Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Lakers, Conley, R. Williams, MPJ, Wesley, T. Davis

December 9th, 2022 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers should have their two superstars back on Friday night in Philadelphia. LeBron James missed Wednesday’s game in Toronto to rest his sore right ankle, but he’ll be available on Friday, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Anthony Davis, who left Tuesday’s game in Cleveland with a non-COVID illness and remained out on Wednesday, is listed as probable to play on Friday, McMenamin adds.

Meanwhile, in Utah, Jazz guard Mike Conley has been cleared to return, as expected, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Sidelined since November 19 due to a knee injury, Conley said today that he had already been planning to return tonight, but felt more urgency to get back on the court with Collin Sexton now on the shelf (Twitter link via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune).

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Speaking today to reporters, Celtics big man Robert Williams declined to offer specifics when asked about when he might make his season debut, repeatedly stating that he’s “day to day.” However, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe and Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter links) believe Williams may be trending toward a Saturday return, noting that head coach Joe Muzzalla couldn’t hold back a smile when asked about the possibility of the center playing in Golden State.
There’s still no timeline for the return of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., who has missed eight straight games with a left heel injury, head coach Michael Malone said on Thursday. According to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link), a TNT report suggested Porter could be back within a week, but Malone said no target date has been conveyed to him.
Spurs rookie Blake Wesley, making his way back from an MCL tear, will likely have a stint with the Austin Spurs in the G League before he returns to the NBA team, head coach Gregg Popovich said on Thursday (Twitter link via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News). Popovich added that Wesley is getting close.
Kings guard Terence Davis had hoped to return on Wednesday after missing just one game due to a lower back issue, but he aggravated the injury in practice on Tuesday and is now at risk of missing additional time, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “It’s frustrating because all I want to do is play basketball,” Davis said.

Trey Burke Joining Kings’ G League Affiliate

December 9th, 2022 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Trey Burke is headed to the G League, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who says (via Twitter) that Burke is joining the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s NBAGL affiliate. The move shows up in the NBAGL’s official transaction log.

Burke, 30, appeared in 42 games for the Mavericks last season, averaging 5.1 PPG and 1.4 APG in 10.5 minutes per contest while shooting a career-worst 31.7% on three-pointers. He was traded from Dallas to Houston in the Christian Wood trade, then flipped to Oklahoma City in an eight-player deal during training camp. The Thunder subsequently waived him, making him an unrestricted free agent.

A former ninth overall pick who has appeared in nearly 500 regular season games since making his NBA debut in 2013, Burke has some G League experience. He averaged 26.6 PPG and 5.3 APG on .489/.418/.831 shooting in 26 games (37.0 MPG) while on an assignment with the Westchester Knicks in 2017/18.

However, Burke was on an NBA contract with New York during that time, so this will be the first time he plays on a G League contract. His NBA rights won’t be held by the Kings — he’ll remain free to sign with any NBA team at any time if an offer comes along.

Burke is the second former lottery pick this week to enter the G League this week. Stanley Johnson has been acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s affiliate.

Pacific Notes: Okogie, JTA, Lakers, Fox

December 8th, 2022 at 7:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Suns‘ last three games have represented reserve swingman Josh Okogie‘s three highest minutes totals of the season, and his doing his darnedest to capitalize on the extended run time, per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.

Okogie has gotten a bigger minutes load as a result to a variety of injuries up and down Phoenix’s roster. With Cameron Johnson and Torrey Craig both absent, Okogie has averaged 16.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, and a +14.7 plus-minus rating, in 25.7 MPG.

Bourguet notes that Okogie has especially shined defensively, a reality he himself has noticed and acknowledged.

“For me, it was just more so, like, ‘I’m not gonna get on the court scoring,’ you know what I’m saying?” Okogie said. “’Cause we had so many people who could do that on the team. So he needed me to be on the court to play some defense and lock somebody up.”

There’s more out of California:

Lakers backup small forward Juan Toscano-Anderson exited the team’s 126-113 loss to the Raptors last night with a sprained right ankle. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link), the team announced that Toscano-Anderson is expected to miss at least the next two weeks due to the injury, and will be reevaluated at that two-week mark.
Following an exciting 8-2 run that seemed to salvage the Lakers‘ 2022/23 season, the team more recently has dropped two straight contests thanks to the injury absences of Anthony Davis (who played just eight minutes in the first loss), LeBron James (who only missed last night’s loss) and Wenyen Gabriel (who missed both games). Buha writes in a story for The Athletic that it has become evident the team needs additional help up front.
Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox has been hampered by pain in his right foot for over a month, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Fox’s shooting has taken a hit of late: across his past seven contests, the vet has made just 38.2% of his field goals and just 28.6% of his triples. According to Fox, there’s no risk of making the injury worse by playing, so he’s hoping to get used to tolerating it. “I’ve played well while it was hurting, so I’ll be fine,” he said.

And-Ones: Rookie Rankings, MVP Ratings, Tremaglio, Officiating

December 5th, 2022 at 10:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Top pick Paolo Banchero has missed some games due to an ankle sprain but the top pick of the draft still leads ESPN Jonathan Givony’s rookie power rankings (Insider link). The Magic forward was averaging 21.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game entering the week. The sixth overall pick, the Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin, sits in second place while averaging 18.5 points off the bench. Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (15.9 points, 4.3 assists) holds the No. 3 spot.

We have more NBA-related info:

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum tops USA Today/Gannett staffers’ early-season Most Valuable Player ratings, propelled by Boston’s strong start. Tatum entered Monday’s action ranked fifth in the league in scoring (30.7). Former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo holds the runner-up spot with the Suns’ Devin Booker in third place.
Negotiating the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the first time, National Basketball Players Association executive director Tamika Tremaglio is leaning on players agents to determine the best course of action, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal reports. Tremaglio has reached out to all NBPA-certified agents for advice and is having frequent discussions with the most influential agents. One likely point of contention is the NBA’s desire for a stronger upper limit on player salaries, which some agents view as a hard cap.
Traveling calls are piling up, culminating in 13 such turnovers during the Cavaliers–Knicks game on Sunday. Carrying and palming calls are also on the rise. “My job as the head coach — for lack of a better description — of our team, is to make sure that the rule book is being enforced,” the NBA’s senior vice president of referee development and training, Monty McCutchen, said to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “And when we emphasize traveling and sequencing and it picks up another part of footwork, then it needs to be adjudicated properly.”

Pacific Notes: Sabonis, Bridges, Lamb, Thompson

December 3rd, 2022 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings improved to 12-9 with a rout of the Clippers Saturday afternoon and they seem to have added another element to their already dangerous offense, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Domantas Sabonis continued his hot shooting from three-point range, connecting on both of his shots from beyond the arc. After starting the season 1-of-12 on three-pointers, Sabonis has hit 8-of-14 in his last 10 games.

“It’s big,” he said. “The more I can keep shooting them and knocking them down, teams are eventually going to have to respect it, which is going to allow me to be even more of a play-maker. A lot of times, I can’t thread the needle because the big is so far down. Now, he has to be up, to open the room up for everybody.”

Sacramento had everyone available today as Trey Lyles returned after missing two games with an illness, Anderson adds. Coach Mike Brown likes having the extra option among his reserves and cited the performance of Terence Davis and KZ Okpala while Lyles was unavailable.

“That just makes our bench deeper,” Brown said. “Trey was playing well when he was playing. Obviously, TD stepped up and played big minutes for us. KZ played some pretty good minutes in the last game. So, it makes my decision making harder, but (Lyles) has been playing his behind off and it’s great to see.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Suns forward Mikal Bridges, who hasn’t missed a game since entering the league, believes he can continue that streak despite tweaking his right knee Friday night, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix will travel to San Antonio on Sunday, and Bridges is listed as probable. “I think I just hyperextended it a little bit, but I’m all right,” he said.
Anthony Lamb has become an important part of the Warriors‘ second unit, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. When Lamb joined Golden State in October, it marked his fourth two-way contract in less than two years, along with one 10-day deal. “He’s a versatile player,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s a quick catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter. The ball doesn’t stop when it hits his hands. When he’s open, he usually gets it off quickly. And he’s shooting it really well. He does a lot of things well that contribute to winning.”
Warriors guard Klay Thompson sat out tonight on the second game of a back-to-back, but Kerr doesn’t expect that to continue all season, Poole tweets.

Pacific Notes: Green, J. Jones, Lee, Sabonis, Kings

December 2nd, 2022 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Draymond Green is on a potential expiring contract, so his NBA future beyond this season remains up in the air. However, he made it clear in a conversation with Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he doesn’t take his lengthy tenure with the Warriors for granted and appreciates that he has gotten to play alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson since entering the league.

“It’s incredible when you look at the amount of guys who’ve played for only one team,” Green said. “You can look around the NBA right now. There are five guys that’s been on a team for 11 years-plus. We have three of them. It’s a very rare thing. There’s 470, 480 players in the NBA? There are five guys that’s been with his team for 11 years plus. That’s amazing. So, you don’t just give that away.”

Green went on to say that, while he recognizes the NBA is business, he’d “absolutely” be interested in spending the rest of his career in Golden State. The four-time All-Star, who has a player option for 2023/24, said he’d let agent Rich Paul handle his contract situation, but added that he’d like to play for four or five more seasons before calling it a career.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Having been promoted to president of basketball operations by the Suns, James Jones expects to step away from some of the day-to-day aspects of running the team and delegate more of those tasks as he focuses on bigger-picture goals, per Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com. Jones said this week that there are no plans to hire a general manager to work under him in the front office hierarchy, but he also didn’t rule out that possibility down the road.
In a separate story for GoPhnx.com, Bourguet examines how offseason signee Damion Lee became such an important part of the Suns‘ second unit. Lee, who is making a career-best 49.4% of his three-point attempts so far this season, is only on a one-year contract, so he’ll return to the open market next summer.
Speaking to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Kings center Domantas Sabonis said that he and point guard De’Aaron Fox are on the same page on and off the court, with the two stars determined to snap Sacramento’s 16-year playoff drought. “Fox is unselfish, I’m unselfish. I love to play in the pick-and-roll, he loves to play in the pick-and-roll. We want to show people that we can win, and win consistently, apart from everything that goes on in the NBA,” Sabonis said. “I think that’s the most important thing, is to show that we can turn this franchise around.”
Returning to Sacramento for the first time since being traded from the Kings to the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield got wildly different receptions on Wednesday, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Haliburton, who was caught off guard and upset when he was traded last season, received a standing ovation; Hield, who made it clear before being traded that he’d welcome a change of scenery, was met with boos. Hield was unfazed by the crowd’s reaction, as Dopirak relays. “I didn’t give a (expletive),” he said. “I go to sleep happy and I make a lot of money.”

Central Notes: Turner, Sabonis, Lopez, Middleton, Allen

December 1st, 2022 at 2:28pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Pacers center Myles Turner is enjoying a career season now that he is fully entrenched at the five spot for Indiana, writes Law Murray of The Athletic.

The 12-9 Pacers have enjoyed a surprisingly solid start to 2022/23, and Turner has been a big part of that. The 6’11” big man out of Texas is averaging a career-high 17.1 PPG on a shooting line of .528/.377/.808. He is also pulling down a career-high 8.3 RPG, while chipping in 2.6 BPG and 1.5 APG.

“The past three or four seasons, I’ve been playing the four position,” Turner explained. Former frontcourt mate Domantas Sabonis manned the center role while Turner played mostly as a power forward. “I feel better naturally at the five. Things have just opened up for me. There’s more opportunity out there on the floor.”

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Sabonis, now with the Kings after a deadline deal last season, reflected on his new home and suggested that the trade sending him from the Pacers to Sacramento was a win-win, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “We’re doing great here,” Sabonis said of his 11-9 Sacramento squad. “I was traded here to turn things around and change the franchise. I feel like we’re on a great start, there’s a lot of season left. Tyrese [Haliburton] is playing amazing, he’s playing at an All-Star level. It looks like they’re having a lot of fun. Yeah, it worked out for both sides.”
Bucks center Brook Lopez is looking forward to the return of All-Star teammate Khris Middleton, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Middleton is expected to make his 2022/23 season debut for Milwaukee Friday at home against the Lakers. The team without Middleton seems to have barely missed a step, and is currently the No. 2 seed in the East with a 15-5 record. “We’ve been playing the way we are, and we haven’t had an All-Star, All-NBA guy like that, just tops at his position,” Lopez reflected. “That’s scary. Obviously, we want Khris to take his time, make sure he’s healthy, get right and everything, but that’s an exciting prospect to think about.”
All-Star Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen continues to rehabilitate a low back contusion, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). “From what I understand he’s gotten better and then it’s just a matter of how quickly he can progress,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Allen’s health. “It’s been slow, obviously, it’s not where he wants it to be where he’d be able to play. He’s been doing things in the water and trying it out even on game days to see, and we just won’t put him out there when he’s not in position to protect himself.”

And-Ones: Henderson, Top Offseason Adds, 2022 Re-Draft

November 30th, 2022 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, the consensus No. 2 prospect in the 2023 draft class, has been diagnosed with a nose fracture after entering the concussion protocols and missing the team’s last four games, writes Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire.

Although Henderson has already been sidelined since November 18, the injury isn’t considered a long-term one and he’s being listed as day-to-day for the time being. According to Taylor, there’s a chance Henderson will be cleared to return on Sunday when the Ignite host the South Bay Lakers.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Within his latest NBA power rankings, Zach Harper of The Athletic also assigns grades for one key offseason addition made by each team. Harper hands out two grades of A-plus: One to the Nuggets for their acquisition of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and one to the Kings for their hiring of head coach Mike Brown.
In his “way-too-early” re-draft of the 2022 lottery, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer moves Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin and Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe into the top five, with Hawks wing AJ Griffin and Jazz center Walker Kessler among the non-lottery picks moving into O’Connor’s top 14.
HoopsHype has updated its trade value rankings, listing its top 100 players and breaking them down position by position as well. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic lead the way as the NBA’s most valuable trade chips (not that there’s any chance they’re going anywhere).

Pacers Notes: Turner, Hield, Nembhard, Haliburton

November 29th, 2022 at 1:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers fans offered loud cheers Monday night for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, two Pacers veterans who have been rumored as L.A. trade targets for several months, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. The Lakers rejected the potential swap because of Indiana’s insistence on getting unprotected first-round picks in 2027 and 2029, but the rumors haven’t died down.

Both players made an impression on Monday as the Pacers pulled out a win on a last-second shot. Turner, whose upcoming free agency both makes him a trade candidate and complicates his value, had 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Hield, who has one year left on his contract at $18.6MM, also had 15 points, although he was just 1-of-6 from three-point range.

“It’s been great to be with those guys,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters on Monday. “I can see where people would have interest in them. I have a lot of interest in not trading them, you know?”

If the Lakers revisit the deal with Indiana, it may not happen for a while, Goon adds. L.A. has several players who can’t be moved until December 15, and a Monday report from ESPN indicated that the type of trade the Lakers are hoping to make may not be available until January.

Here’s more on the Pacers:

Carlisle believes the franchise got a draft steal in Andrew Nembhard, who hit the game-winning shot on Monday. Nembhard, who was taken with the first pick in the second round, has earned a rotation role and is averaging 7.1 PPG in 20.7 minutes per night. “He’ll go down as a top-12 or (top-)15 pick in this draft when it’s all said and done,” Carlisle said (Twitter video link from Alex Golden). “It’s where he should have been taken.”
In a discussion for The Athletic, Anthony Slater and Sam Amick revisit the Tyrese Haliburton/Domantas Sabonis deal from last season’s trade deadline. While Slater and Amick acknowledge that there’s some nuance involved when reevaluating the trade, they point to the Kings‘ and Pacers’ success so far this season and suggest it could end up as a win-win. Haliburton has been playing some of the best basketball of his career as of late, having become the first player since the NBA began tracking turnovers in 1977 to record at least 40 assists without a turnover over a three-game span (Twitter link).
Within that same Athletic story, Amick writes that a number of people around the NBA believe the Pacers’ desire to continue tearing down their roster “just isn’t as strong as advertised.” Team owner Herb Simon has long been averse to tanking, so if Indiana stays competitive, the odds of the team trading away key veteran contributors before the deadline seem likely to decline.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

De’Aaron Fox Discusses Agent Change, Love For Sacramento, More

November 29th, 2022 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

After previously being represented by Chris Gaston and the Family First Sports Firm, Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox decided to change agencies and switch to Klutch Sports earlier this month. That move fueled some speculation about Fox’s future, but he tells Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report that his decision doesn’t mean he has any desire to leave Sacramento.

“When you’re an athlete who has any notoriety and you make a major change, it’s going to circulate and people are going to speculate. But for me, I love being in Sacramento,” Fox said. “This move had nothing to do with wanting to be traded or wanting to move on. This has more to do with myself and the business of basketball, and I feel like they’re able to help me in ways that I’ve never been able to be helped before. It was really a level up.”

Fox went on to explain that he believes Klutch Sports is “one of the best (agencies) in the game” not just for basketball but for “off-the-court business ventures.”

“Whenever you say Klutch, people start to speculate and they start talking about you,” Fox said. “There’s always a contentious effort to place me in rooms my money can’t put me in. Which again, it’s added value and more of a reason to make the switch. They just view things differently than most.”

Here are a few more notable quotes from Fox’s conversations with Haynes:

On playing basketball in Sacramento and why he wants to stick with the Kings:

“I love being here in Sacramento. The fan interactions, it’s kind of like being at Kentucky. No matter how good the other sports are, it’s always going to be about basketball whenever you’re in that city. If you’re able to win here, I feel like it’s just a different feeling. And obviously being able to stay with the team that drafted you, somewhere you’re comfortable as far as life goes.

“Being in this city, in one place for a long time plays a major part in it. If I’m able to help this team go to the playoffs and hopefully win a championship at some point in my career, I feel like nothing would ever top that. Being able to say that you won a championship for the Sacramento Kings, like, that’s unheard of, right? People would say that you’re crazy. And if I was able to do that at any point, that would be the best thing ever in my career.”

On whether he views this season as a breakout year for him:

“I think defensively, I’ve been more consistent. I’ve always been one of the top finishers in the league regardless of position. But I think the main difference is when you’re winning, I think you get looked at differently. So that’s a testament to what (team owner) Vivek (Ranadive) and what (general manager) Monte (McNair) have put around me. I feel like I’ve played well my last three or four seasons. I think winning, that’s pretty much what’s changed.”

On the Kings’ outlook for the rest of the season:

“The way that we started this season, we feel like we could play with anybody. For me, it’s going out there and competing every night. One thing I’ve told everybody this year is to just be steady. You’re going to go through highs and lows of a season, you’re going to go through highs and lows of a game, and if you could just continue to just be steady, we’ll be in a position to be in the playoffs.”