Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Crowder, Wall, Lakers, Kings

September 24th, 2022 at 9:42am CST by Rory Maher

Suns forward Jae Crowder tweeted and deleted “99 won’t be there!” in reply to a Duane Rankin article about training camp questions, notes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The Suns are rumored to be exploring the trade market for the veteran, with Crowder said to be interested in a return to the Heat, though that would be tricky, at least for now, due to salary-matching rules.

In 67 games (28.1 MPG) with the Suns last season, all starts, the 32-year-old averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.4 SPG on .399/.348/.789 shooting. While his long-range shooting is inconsistent, Crowder remains a solid defender and smart passer on a reasonable $10.2MM expiring deal.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

Clippers guard John Wall recently opened up about his personal struggles the past few years in an article for The Players Tribune. Wall contemplated suicide after a series of traumatic events, including tearing his Achilles tendon, an infection from the subsequent surgeries that nearly caused his foot to be amputated, and losing his mother to breast cancer. Wall details how close he was to his mother, whom he calls his “best friend in the whole world.”
Every member of the Lakers‘ roster except for Dennis Schröder attended a players-led minicamp in San Diego on Friday, sources tell ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter links). Schröder was unable to attend due to logistical reasons — he’s still organizing a move back to L.A., per McMenamin. The veteran point guard has been quite busy recently. He signed a one-year deal to return to the Lakers last week and finished competing for Germany at EuroBasket last weekend.
James Ham of The Kings Beat breaks down the Kings‘ depth at center entering training camp. Domantas Sabonis and Richaun Holmes figure to see the majority of the minutes at the five, and new head coach Mike Brown might experiment with playing them together at times, Ham writes.

Kings Building Around Players On Second Contracts

September 21st, 2022 at 6:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings general manager Monte McNair has constructed this year’s roster around two players on their second NBA contracts, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, notes James Ham of Kings Beat. Ham says it’s a welcome change from continually trying to build the franchise around young prospects.

Kings Officially Sign Kent Bazemore, Quinn Cook

September 21st, 2022 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially signed free agent swingman Kent Bazemore and guard Quinn Cook, the team confirmed today in a press release. Bazemore’s one-year agreement with Sacramento was first reported on August 7, while Cook’s one-year deal was reported a day later.

Bazemore, 33, has enjoyed a solid 10-year career as a three-and-D wing, though he had a disappointing year in Los Angeles in 2021/22, shooting a career-low 32.4% from the field and falling out of the Lakers’ rotation early in the season.

Cook, meanwhile, is a five-year NBA veteran who won titles with the Warriors and Lakers as a reserve. He has averaged 6.4 PPG and 1.6 APG in 188 career appearances (14.1 MPG) for five teams, but didn’t play in the league last season after being waived by Portland prior to opening night.

The exact terms of Bazemore’s and Cook’s deals aren’t yet known, but the Kings have been signing a series of veterans to non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts this offseason and will likely have multiple roster spots up for grabs in training camp and the preseason.

Sacramento now has a full 20-man offseason roster, including 12 players on guaranteed contracts and a pair on two-way deals. Bazemore and Cook are among a group of six players expected to vie for spots on the 15-man regular season roster — Matthew Dellavedova, KZ Okpala, Sam Merrill, and Chima Moneke are also in that mix.

KZ Okpala Contract Details

September 20th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The two-year, minimum-salary contract KZ Okpala signed with the Kings is virtually identical to the one Chima Moneke received earlier this offseason, as our JD Shaw reports (Twitter links). Okpala has a $250K partial guarantee in 2022/23 that would increase to $500K if he makes the opening night roster. He’d receive a partial guarantee of $250K for 2023/24 if he plays at least 1,000 minutes this season and Sacramento wins 41 or more games. His full ’23/24 salary would become guaranteed if he’s under contract through June 30, 2023.

Heat Notes: Herro, Okpala, Trade Options, Training Camp

September 17th, 2022 at 8:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The deadline for rookie scale extensions is just a month away, and the Heat have a major decision to make regarding Tyler Herro, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. After earning Sixth Man of the Year honors last season, Herro is in line for a new contract that Winderman estimates will exceed $25MM per year, whether that happens in the next 30 days or in restricted free agency next summer.

Winderman believes the most important factor for Miami’s front office is determining whether a significant trade is likely to present itself before the February deadline. Herro could be a valuable bargaining chip in landing another star, but if his extension is already in place, the poison pill provision will make him extremely difficult to move in 2022/23.

Situations involving the players most likely to be dealt this offseason have already been resolved, and no other stars appear unhappy with their current teams. However, Winderman points to the Pacers’ Myles Turner and the Hawks’ John Collins as players who might be available and notes that situations can change rapidly in a few months. He also points out that the rising salary cap means more teams will have money to spend next July, so Herro will be almost certain to receive a generous offer sheet.

There’s more from Miami:

KZ Okpala has a new opportunity with the Kings, but the Heat gave him plenty of chances before deciding to trade him, Winderman states in a separate story. The power forward spent nearly three full seasons in Miami before being shipped to Oklahoma City in February, but he was never able to establish himself as part of the rotation.
Heat fans have gotten used to watching the team pursue star players, but that may not be a realistic option for this season, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Heat are the only Eastern Conference playoff team that didn’t add a new rotation player during the offseason, and Jackson notes that no All-Star has tried to force his way to Miami since Jimmy Butler, even though it was rumored as a possible destination for Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell. Jackson says it’s a more realistic strategy to use some of the team’s draft assets to target someone along the lines of Turner, Jae Crowder or Bojan Bogdanovic if the Heat need a boost around the deadline.
The Heat will hold training camp in the Bahamas, Jackson adds in a separate piece. Baha Mar, one of the Caribbean’s largest event venues, announced that it has a multi-year deal in place with the team.

Harrison Barnes Appears Set As The Starting Small Forward

September 14th, 2022 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

James Ham of The Kings Beat examines the Kings‘ options at small forward heading into training camp. Harrison Barnes will likely see most of the minutes, though his expiring contract makes him a trade candidate. Ham doesn’t expect newcomers Kent Bazemore, KZ Okpala and Chima Moneke to all make the roster.

KZ Okpala Signs With Kings

September 14th, 2022 at 5:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 14: The signing is now official, the Kings announced in a press release.

JULY 15: The Kings have reached a two-year agreement with free agent forward KZ Okpala, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The deal was confirmed by Okpala’s agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA.

Okpala spent the past three seasons with the Heat, playing a combined 63 games. He got into 21 games last season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per night, before being traded to the Thunder at the February deadline. Oklahoma City waived him two days later and he has been out of the league since then.

The 23-year-old has experience playing for new Sacramento coach Mike Brown as part of the Nigerian national team, Haynes notes (Twitter link).

Kings Still Likely To Finalize Deals With Okpala, Cook

September 13th, 2022 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been over a month since Quinn Cook agreed to sign with the Kings and nearly two months since the team reached an agreement with KZ Okpala, and neither deal is official yet. According to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link), both Cook and Okpala are still expected to be in camp with the team, but roster situations are fluid at this time of year, Anderson notes, so it’s possible that could change.

And-Ones: Russell, Noel, Paul, Team USA, Baker

September 12th, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bill Russell‘s No. 6 will be retired throughout the league and another Hall of Famer, Alonzo Mourning, said it was much-deserved honor, Marc J. Spears of Andscape writes.

“We still need to celebrate his name, because he paved the way during a time where he had to deal with so many different obstacles,” Mourning said. “Not just on the court, but off the court. He paved the way for all of us.”

Mourning and Jerry West were on stage at the Hall of Fame’s annual ceremony over the weekend to honor Russell before the Class of 2022 was inducted.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Pistons center Nerlens Noel‘s lawsuit against agent Rich Paul is headed to arbitration, Michael McCann of Sportico reports in a subscribers-only article. Noel sued Paul last August, alleging that the agent’s negotiating tactics during 2017 cost him a four-year, $70MM extension with Dallas.
USA Basketball wound up with the bronze medal in the AmeriCup by defeating Canada 84-80 (Twitter link). Former NBA forward Gary Clark led the way with 18 points. Argentina, having defeated Team USA in the semifinals, earned the gold medal with a victory over Brazil.
The G League Lakeland Magic acquired the returning player rights to forward Robert Baker from the Stockton Kings in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Baker, 24, appeared in 26 games with the Stockton Kings last season and one Summer League game with the Thunder.

Kings Waive DJ Steward

September 12th, 2022 at 5:52pm CST by Rory Maher

5:52pm: Steward has officially been waived, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

4:05pm: The Kings are waiving DJ Steward, a source tells James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com (Twitter links).

According to Ham, if Steward doesn’t sign with another team, Sacramento is hopeful that he will rejoin the team’s G League affiliate in Stockton, who hold his returning player rights. His new deal, which he just inked last week, included a small partial guarantee for $50K.

A former McDonald’s All American, Steward spent his lone college season with Duke before going undrafted in 2021. He signed a training camp deal with the Kings last year but was waived before the start of the 2021/22 season.

Steward spent all of last season with the Stockton Kings, appearing in 30 regular season games (21 starts, 29.2 MPG) with averages of 14.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.0 SPG on .463/.331/.884 shooting. The 6’2″ guard also played 12 games (four starts, 21.9 MPG) with Stockton during the Showcase Cup last fall, averaging 12.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.1 SPG on .394/.383/.923 shooting.

The Kings have one of the more unique roster situations right now because they only have 12 players on guaranteed contracts, have reportedly reached agreements with four others — Kent Bazemore, Quinn Cook, KZ Okpala and Jeriah Horne — that have yet to become official, plus three players with relatively small partial guarantees in Matthew Dellavedova, Chima Moneke and Sam Merrill.

It appears as though they’ll have a true training camp competition to determine the last few spots on the standard roster, with both two-way spots currently filled by Keon Ellis and Neemias Queta.