Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Community Shootaround: Sacramento Kings

November 17th, 2022 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

After missing the playoffs for a 16th straight season in 2021/22, the Kings entered the offseason focused on hiring a new head coach and adding complementary pieces around De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

While Fox and Sabonis are supremely talented offensive players, neither is an elite three-point marksman or a shut-down defender, so shooting and defense were Sacramento’s top summer priorities.

The Kings addressed their outside shooting in all sorts of different ways, drafting Keegan Murray with the fourth overall pick in June, then signing Malik Monk in free agency and acquiring Kevin Huerter in a trade with the Hawks.

Unfortunately, of those three players, only Murray is considered a strong defender, but the Kings did hire a head coach – Mike Brown – who built his reputation on his defensive acumen, so the hope was that he could get more out of the personnel than another coach might have.

Of course, if the personnel isn’t right, there’s only so much that a head coach and a rookie can do to upgrade a defense, so it’s perhaps no surprise that the Kings haven’t made major strides on that end of the floor so far this season — their 114.0 defensive rating ranks 26th out of 30 teams.

However, as Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports writes, Sacramento’s offense has emerged as one of the league’s most explosive units — the team’s 116.5 offensive rating leads all Western Conference clubs and ranks second in the entire NBA. That offense was firing on all cylinders in a statement game on Tuesday, as the Kings racked up 153 points – a league-high so far this season – and blew out the Nets in their first TNT home game since 2018, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

The Kings, who were missing Murray to open the season, got off to an 0-4 start, but have been one of the NBA’s most impressive teams since then. They’ve won seven of their last nine games, and their only two losses were by a single basket in Miami and Golden State. As Devine observes, both losses also featured controversial late-game calls, as the Heat benefited from a missed travel on Tyler Herro, while the Warriors got away with a missed Klay Thompson foul on Huerter’s last-second attempt to tie the game.

While the subpar defense remains a concern, Sacramento’s high-powered offense could make up for it, allowing the Kings to outscore their opponents in shootouts on any given night.

Breaking down the team’s offensive performance so far, Devine cautions that some regression is probably coming — Huerter’s 52.6% three-point mark and Fox’s 84.0% conversion rate at the rim are among the numbers unlikely to stay that high.

Still, it looks like the pieces fit together well, with shooters like Huerter, Monk, Murray, Harrison Barnes, and Terence Davis proving to be ideal complements to Fox and Sabonis. Sacramento currently ranks fourth in three-pointers per game and seventh in three-point percentage — last season, the team was 25th and 24th, respectively, in those categories.

Kevin Durant, who was with Brown in Golden State for three years, was impressed by what he saw on Tuesday and understands why the former Warriors assistant wanted to coach the Kings.

“They got a deep team,” Durant said, per Slater. “They got a lot of guys that can play real minutes on any NBA team. They got 10, 11 guys that can do that so you step into a situation like that, you got two All-Star caliber in Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, that’s a great, great team to build with. So It was a great choice by Mike to choose the Sacramento Kings and it was great by Sacramento to give Mike a chance. He’s been a part of championship groups the last six, seven years. Just a perfect pairing, I think.”

Of course, the big question is whether this version of the Kings is good enough to end the longest active playoff drought in the four major U.S. sports. While some playoff hopefuls have gotten off to shaky starts, the Western Conference is still deep and competitive, especially with clubs like the Trail Blazers and Jazz outperforming expectations in the early going.

The Kings’ 7-6 record puts them eighth in the conference for the time being, but the Clippers, Timberwolves, and Warriors are all behind them, with the potential to play a whole lot better than they have so far.

We want to know what you think. Has the Kings’ recent run turned you into a believer, or are the defensive holes still a major concern? Do you view Sacramento as a probable play-in team? Do you expect them to be one of the eight playoff teams in the West for the first time since 2006?

Head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts on the Kings!

Fox Switches To Klutch Sports

November 15th, 2022 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings star guard De’Aaron Fox is switching agents and will be represented by Klutch Sports, Damien Barling and James Ham report (Twitter link). Fox was previously with Chris Gaston and Family First Sports Firm.

Largest Trade Exceptions Available This Season

November 13th, 2022 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

As the NBA’s 2022/23 trade deadline approaches, it’s worth keeping in mind which teams hold traded player exceptions that could come in handy to grease the wheels on an in-season deal.

As we explain in our glossary, a traded player exception allows a team to take on salary in a trade without sending out any salary in return. The amount of the exception plus $100K is the amount of salary the team is permitted to take back without salary-matching – either in a single deal or in multiple trades – for one year.

For instance, a team with a $10MM trade exception could acquire a player earning $4MM and a player earning $6.1MM without having to worry about sending out any outgoing salary.

In recent years, sizable traded player exceptions have been major wild cards that helped accommodate both pre-deadline and offseason deals. For example, after creating a $28.6MM trade exception in a sign-and-trade sending Gordon Hayward to Charlotte in 2020, the Celtics used that TPE to acquire Evan Fournier at the following deadline and then to acquire Josh Richardson during the 2021 offseason.

However, as our tracker shows, there are currently no trade exceptions worth anywhere near $28MM. In fact, the largest current TPE barely eclipses the $10MM mark.

Here are the all of the current trade exceptions worth more than $4MM, along with their expiry dates in parentheses:

Oklahoma City Thunder: $10,183,800 (10/2/23)
Utah Jazz: $9,774,884 (2/9/23)
Los Angeles Clippers: $9,720,900 (2/10/23)
Utah Jazz: $9,614,379 (7/6/23)
Denver Nuggets: $9,125,000 (7/6/23)
Boston Celtics: $6,907,815 (1/19/23)
Utah Jazz: $6,745,122 (9/22/23)
Portland Trail Blazers: $6,519,792 (2/6/23)
Boston Celtics: $5,890,000 (2/10/23)
Toronto Raptors: $5,250,000 (2/10/23)
Washington Wizards: $5,220,900 (2/10/23)
Atlanta Hawks: $4,564,980 (9/27/23)
Minnesota Timberwolves: $4,374,000 (7/6/23)
Oklahoma City Thunder: $4,220,057 (10/2/23)
Sacramento Kings: $4,023,600 (2/8/23)

These trade exceptions aren’t useless. For instance, if Detroit made point guard Cory Joseph available, any of the top 11 TPEs on this list could be used to absorb Joseph’s $5,155,500 salary. The non-Utah TPEs in the top eight could be used to acquire Rudy Gay and his $6,184,500 cap hit from the Jazz. All 15 of them are big enough to take on the $3.5MM salary of Thunder big man Mike Muscala.

But these exceptions will ultimately be of no consequence when considering trade candidates who earn salaries well into the eight figures, since TPEs can’t be combined with other players or exceptions. There’s no scenario in which any of these trade exceptions could be used to take on the $18MM salary of Pacers center Myles Turner, for example.

That’s not the only factor working against the odds of most of these exceptions being used. All of the top 10 largest TPEs are controlled by teams that are rebuilding (the Thunder and Jazz), teams in the tax (the Clippers, Nuggets, and Celtics), or teams that are just below the tax line and likely want to stay that way (the Trail Blazers and Raptors). In other words, they don’t fit the profile of clubs that are looking to take on additional salary without sending any out.

That doesn’t mean that none of these trade exceptions will be used — after all, it sometimes makes sense to take advantage of them even in a deal that a team could complete using salary matching (for instance, a team with a $10MM trade exception that swaps one $8MM player for another could use the exception to take on the incoming player and create a new $8MM exception using the outgoing player). However, it does mean that it’s unlikely any TPEs will be game-changers on this season’s trade market.

Malik Monk Has Been A Good Fit With Kings

November 12th, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

After missing Friday’s game with a left adductor strain, Lakers star LeBron James has been upgraded slightly for Sunday but still remains doubtful, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. With James sidelined, coach Darvin Ham said “self-inflicted mistakes” cost L.A. in a loss to the Kings, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The Lakers committed numerous turnovers and defensive mistakes in the closing minutes of both halves. “We’ve just got to get some wins, especially in the West,” Anthony Davis said. “Every team is good. Got a lot of basketball left but we dug ourselves a hole. So we’ve got to put some wins together, got to start winning — ASAP. Try to stay positive, obviously. The energy around our locker room feels like 2-10, as it should. But we’ve got to start putting wins together immediately.”
Malik Monk, who left the Lakers for the Kings in free agency, has been a good fit in Sacramento, according to Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. L.A. wasn’t able to offer Monk more than the taxpayer mid-level exception, so he signed with the Kings for $9.5MM. “People probably may not look at him like this because he’s so young, and he’s bounced around as a young guy, but he knows how to lead,” coach Mike Brown said. “He uplifts the group. He’s fun-loving. He’s always messing with somebody, and guys really, really enjoy that, and you need that when you’re together as much as we are.”

Community Shootaround: Lottery Teams

November 7th, 2022 at 6:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Powerball lottery jackpot grew to a world record $1.9 billion on Monday. Coincidentally, four of the five NBA teams with the top picks in the June draft faced each other.

The Magic and top pick Paolo Banchero were matched up against the Rockets and No. 3 pick Jabari Smith. The Thunder, who won’t have No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren available until next season, played against the Pistons and No. 5 pick Jaden Ivey.

The Kings, who drafted Keegan Murray at No. 4, had a much different test facing the defending champion but struggling Warriors.

A few of those teams have habitually participated in the lottery. Orlando has finished 11th or worse in the Eastern Conference in eight of the past 10 seasons. Detroit hasn’t won a playoff game since 2008. Sacramento, of course, has gone 16 seasons without a postseason visit.

Oklahoma City got eliminated in the first round four straight years before going into a full rebuild. The Thunder have seemingly have stockpiled more draft picks than wins since the 2020/21 season. Houston has taken a similar approach.

How have these teams looked so far this season? Let’s break it down:

Magic — Banchero has lived up to his status, averaging 22.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists. It hasn’t translated into victories, as Orlando headed into Monday’s game with a 2-8 record.
Rockets — Last year’s No. 2 pick, Jalen Green, is averaging 19.5 points while Smith has posted averages of 10.8 points and 6.1 rebounds. They had only one win in their first 10 outings.
Thunder — With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander playing at an All-Star level (30.5 points, 5.9 assists), they headed into Detroit with a 4-5 record. Last year’s lottery selection, Josh Giddey, ranks second on the club in scoring (13.5).
Kings — Murray is averaging 13.9 points but, not surprisingly, De’Aaron Fox leads the team in scoring (26.3) and assists (4.6). Sacramento lost its first four games but has rebounded to win three of its last four outings.
Pistons — Ivey has scored in double digits in all but one game while averaging 15 points. Last year’s top pick, Cade Cunningham, is averaging 21.4 points and 6.3 assists. Yet wins have been scarce, as they entered the week with a 2-8 record.

That brings us to today’s question: Among the five teams with the highest lottery picks in the June draft — the Magic, Thunder, Rockets, Kings and Pistons — which franchise has the brightest future and is closest to becoming a perennial playoff team?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Pacific Notes: Johnson, Leonard, Huerter, Green

November 3rd, 2022 at 9:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New starting Suns power forward Cameron Johnson is undergoing a positive on-court evolution in accordance with his new gig, reports Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.

“Getting more used to that on a night-in, night-out basis, and also finishing the game, man, that’s something that I love doing,” Johnson said of his adjustment to the new responsibilities of the role. “Being in there and being part of that critical thinking on top of high-level basketball portion of the game, it’s a lot of fun.”

Through seven contests for the West’s top-seeded 6-1 Suns, the 6’8″ Phoenix forward is averaging a career-best 14.9 PPG on .457/.440/.727 shooting splits, along with 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.3 SPG.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard only lasted two regular season games before knee issues flared up. L.A. head coach Tyronn Lue has provided a minor update on the state of the five-time All-Star’s health, noting that Leonard is “doing better and moving in a positive direction,” per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). Youngmisuk adds that Leonard will sit out the team’s upcoming two Texas road games. In his two healthy games for the Clippers, Leonard has played limited minutes as a reserve, averaging just 21 MPG.
New Kings shooting guard Kevin Huerter has thus far managed to thrive with Sacramento following an offseason trade from Atlanta, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “My role has the potential to expand a little bit more here,” Huerter said. “Just the way we’re built, the personnel, a lot of that has to do with (Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis), playing through a five man.” The 6’7″ swingman is averaging 18.9 PPG, with a slash line of .506/.518/.789. He is also chipping in 3.9 APG, 2.9 RPG, and 0.6 SPG.
While wondering whether Warriors star power forward Draymond Green would be as special in another team’s system as he has been in an 11-season partnership with Golden State that has yielded four NBA titles, Zach Lowe of ESPN reports that the team has yet to discuss any potential deals for the 32-year-old big man, and at present does not intend to explore trades that would send him out of town. Green, who has a $27.6MM player option for the 2023/24 season, punched teammate Jordan Poole in the face during a practice altercation, and had to spend a portion of the club’s preseason away from the other Warriors. The team opted to extend the contracts of Poole and starting small forward Andrew Wiggins ahead of the 2022/23 season, but did not do so with Green.

Fox's MRI Shows No Structural Damage

November 1st, 2022 at 7:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox will miss Wednesday’s game against Miami but an MRI on his ailing right knee provided relief for the team. It showed a bone bruise but no structural damage and the club is hopeful he’ll return to action soon, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Fox departed after just nine minutes against Charlotte on Monday. He’s averaging 24.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season.

Pacific Notes: Okpala, Lakers, Clippers, Crowder

October 31st, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat are happy that KZ Okpala has found a new home in Sacramento, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes.

Okpala was traded by Miami to Oklahoma City last season. The Thunder then waived him. Okpala signed with the Kings in September and earned a spot on the regular season roster.

“We’re rooting for him,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “because he really put in a lot of time with us and we saw improvement, and that’s a tough thing to do in this league is to carve out a niche, where you can see a vision of where you can make an impact. You also have to have the right fit and a coaching staff that values what you bring, and that’s clearly what he has there with (Mike Brown).”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Could the Lakers’ win over Denver on Sunday be a turning point for the season? First-year coach Darvin Ham certainly hopes so, Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes. “We needed to prove something to ourselves,” Ham said. “Not to the world. Not to the media. We had to prove it to ourselves — and I felt great about how we responded.”
The Clippers enter their game against Houston on Monday with a 2-4 record. They were very displeased with their effort in a 21-point loss to New Orleans in their previous game, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Right now, I think we are just showing up,” forward Marcus Morris said. “And thinking we can win because of the talent we have, because of all the things we have on this team. That’s just not the case.”
Jae Crowder remains away from the Suns as the veteran forward awaits a trade. Crowder posted a hopeful message on his Twitter page that the situation will be resolved soon. “YEA NO WORRIES STAY PATIENT COMING SOON I PROMISE!” he wrote.

Forbes Releases 2022 NBA Franchise Valuations

October 27th, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

For the first time since Forbes began issuing annual valuations of NBA teams over two decades ago, a team other than the Knicks or Lakers ranks atop the publication’s list of 2022’s most valuable franchises.

According to Mike Ozanian and Justin Teitelbaum of Forbes, the Warriors are now considered the NBA’s most valuable club, with a record-setting valuation of $7 billion following a championship season.

Forbes’ duo explains that the Warriors generated more revenue and operating income in 2021/22 than any other team in NBA history, buoyed by $150MM in arena sponsorships and advertising, along with $250MM from premium seating.

While the Warriors enjoyed the biggest bump in value since Forbes’ most recent round of valuations, every other NBA team saw its valuation rise during that time as well, according to Ozanian and Teitelbaum, who say the average franchise is now valued at $2.86 billion. That’s 15% more than a year ago, despite the fact that the stock market is down 15% over the same time period.

Of the NBA’s 30 teams, only one – the Nets – lost money last season, per Forbes’ report, which states that record-setting sponsorship and advertising revenue ($1.35 billion last season) has put the league back on its “pre-Covid growth trajectory.” Further growth is anticipated going forward, with a new television and media deal to be negotiated in the coming years — it will take effect in 2025.

Although Forbes’ figures are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands, they’re still useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Forbes’ full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2022:

Golden State Warriors: $7 billion
New York Knicks: $6.1 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $5.9 billion
Chicago Bulls: $4.1 billion
Boston Celtics: $4.0 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $3.9 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $3.5 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $3.3 billion
Houston Rockets: $3.2 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $3.15 billion
Toronto Raptors: $3.1 billion
Miami Heat: $3 billion
Phoenix Suns: $2.7 billion
Washington Wizards: $2.5 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $2.3 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $2.1 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $2.05 billion
Sacramento Kings: $2.03 billion
Utah Jazz: $2.025 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $2 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $1.975 billion
Denver Nuggets: $1.93 billion
Detroit Pistons: $1.9 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.875 billion
Orlando Magic: $1.85 billion
Indiana Pacers: $1.8 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $1.7 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.67 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $1.65 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $1.6 billion

Pacific Notes: Murray, Powell, George, Lakers

October 26th, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rookie forward Keegan Murray has already won a spot in the Kings‘ starting lineup, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Coach Mike Brown made the announcement after today’s practice that Murray will replace KZ Okpala for Thursday’s game against the Grizzlies.

Murray, the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, has made a strong impression early in his NBA career. He’s averaging 17.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first two games while shooting 54.2% from the field and 43.8% from three-point range. The new starting unit of Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes and Domantas Sabonis has only played 11 minutes together, but it has a plus/minus rating of plus-55.3.

“I think it helps us tremendously,” Fox said. “When he gets on the floor, you feel the spacing increase. When you have somebody like Draymond (Green) not trying to help off of you, that’s the ultimate respect, so I think everybody in the league pretty much knows what he can do, and he can help us, not only with shooting, but just with his entire package.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Clippers swingman Norman Powell isn’t panicking about seeing so many of his shots misfire, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Powell has gotten off to an unusually slow start, ranking second-worst in the league in effective field goal percentage and drawing shooting fouls about half as often as he did last season. “I think I’ve just got to relax a little bit and kind of let the game come to me and make the plays that are in front of me, not just for myself but for the team,” Powell said. “I’ll go back, continue to watch film, continue to find ways where I can be better not just scoring the ball but offensively, defensively, moving the ball, playing for others and continue just to grind.”
Paul George insists that Kawhi Leonard is the team’s primary scoring option, but Law Murray of The Athletic believes George may have to accept that role for the Clippers to be successful. With Leonard working his way back from surgery for a partially torn ACL, there are going to be many nights when George has to carry the scoring load.
The Lakers are already at a critical point in their season and need to make a move with Russell Westbrook, argues Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Mannix recommends calling the Pacers and completing the rumored deal that would send Westbrook and unprotected first-rounders in 2027 and 2029 to Indiana in exchange for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.