Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jalen Brunson, Zach LaVine Named Players Of The Week

March 3rd, 2025 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has been named the NBA’s Player of the Week for the Eastern Conference, while Kings guard Zach LaVine has won the award for the Western Conference, the league announced today (via Twitter).

It has been a few weeks since the NBA handed out Player of the Week honors due to the All-Star break, which resulted in multiple shortened weeks. Brunson and LaVine won for games played between February 24 and March 2.

Brunson and the Knicks went 3-0 during that stretch, with victories over Philadelphia, Memphis, and Miami. The star point guard led the way by averaging 29.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 38.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .477/.364/.857.

It’s the second time this season that Brunson has been named the East’s Player of the Week — he also won the award on December 2. This time around, he beat out a group of nominees that consisted of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and De’Andre Hunter, per the league (Twitter link).

LaVine, meanwhile, hit his stride last week after an up-and-down start with his new team in Sacramento. The former Bull helped lead the Kings to a 3-0 week that included wins over Charlotte, Utah, and Houston. He posted a scorching-hot .623/.636/.667 shooting line, averaging 28.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. Sacramento outscored opponents by a total of 67 points during his 106 minutes on the floor.

Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Shaedon Sharpe were also nominated in the West, according to the NBA.

Kings Sign Skal Labissiere To 10-Day Contract

March 3rd, 2025 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

9:54am: Labissiere’s 10-day deal is official, the Kings confirmed in a press release (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento).

5:42am: The Kings have agreed to sign big man Skal Labissiere to a 10-day contract, agent Daniel Hazan tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 28th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Labissiere hasn’t made an NBA regular season appearance since December 28, 2019, so if he gets into a game during his 10 days with Sacramento, it will be his first in over five years.

Labissiere appeared in 148 total games with Sacramento and Portland from 2016-20. He has spent most of his time in the G League since then, making stops with the Westchester Knicks and the Mexico City Capitanes before joining the Stockton Kings in 2023. He also had a brief stay with a team in Puerto Rico.

The 6’11” forward/center has had a solid 2024/25 season in Stockton, averaging 14.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 25.8 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .614/.364/.750, across 36 total outings. He was one of the players voted by fans into the G League’s Up Next Game at All-Star weekend last month.

While Labissiere will provide some frontcourt depth for the Kings with starting center Domantas Sabonis sidelined due to a hamstring strain, the signing is more about making sure the team adheres to roster requirements.

Sacramento has been operating with just 13 players on standard contracts since Daishen Nix‘s 10-day deal expired nearly two weeks ago and needed to re-add a 14th man by Tuesday, since teams can’t carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than 14 days at a time.

Labissiere will earn $128,603 on his 10-day deal, while the Kings carry a cap hit of $119,972. Assuming he officially signs on Monday, the contract will run through March 12, covering the club’s next five games.

Kings’ Sabonis Out At Least One Week With Hamstring Strain

March 3rd, 2025 at 5:40am CST by Luke Adams

Star center Domantas Sabonis has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain after undergoing an MRI and will miss at least one week, the Kings announced late on Sunday night.

Sabonis suffered the injury on Saturday in a win over Houston. Just over one minute into the game, the big man grabbed his left hamstring while running up the court. Head coach Doug Christie immediately called timeout, and Sabonis headed to the locker room to get the injury examined, with the Kings subsequently announcing that he wouldn’t return.

It’s obviously not good news for the Kings, who are battling for a playoff spot, that they’ll be without their most valuable player for at least the next week, but the diagnosis could have been worse — a Grade 1 strain is considered the mildest form and may not result in an extended absence for Sabonis.

Sabonis has averaged 19.5 points, a league-leading 14.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game in 56 contests this season. He has a shooting line of .596/.432/.747 and the Kings have had a +4.0 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -3.7 mark when he sits.

With Sabonis unavailable for most of Saturday’s game, backup center Jonas Valanciunas logged nearly 30 minutes after averaging just 14.3 MPG in his first eight appearances as a King.

Valanciunas finished the game with 15 points, 14 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks, playing a key role in helping Sacramento to secure the win. He’ll presumably continue to see increased minutes while his fellow Lithuanian recovers. Sacramento is scheduled to play in Dallas on Monday, in Denver on Wednesday, at home vs. San Antonio on Friday, and in L.A. against the Clippers on Sunday.

The Kings are currently 31-28, which puts them ninth in the Western Conference standings, but it’s a very tight race. They’re percentage points ahead of the 32-29 Mavericks at No. 10 and are just a half-game behind the Clippers (32-28), Warriors (32-28), and Timberwolves (33-29), who holds the sixth, seventh, and eighth seeds, respectively.

Pacific Notes: Sabonis, Valanciunas, Suns, Powell, Lakers

March 1st, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings picked up an important win in Houston Saturday night even though they lost starting center Domantas Sabonis early in the game, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. After a little more than a minute of play, Sabonis grabbed his left hamstring while running down the court. Head coach Doug Christie immediately called time out, and Sabonis headed to the locker room to get it checked. The Kings announced that he wouldn’t return, and Christie is unsure how long he might be sidelined.

“We’ll see in the coming days,” Christie told reporters. “Probably tomorrow or the next day we’ll have an idea, but everyone’s just pulling for him. Stepping in and, wow, we’re talking about Domantas Sabonis, who covers the stat sheet in a way that is difficult to do. A lot of guys stepped in and weren’t trying to do too much. They were just trying to do what they do and that adds up to everyone pulling the rope in the same direction.”

Sacramento was able to overcome Sabonis’ injury because of a strong night from backup center Jonas Valanciunas, who was acquired from Washington at the trade deadline. Playing nearly 30 minutes off the bench, Valanciunas contributed 15 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and three blocks as the Kings leap-frogged two teams to move into eighth in the Western Conference standings.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Bradley Beal remains questionable for Sunday’s contest against Minnesota after missing the Suns‘ last two games with tightness in his left calf, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Grayson Allen, who sat out Friday’s game due to left foot soreness, is probable to return. After snapping a three-game losing streak Friday night, Kevin Durant said the Suns need to block out distractions and concentrate on playing basketball. “It’s so much noise that’s going to be around us,” Durant said. “It’s so much tension around whether we’re going to win or lose the next game. So many people wishing that we don’t win games. It’s just a lot of BS around us, but I think if we understand that’s just the nature of the beast and we go out there and play with more pride and more energy, more enthusiasm, I think that things can turn around, but you really actually got to feel that.”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue expressed hope that leading scorer Norman Powell can return soon after missing the last five games with soreness in his left knee, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Lue added that Powell tried to play through the pain before the All-Star break, but he eventually had to make a change in the medical treatment he was receiving on the knee. “But like I said, he’s getting close, and he’s been doing the things needed to try to get back on the floor and so hopefully sooner than later,” Lue said.
The Lakers are getting valuable contributions from their two-way players, observes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Jordan Goodwin and Trey Jemison both played a role in Friday’s win over the Clippers. “Those guys are just professional,” coach J.J. Redick said. “And a lot of times with two-ways, you can err on the side of youth and development, and I think there’s a lot of merit and a lot of value in that. Trey and Goodie are older players by two-way standards. And so, to be able to have them both with experience and both having been in the league now for a couple of years – Goodie longer than that – but they know how to play and they can contribute to winning.”

Pacific Notes: Bogdanovic, Murray, Kuminga, Crowder, Suns

February 27th, 2025 at 12:19pm CST by Rory Maher

As the February 6 deadline neared, Bogdan Bogdanovic was prepared for the fact that Atlanta would likely be trading him to a new team. However, he didn’t know that team would be the Clippers, as Nikola Miloradovic of Eurohoops relays.

“Seven days before the trade, I knew I was going to change teams,” Bogdanovic told RTS. “I didn’t know where I was going to end up, I even thought I might be in Toronto or New Orleans. … There were about ten teams in the mix, it’s a tricky period when you don’t know where you’ll be.

“But I’m glad I ended up with the Clippers, I’m happy.”

The veteran swingman has his best outing as a Clipper on Wednesday in Chicago, recording 14 points (on 5-of-7 shooting), six assists and a block. Los Angeles outscored Chicago by 13 points in his 25 minutes during the five-point victory, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes (subscriber link), Kings forward Keegan Murray was battling a nagging foot injury for the first few months of 2024/25. The injury limited his effectiveness, particularly his outside jump shot. However, he rested a couple of games in early January to let his foot heal and has been far more efficient ever since. Murray, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason, recorded a season-high 26 points (on 9-of-16 shooting) in Wednesday’s victory at Utah. He also chipped in six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 33 minutes.
The Warriors have been on a roll since they traded for Jimmy Butler, going 6-1 over that span. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, their next challenge will be reintegrating Jonathan Kuminga back in the lineup — the impending restricted free agent has been out since Jan. 4 due to a significant ankle sprain, but he’s inching closer to a return. “The main thing I want for JK is to not press when he comes back,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s not an easy spot to come back into where team’s rolling, contract stuff this summer. He’s going to have a lot on his mind. I want to make things as smooth and easy as possible. I want him to understand that it’s not going to happen right away. He was playing the best basketball of his career before the injury, and it’s not going to happen the first night where he’s going to get back to that level. It will take a little time.”
Kerr added that he wants Kuminga to study Butler on the offensive end. “He’s the perfect guy for JK to emulate,” the Warriors‘ head coach said. “What makes Jimmy special is that he doesn’t try to be special. He plays fundamental basketball. He never turns it over. He just makes the simple play over and over. I want JK to learn some of that … attacking the rim, nothing there, jump stop, pass the ball. That’s a great basketball play.”
Veteran forward Jae Crowder says a rift with former head coach Monty Williams was the reason he was away from the Suns during 2022/23 campaign and eventually led to him being traded at the 2023 deadline, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Crowder finished that season in Milwaukee, but only played 18 games.

Pacific Notes: LaVine, Ellis, Kawhi, Kuminga

February 26th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

It was an up-and-down first couple weeks in Sacramento for Zach LaVine, who was making just 43.0% of his shots from the floor – including 26.4% of his three-point tries – and had a -6.6 net rating as a member of the Kings entering Monday’s matchup with Charlotte.

However, LaVine enjoyed his best game of the season as either a King or a Bull on Monday, pouring in 42 points on 16-of-19 shooting in a blowout win over the Hornets. Sacramento outscored Charlotte by 36 points during his 31 minutes of action.

“I was just waiting,” said teammate DeMar DeRozan, who also played with LaVine for three years in Chicago (story via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee). “It took long enough. I kept telling him the whole game, ‘Just shoot it,’ and that’s the outcome. … It’s nothing new for me. I think it was just cool to have the bench going and the crowd going as well.”

Interim Kings head coach Doug Christie said after the game that he believes LaVine has been focused more on fitting in and deferring to teammates than playing his own game. While Christie acknowledge that’s a commendable approach, he hoped to see the two-time All-Star be more assertive offensively.

“I’ve known Zach and the way he plays and what he’s capable of,” Christie said. “I have had conversations, and to his credit, I thought he’s been trying to fit in, but we need him to be himself so we can figure out how to best support him. That doesn’t mean he’s going to come out and get 42 every night, but be aggressive and stay aggressive.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Kings guard Keon Ellis exited Monday’s win over Charlotte after just nine minutes of action due to a right ankle injury, but the team has gotten good news on that front. The injury was considered minor and Ellis has been upgraded to available for Wednesday’s game in Utah, tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.
After missing games on Sunday and Monday – both Clippers losses – due to left foot soreness, star forward Kawhi Leonard isn’t on the injury report for Wednesday’s game in Chicago, according to the team (Twitter link). That suggests Leonard will be active as the Clippers, in the midst of a long road trip, look to snap their three-game losing streak.
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga will remain sidelined for Thursday’s game in Orlando, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Kuminga is in the final stages of his recovery from an ankle sprain that has sidelined him since January 4 and has been scrimmaging, according to Slater, but the 22-year-old is still waiting for the final green light from trainer Rick Celebrini. A return in the middle of Golden State’s five-game road trip, which begins tomorrow and runs through next Thursday, looks like a possibility, Slater adds.

Checking In On Open NBA Roster Spots

February 24th, 2025 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

There has been no shortage of free agent signings across the NBA since the trade deadline, but several clubs still have at least one open roster spot as we near the home stretch of the season.

Using our roster counts tracker, let’s check in on which teams have openings and which are most likely to fill them in the short term.

Teams with multiple open spots on their standard 15-man rosters:

New Orleans Pelicans
Sacramento Kings

The Pelicans and Kings are both currently carrying 13 players on standard contracts, which teams are permitted to do for up to 14 days at a time or 28 days in total during a season.

New Orleans dipped down to 13 players last Thursday by buying out Javonte Green, which means the club will have until next Thursday (March 6) to get back to 14 players. Two-way player Brandon Boston is considered a strong candidate for a promotion, though he’s still eight games away from his 50-game limit because he has been out since February 8 with a sprained ankle.

Sacramento, meanwhile, dropped to 13 players when Daishen Nix‘s 10-day contract expired last Monday night. The Kings need to re-add a 14th man by next Tuesday (March 4) in order to adhere to the NBA’s roster rules.

Teams with one open spot on their standard 15-man rosters:

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Golden State Warriors
- Note: Two of the Warriors’ 14 players are on 10-day contracts.
Indiana Pacers
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks

The Celtics, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Knicks are all deep into luxury tax territory and may not be in any rush to add a 15th man, since that player would cost exponentially more once tax penalties are taken into account. New York is currently restricted by a hard cap but could sign a player as soon as February 28.

The Hawks and Pacers have enough breathing room below the tax not to worry about surpassing that line, so they may look to add someone sooner rather than later, perhaps on a 10-day contract.

The Warriors, meanwhile, will dip back to 12 players once the 10-day contracts for Kevin Knox and Yuri Collins expire this Friday night. Golden State has some hard-cap issues to navigate for the rest of the season and might not want to get back to 14 players right away.

Teams with full standard 15-man rosters that include one 10-day contract:

Brooklyn Nets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Memphis Grizzlies
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

These teams each have 14 players on standard contracts and one on a 10-day deal. With one exception, they’re all below the tax line and could continue cycling through 10-day signings or add a player on a rest-of-season contract when their current 10-day deals expire.

The one exception is Dallas. The Mavericks are right up against their hard cap, so once Moses Brown‘s 10-day contract ends, they won’t be able to bring in a new 15th man (or bring Brown back) until April 10.

Teams with an open two-way slot:

Brooklyn Nets
Golden State Warriors

The Warriors will reportedly fill their open two-way slot with Australian guard Taran Armstrong, so the Nets are really the only team with a two-way spot available, having promoted Tyrese Martin to a standard contract last Thursday.

It’s a pretty safe bet Brooklyn will fill that opening at some point before March 4, which is the deadline for two-way signings. You can also count on several other teams promoting, waiving, and signing two-way players before that deadline.

And-Ones: D. Williams, Cousins, Front Offices, Kuzminskas, More

February 23rd, 2025 at 5:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Former No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams has signed with the Mets de Guaynabo ahead of the 2025 season, the Puerto Rican team announced this week (via Instagram; hat tip to Sportando).

Williams, who was selected right after Kyrie Irving in the 2011 draft, appeared in 428 NBA games across seven seasons from 2011-18 before spending several years in Europe. The veteran forward, who will turn 34 this May, last suited up for Panathinaikos in Greece during the 2022/23 season.

The Mets de Guaynabo also made another notable roster announcement this week, indicating (via Instagram) that they’ve reacquired the rights to four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, who last played for the team in 2023.

According to Joseph Reboyras of Primera Hora (Twitter link), former NBA guard J.J. Barea, who is currently the Mets’ head coach, said a few days ago that Cousins’ return isn’t yet a lock. However, the former NBA center, who is now 34, has shown interest in returning to Puerto Rico for the coming season and was scheduled to meet with Barea this week to discuss the possibility.

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

In a massive feature article, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports ranks all 30 NBA front offices, from the Thunder at No. 1 to the Bulls at No. 30. Quinn divided teams into 11 separate tiers, with the Celtics (No. 2) and Spurs (No. 3) joining Oklahoma City in the top group, while the Mavericks (No. 27), Suns (No. 28), and the Kings (No. 29) rounded out the bottom tier..
Former NBA forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who appeared in 69 games for New York from 2016-18, has announced his retirement from the Lithuanian national team and won’t compete in EuroBasket 2025 this offseason, as Eurohoops relays. “I feel that now is the right moment to say thank you and step aside,” Kuzminskas said as part of a larger statement.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) takes a look at 15 of the NCAA freshman who have emerged as top prospects for the 2025 NBA draft and poses one key questions for each player, including how high Cooper Flagg‘s offensive ceiling is, whether Kasparas Jakucionis‘ modest athleticism will limit him, and whether Tre Johnson can improve his shot selection.

Kings’ Christie Meets With Starters After ‘Unacceptable’ Loss

February 22nd, 2025 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings‘ post-All-Star push for a playoff spot got off to a rocky start on Friday, as they lost at home by 24 points to a Golden State team that entered the day tied with Sacramento in the Western Conference standings.

Within his recap of the game, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee noted that Doug Christie took over an hour to come out for his post-game media session, writing that the Kings’ interim head coach had “delivered an impassioned message to his team” during that time. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link), Christie met with Sacramento’s starters – Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, and Keegan Murray – during that time.

“First and foremost, in that meeting, I was told that Christie reiterated how he’s in the fight with them,” Haynes said. “But there were some issues he wanted to address, such as making sure that everyone understood the gravity of the situation right now. He addressed ball security. He talked about how they’ve been compromising on defense. He wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. He spoke on learning how to communicate with each other, and he challenged his players to challenge each other in a positive way to yield some positive results.”

Speaking to reporters after Friday’s loss, Christie didn’t specifically mention meeting with the starters, but he referred to his team’s effort vs. Golden State as “totally unacceptable.” According to Monk, the Kings’ coach made it clear that “we can’t get punked like that at home” again.

“I get down in a certain way and I expect you guys to represent that,” Christie said of his message to the team, per Anderson. “I know what these fans appreciate and what they want, and I know what our organization wants, and that ain’t it. That ain’t ever going to be it.”

The Kings are still adjusting after making some major roster changes at the trade deadline. De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Colby Jones, Alex Len, and Jordan McLaughlin were all dealt during the first week of February, with LaVine, Jonas Valanciunas, and Jake LaRavia added via trade, while Markelle Fultz later signed as a free agent. As Anderson writes, the new-look roster showed some growing pains on Friday by turning the ball over a season-high 24 times and being outscored 38-5 in points off turnovers.

“Twenty-four (turnovers) for 38 points won’t win you a game, I don’t think, anywhere in the world,” Christie said. “… We can keep saying we have a lot of new guys and we’re trying to find our way, but that excuse, no one checks for you in this league like that. People will just run through you and beat the hell out of you, so it doesn’t matter what the excuse is.

“Take care of the basketball, play together, move the rock, and if we do that at a high level, we give ourselves the opportunity to win. We’re not even giving ourselves the opportunity with 24 turnovers for 38 points. It’s just not acceptable. It will never be acceptable. I said that to them man for man.”

The Kings are still in a play-in position in the West — at 28-28, they hold the No. 10 seed in the conference, with a 1.5-game lead over the No. 11 Suns. But after winning one play-in game last season and losing the second, they know how challenging it is to earn a playoff berth from that position and would like to move up in the standings before the end of the season. They have the fifth-hardest remaining schedule, per Tankathon.

“The bottom line is we have to come out and play with a sense of urgency, aggressiveness and physicality,” Christie said. “We have to want to win more than we want to breathe.”

And-Ones: 2025 FAs, College Jobs, MCW, WNBA, More

February 20th, 2025 at 7:31am CST by Luke Adams

A series of contract extensions have depleted the star-level talent in the NBA’s 2025 free agent class, but there will still be some notable names to watch this summer, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) detail.

Both Pincus and Marks have longtime NBA stars LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden atop their lists of 2025 free agents, with Marks positing that no player will have more leverage this offseason than Irving, given how badly the Mavericks need to retain the veteran point guard following the trade of Luka Doncic.

After James, Irving, and Harden, who have combined for 41 career All-Star appearances, the next tier of free agents consists of players like Myles Turner, Fred VanVleet, Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, and Timberwolves power forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Interestingly, Pincus has Reid ranked ahead of the three-time All-Star he backs up, placing Reid at No. 5 and Randle at No. 7 in his early FA rankings.

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

As is typical at this time of year, a number of NBA coaches and executives are receiving interest for jobs at the college basketball level, notes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Fischer mentions Hornets executive Buzz Peterson and veteran player agent Jim Tanner as possible candidates for UNC’s general manager job and says Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Suns assistant David Fizdale, and Bucks assistant Dave Joerger are among the names to watch for the University of Miami’s head coaching position. Fischer adds that Kings assistant Luke Loucks has been linked to Florida State’s head coaching opening.
Former NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams is involved in a bid to bring an WNBA expansion franchise to Boston, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. With expansion teams lined up for San Francisco, Portland, Toronto, and Cleveland, the WNBA will have 16 clubs by 2028, so it’s unclear whether or not the league will be looking to expand beyond that number right away.
Passing along the results of a player poll from All-Star weekend, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes that the 14 respondents were unanimously against the idea of 10-minute quarters floated last month by commissioner Adam Silver. However, 12 of those 14 players liked the new All-Star tournament format.
The Lakers‘ and Pistons‘ G League affiliates completed a trade on Wednesday, with the South Bay Lakers acquiring forward Cole Swider from the Motor City Cruise in exchange for Chris Silva‘s returning rights and a 2025 first-round pick, per a press release. Silva is currently playing overseas, but Swider has been active in the G League and will begin suiting up for South Bay.