklahoma City last February and he was subsequently waived by the Thunder.
The 23-year-old signed a two-year, $4MM deal with the Kings ahead of training camp, but it was only partially guaranteed for $250K. The guarantee increased to $500K when he made Sacramento’s regular season roster.
Okpala started the Kings’ first three games in 2022/23, but he hasn’t played a whole lot since. Overall, he’s appeared in 25 games for an average of 7.8 minutes per night. Head coach Mike Brown is a fan of Okpala’s defense.
The Kings plan to guarantee Matthew Dellavedova‘s contract for the remainder of the season, a league source tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Dellavedova was signed to a partially guaranteed deal for the veteran’s minimum, so he will earn $2,628,597 in 2022/23. However, the Kings will only carry a $1,836,090 cap hit, as our Luke Adams details here.
Sacramento just waived Chima Moneke, another player with a partially guaranteed deal, ahead of tomorrow’s guarantee deadline. KZ Okpala is the last remaining player whose contract is partially guaranteed, but he has appeared in more games than both Dellavedova and Moneke, so it would be a mild surprise if he’s released.
A nine-year NBA veteran, Dellavedova spent most of his career with the Cavaliers, winning a title in 2016. He also spent two-plus seasons with the Bucks. However, he was out of the league in 2021/22 — he played for Melbourne United in his native Australia.
Kings head coach Mike Brown coached Dellavedova when he was a rookie with Cleveland back in ’13/14, and that familiarity played a big factor in him landing another NBA deal. The 32-year-old has appeared in just 15 games with Sacramento for an average of 6.7 minutes per contest.
The Kings have waived forward Chima Moneke, a source tells James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com (Twitter link).
Moneke was one of three players on Sacramento’s roster on partially guaranteed contracts — Matthew Dellavedova and KZ Okpala are the others. The deadline to waive partially and non-guaranteed deals before they become fully guaranteed is tomorrow, January 7.
The 27-year-old rookie out of Australia only appeared in two NBA games this season for a total of eight minutes. He spent the majority of the season with the team’s G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, averaging 17.6 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.6 SPG and 0.8 BPG in 16 games (36.3 MPG) during the Showcase Cup.
After going undrafted in 2018, Moneke played internationally for teams in France and Spain, first competing in the French LNB Pro B league before receiving a promotion to Orléans Loiret Basket of LNB Pro A, the top league in France, in 2020/21.
Last season he played for Baxi Manresa of Liga ACB, the top Spanish league, averaging 14.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 1.6 SPG on .521/.290/.735 shooting in 36 games (30 starts, 24.1 MPG). He was also named the MVP of the Basketball Champions League with Baxi Manresa in ’21/22.
Moneke was on a standard contract, so the Kings now have 14 players on their 15-man roster, with both two-way contracts filled.
- In an in-depth story for The Athletic, Jason Lloyd explores why Mike Brown was so intrigued by the Kings‘ head coaching opening this past spring and what he learned in his previous head coaching jobs that he brought with him to Sacramento.
- The Kings have three players — Matthew Dellavedova, Chima Moneke and KZ Okpala — on partially guaranteed deals, and none are locks to have their salaries guaranteed for the rest of the season, writes James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com. It’s possible one or more might be released in the next few days (the deadline to waive partially and non-guaranteed deals before they become fully guaranteed is January 7) in order to create roster flexibility ahead of the trade deadline, according to Ham, who says the Kings figure to be aggressive in their push to break their lengthy playoff drought.
Magic forward Paolo Banchero and Kings forward Keegan Murray have been named the NBA’s Rookies of the Month for January, the league announced today (via Twitter).
It’s the first time either player has won the award. Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin and Thunder guard Jalen Williams were the winners for October/November.
The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, Banchero averaged 19.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game in 15 December appearances (33.5 MPG) for the Magic, who enjoyed a rare winning month. Orlando’s 8-7 record in December was its best mark in a month since the team went 4-1 in Dec. 2020, per Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
Murray’s Kings, meanwhile, went 8-6 in December as the rookie forward started all 14 of the team’s games. This year’s No. 4 overall pick, Murray averaged 12.7 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 28.6 MPG and made an impressive 46.4% of his three-point attempts (2.8 makes per game).
Mathurin and Williams were among the nominees for this month’s award. Hawks wing AJ Griffin, Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, and Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard were the other nominees in the Eastern Conference, while Jazz big man Walker Kessler, Rockets forward Jabari Smith, and Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan were nominated in the West (Twitter link).