Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Murray, C. Johnson, Rollins, Diabate

June 25th, 2022 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings have taken some heat for selecting Keegan Murray ahead of Jaden Ivey with the fourth pick Thursday night, but general manager Monte McNair said the decision was “unanimous” among the front office, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Owner Vivek Ranadive also endorsed Murray because of concerns about Ivey’s awkward fit alongside De’Aaron Fox, Anderson adds.

“Ultimately, after sitting in the room with my front office staff, our whole staff, our scouting department, our analytics department, it became unanimous that Keegan Murray was the best player available, and we jumped at the chance to draft him,” McNair said.

In an introductory press conference today in Sacramento, Murray talked about how far he has come, noting that he had difficulty finding a Division I scholarship out of high school (video link from The Sacramento Bee). He called the experience since draft night “the best time of my life.”

“I’m excited to be here in Sacramento,” Murray said. “It’s a dream come true to be able to pull on the purple and black so I’m grateful to be in this position. Sacramento has welcomed me with open arms so far. So I’m excited to see everyone at the games and things like that. For me, it’s been a journey from where I’ve came from and to where I am now.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Cameron Johnson knows he’s not the first priority this summer as he waits to see if the Suns will offer a rookie scale extension, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Rankin estimates that if Phoenix makes the offer, Johnson can expect between $15-20MM per year. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s got to happen before we get to that, you know,” Johnson said. “Even if you talk about the stuff with (Deandre Ayton), like that is obviously more at the forefront of things, but I trust that whatever is meant to happen, will happen.”
The Warriors viewed Ryan Rollins as a potential first-round pick, which is why they were willing to give the Hawks $2MM to move up from No. 51 to No. 44, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Rollins told reporters that Golden State tried to trade up to No. 30, but wasn’t able to complete a deal with the Nuggets.
Second-round pick Moussa Diabate will be a project during his first season with the Clippers, notes Austin Meek of The Athletic. A five-star recruit out of high school, Diabate spent just one year at Michigan before declaring for the draft. “I think there’s an evolution to his game: getting more comfortable with the ball, more spatial awareness,” Wolverines assistant Phil Martelli said. “He is a very, very, willing learner.”

Rhoden To Join Kings’ Summer Team, Could Receive Two-Way Deal

June 25th, 2022 at 9:28am CST by Dana Gauruder

Undrafted Seton Hall wing Jared Rhoden is signing a summer league contract with the Kings and it could turn into something more substantial, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media.

Rhoden might be offered a two-way contract, where he would split time between the big club and its G League affiliate, a league source told Zagoria.

Rhoden had 15 workouts with 14 teams prior to the draft, including a pair with the Kings. He averaged 15.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG last season and earned All-Big East First Team honors.

Rhoden impressed at the G League Elite Camp, which earned him an invitation to the draft combine.

The Kings have already committed a two-way slot to Alabama guard Keon Ellis, so Rhoden presumably is in play for the remaining spot. Center Neemias Queta occupied one of those spots at the end of last season.

Kings, Jeriah Horne Agree To Deal

June 24th, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have reached a contract agreement with undrafted rookie free agent Jeriah Horne, agent Daniel Hazan tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Horne had a well-traveled college career, starting at Nebraska before transferring to Tulsa following his freshman year. He spent two years at Tulsa, transferred to Colorado, then headed back to the Golden Hurricane for his “super-senior” season.

The 6’7″ forward averaged 16.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in 31 games (33.9 MPG) in 2021/22, posting an impressive shooting line of .444/.415/.838.

It’s unclear what Horne’s deal will look like, but generally when a team reaches a contract agreement with an undrafted rookie at this time of year and the terms aren’t reported, it ends up being an Exhibit 10 contract. Exhibit 10 deals, which are non-guaranteed, can be converted into two-way contracts before the regular season begins and also make a player eligible for a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins his team’s G League affiliate.

Kings Agree To Two-Way Contract With Keon Ellis

June 24th, 2022 at 12:12am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have agreed to a two-way contract with Keon Ellis, Shams Charania of Stadium tweets.

The 6’6” senior guard averaged 12.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.9 SPG in his senior year at Alabama. He made 43.7% of his field goal attempts and 36.6% of his 3-point tries. Ellis began his college career at Florida Southwestern State before playing his final two seasons for the Crimson Tide.

Sacramento finished the season with an empty two-way slot, so it can seamlessly add Ellis.

Mavs Acquire No. 37 Pick Jaden Hardy From Kings

June 23rd, 2022 at 11:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

11:45pm: The trade is now official, according to the Mavericks (Twitter link).

10:33pm: The Kings are trading the 37th overall pick to the Mavericks for two future second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The Mavericks traded their own second-rounders in 2024 and 2028 to Sacramento, Marc Stein tweets.

Dallas selected G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy with the 37th pick. Prior to move, Dallas didn’t have a selection in this year’s draft after giving up the 26th pick to Houston in the still-unofficial Christian Wood deal.

Hardy averaged 17.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG for the Ignite. He slipped out of the first round and could wind up as a value pick for Dallas. He’ll add backcourt depth and scoring prowess, which could come in handy if unrestricted free agent Jalen Brunson doesn’t re-sign with the Mavs.

Kings Keep No. 4 Pick, Draft Keegan Murray

June 23rd, 2022 at 7:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After weighing trade offers for weeks, the Kings have decided to keep the No. 4 overall pick and have drafted Iowa’s Keegan Murray, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Murray and Purdue guard Jaden Ivey were widely considered the top two prospects after the top three were off the board. While Ivey was ahead of Murray on many experts’ boards, he may have been an awkward fit in Sacramento alongside a similar lead guard in De’Aaron Fox. Murray should comfortably slot into the Kings’ frontcourt alongside Domantas Sabonis.

Murray, who was not a blue chip prospect entering college, was one of Division I’s most prolific scorers this past season. He averaged 23.5 PPG along with 8.7 RPG while knocking down 39.8% of his 3-point tries. He was also a defensive force (1.9 BPG, 1.3 SPG). He’s considered by many experts to be the most NBA ready prospect in the draft after playing two seasons of college ball.

Kings forward Harrison Barnes has been mentioned frequently in trade rumors this offseason, and the selection of Murray could make a Barnes deal more likely as the team seeks to end the league’s longest current playoff drought.

We won’t be publishing full stories on the rest of the individual picks in this year’s draft – unless there are trades involved – but we’re tracking all the picks right here.

Clippers’ Luke Kennard Available Via Trade?

June 23rd, 2022 at 6:34pm CST by Luke Adams

6:34pm: Multiple league sources have told Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) that the Clippers aren’t looking to trade Kennard.

This doesn’t necessarily mean Kennard is off-limits in trade conversations — it’s possible the Clippers are willing to discuss him but objected to the idea that he’s being “shopped.” It’s also possible he’ll simply remain in Los Angeles to start the 2022/23 season.

9:10am: The Clippers are shopping sharpshooter Luke Kennard in trade discussions and may attempt to move him later in the offseason if they don’t find a deal they like ahead of Thursday’s draft, reports Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

Acquired and extended by the Clippers during the 2020 offseason, Kennard has been a regular part of the team’s rotation over the last two years and made a league-best 44.9% of his three-point attempts in 2021/22. He averaged 11.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 70 games (27.4 MPG) this past season, while knocking down 2.7 threes per contest.

As valuable as Kennard is as a floor spacer, the Clippers will have a crowded rotation next season. Swingman Norman Powell, acquired at this year’s trade deadline, could cut into Kennard’s playing time, and if a fully healthy Kawhi Leonard is back in the lineup in 2022/23, that could result in fewer minutes for everyone else.

The Clippers also project to be far above the NBA’s projected tax line for next season, perhaps creating some incentive to move off a sizable multiyear contract like Kennard’s. The veteran wing, who will turn 26 on Friday, will earn approximately $30MM over the next two years, with a $15.4MM team option for 2024/25.

The Cavaliers and Clippers talked about Kennard last season before Cleveland landed Caris LeVert, according to Deveney, who suggests the Cavs could still be in the market for an outside shooter. The Bulls and Kings are among the other potential suitors for Kennard, sources tell Deveney.

Cavaliers Acquire 49th Pick From Kings

June 23rd, 2022 at 3:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

3:13pm: The Kings have officially announced the trade, reports Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (via Twitter).

11:59am: The Cavaliers will pick up a second-round draft choice in a trade with the Kings, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Cleveland will send the draft rights to Sasha Vezenkov to Sacramento in exchange for pick No. 49 in tonight’s draft.

The Cavs will also ship $1.75MM to the Kings in the deal, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).

Cleveland now has three second-round picks at 39, 49 and 56, along with a first-rounder at No. 14. The Kings are left with picks No. 4 and 37.

Vezenkov, a 26-year-old forward, was a first-team All-EuroLeague selection this season, Wojnarowski notes. He has played for Olympiacos in Greece for the last several seasons and averaged 13.8 PPG and 5.6 RPG on .547/.388/.840 shooting in 31 EuroLeague games (29.6 MPG) in 2022/23.

Vezenkov was drafted by the Nets with the 57th pick in 2017, and his NBA rights were sent to Cleveland in the 2021 James Harden trade.

Hawks View Kings’ Offer For John Collins As “Underwhelming”

June 23rd, 2022 at 1:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings have been actively trying to acquire John Collins, but Atlanta isn’t impressed by Sacramento’s latest offer, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. His sources say the Hawks consider it “underwhelming.”

The reported offer for Collins includes veteran forward Harrison Barnes, but not the No. 4 pick in tonight’s draft. The trade would likely have been completed already if Sacramento was willing to part with that, Amick adds.

Amick also addresses Wednesday night’s report that the Hawks have talked to the Spurs about Dejounte Murray. He states that Atlanta officials believe San Antonio’s current asking price is “exorbitant” and although the teams aren’t close to an agreement, Amick believes it’s a situation to watch.

Also, sources tell Amick that the Hawks’ reported interest in Jazz center Rudy Gobert has been exaggerated. Atlanta still values Clint Capela, who has a good relationship with Trae Young. Financial considerations also point toward keeping Capela, who is owed $61MM over the next three seasons compared to $169MM over four years for Gobert, including a player option for 2025/26.

Kings Notes: Brown, McNair, Draft Strategy

June 22nd, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the Warriors’ title run out of the way, Mike Brown finally got to have his introductory press conference as the Kings‘ new head coach, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Brown is leaving his spot as associate head coach with the NBA’s latest dynasty to take over a team that hasn’t reached the playoffs in 16 years, and in Tuesday’s session with reporters he charged directly into the challenge that awaits him.

“There ain’t no elephant in the room,” Brown said. “You can speak on it. We’re going to embrace that. I’m not coming here to have fun, be excited, join the area. I’m coming here to win. So we’re going to embrace anything that’s in front of us that talks about winning. So, we look forward to it.”

Although Brown accepted his new job more than six weeks ago, his duties with Golden State prevented from formally joining the Kings until this week. He said he has already talked to all his new players and staff members, some on Zoom and some in person, and expressed optimism about the talent that he’s inheriting.

“The potential here, I truly believe the potential is off the charts,” Brown said. “It gets me excited thinking about it. … The players here, I’m excited about. There’s just a lot of opportunity here for this place to explode, and I want to be a part of it.”

There’s more from Sacramento:

In an interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Brown said he dealt mainly with general manager Monte McNair and assistant GM Wes Wilcox during the hiring process. Brown, who previously worked with Wilcox in Cleveland, said the working relationship with those front office officials is vital to success. “You can go ask (Warriors general manager) Bob Myers,” Brown said. “Throughout my six years with the Warriors, he would ask me, ‘What would be the one thing that you look for if you were to get a head (coaching) job in the future?’ I’d say, ‘The relationship has got to be there with the GM and the head coach.’ ‘If that relationship is not there, you have no chance. You have no shot.”
Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee examines how McNair’s tenuous hold on his job might affect the team’s approach to draft day.
The Kings’ decision on the No. 4 pick will likely go “right down to the wire,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on the network’s Mock Draft Special (video link). Purdue guard Jaden Ivey may be the best player available, but he doesn’t fit a need in Sacramento, so Wojnarowski expects the team to consider trade offers while it’s on the clock.