- Houston’s Fabian White Jr. was among the prospects to work out for the Kings on Tuesday, per Sean Cunningham of FOX40 News (Twitter link).
Newly-hired Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is earning high praise from those who know him, according to Broderick Turner and Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.
Ham, who was a Lakers assistant coach from 2011-13 and won a title against L.A. as a player on the Pistons in 2004, has served as an assistant under head coach Mike Budenholzer with the Hawks and Bucks for the past nine seasons. The Bucks won the 2021 NBA championship with Ham on Budenholzer’s staff.
“His work ethic in practice and when we put him in the game, he always seemed to deliver,” former Knicks head coach and current Indiana University coach Mike Woodson said of Ham. “So, you knew that the fact he got into coaching, I knew it would work because that’s a big part of being a good coach. You got to work.”
Metta Sandiford-Artest, who played on the Lakers teams where Ham first cut his coaching teeth as a development assistant under Mike Brown, also had high praise for Ham. “He definitely understands modern basketball,” Sandiford-Artest said. “He also is capable of communicating in a way where you can receive it the right way.”
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers held workouts on Saturday for six NBA hopefuls, per Matthew Barrero of Lakers.com. Baylor guard James Akinjo, Connecticut guard Tyrese Martin, Syracuse forward Cole Swider, USC guard Drew Peterson, Texas A&M guard Quenton Jackson, and Alabama guard Keon Ellis all got a look from the L.A. front office brass. Though Los Angeles does not possess a draft pick this season, the team could trade into the second round or sign an undrafted rookie as a free agent. “There is a good side to it if you’re able to choose your team,” Ellis said. “Even if it happens to be myself, you can’t get too down on it or overthink it. There’s been guys who have gone undrafted and come back with great stories.”
- The Kings, who possess the fourth pick in the 2022 draft, had at least two key representatives take a look at several high-level prospects during recent pro day workouts in Southern California, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. Team owner Vivek Ranadive and GM Monte McNair attended a CAA pro day workout for Purdue shooting guard Jaden Ivey and Duke small forward AJ Griffin. McNair attended an additional pro day with another top-10-level player, Arizona shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin, Anderson notes, examining the potential fit of each player.
- Injured Warriors role players Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Andre Iguodala will be gradually included in team practices ahead of the 2022 NBA Finals this week as they continue to recuperate from their respective ailments, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). The club has leaned on 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody for help in the absence of Payton, Porter and Iguodala.
Appearing on the French online show First Team, veteran forward Nicolas Batum was asked about his future and suggested that he plans to remain with the Clippers for the foreseeable future, as Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints relays. Batum, speaking in French, said what translates to “Tyronn Lue saved my life,” heaping praise on the Clippers’ head coach.
Batum, who has a $3.33MM player option for the 2022/23 season, was waived by Charlotte during the 2020 offseason and signed a minimum-salary contract days later with the Clippers. He has revitalized his career in the last two years in Los Angeles, starting 92 of 126 games and averaging 26.2 MPG.
“Whenever you have a player speak on you like that, it’s a great feeling because that’s what it’s all about,” Lue told Azarly when asked about Batum’s comments. “It’s about the players and trying to get the best out of players. A lot of times, the players bring the best out of a coach as well. For Nico, a guy who has been in this league for a long time and a great veteran player, just to have him say those words, that means a lot.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) considers it extremely unlikely that the Suns will let restricted free agent Deandre Ayton walk for nothing or that Ayton will accept his one-year qualifying offer. In Gambadoro’s view, a new deal between Ayton and the Suns, a sign-and-trade agreement, or an offer sheet that the Suns match are the only realistic outcomes.
- Gary Payton II (fractured left elbow) is beginning to increase his on-court activity, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who posted a Twitter video of Payton going through a workout on Tuesday. Assuming the Warriors finish off Dallas, it still seems possible Payton could return at some point in the NBA Finals, Slater adds.
- Trevion Williams (Purdue), JD Notae (Arkansas), Tyson Etienne (Wichita State), and David McCormack (Kansas) are among the prospects that worked out for the Kings on Monday and Tuesday this week, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Anderson wonders if the Kings could end up drafting two Boilermakers, with Jaden Ivey in play at No. 4 and Williams a potential target in the second round.
- Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times take a closer look at Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts, and Kenny Atkinson, breaking down the pros and cons of each of the Lakers’ reported head coaching finalists.
Magic Johnson believes it’s crucial for the next Lakers coach to figure out how to maximize Russell Westbrook alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as he told David Aldridge of The Athletic. Johnson doubts Westbrook’s hefty contract will deliver a palatable package in a trade, so the new coach will need to figure out how best to use the veteran guard in order for the Lakers to make a postseason run next season.
“Well, it only can work, if you’ve got the coach — the right coach. To me, it still comes down to, who’s the coach?” the former Lakers president said. “And, then, also, he’s on a one-year, $47 million (contract with a player option). Even if you offer him (in a trade), what are you, realistically, going to get back? I told them this too — you’re going to get some contracts you probably don’t want, and they’re going to go (chronologically) past his contract. You’ve really got to think about that.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers have supposedly narrowed their list of potential candidates to replace Frank Vogel to three — Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson. However, Marc Stein reports in a Substack piece that a source close to the situation believes the list under consideration is “still wider” than that trio. Other prominent names could surface or candidates already interviewed for the job may reemerge.
- Luke Loucks has agreed to join Mike Brown’s staff with the Kings, Marc J. Spears of ESPN tweets. Loucks currently works for the Suns in basketball strategy and personnel evaluation. Loucks previously worked with Brown in Golden State and with the Nigerian national team.
- Deandre Ayton‘s agent, Bill Duffy, said in a SiriuxXM NBA Radio interview (Twitter link) that they were “disappointed” the Suns didn’t offer him a max contract extension. However, Duffy is confident his client will get a substantial offer this summer. “Things will work out for Deandre,” Duffy said. “He’s a valuable player and there’s other teams in the league as well. He’s a restricted free agent, so we’ll see how this process unfolds.”
- James Ham of The Kings Beat examines whether the Kings would consider moving up in the draft. Sacramento currently owns the No. 4, No. 37 and No. 49 picks in the event.
Warriors power forward Draymond Green is convinced that he has reached a new level in these playoffs, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Youngmisuk notes that, as the main defender on a Mavericks shooter in Game 2, Green limited Dallas players to 4-of-15 shooting from the floor. That stat also includes those Mavericks players going 0-of-9 from long range against Green. The Warriors currently lead the Mavericks 2-0 in their Western Conference Finals series.
“[Opposing players] had a hard time dealing with me before,” Green said of his performance in prior playoff runs, which include three titles. “[But] I’m in a space now that’s a totally different, better space. Not even close. Much, much better than I was in before.”
There’s more out of California:
- Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, dealing with a sore left ankle, will suit up for this evening’s Game 3 contest against the Mavericks despite the injury, per Marc Stein (via Twitter). “It was just a little tweak, I just came down on it wrong,” Wiggins told reporters in remarks this morning, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter video link).
- The Kings saw several top draft prospects during some recent agency pro day workouts, per Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 (KTXL) (Twitter link). Cunningham reports that LSU forward Tari Eason, Mega Soccerbet forward Nikola Jovic, Duke center Mark Williams, Milwaukee guard Patrick Baldwin Jr., and Iowa forward Keegan Murray all participated.
- Michigan head coach and former All-Star big man Juwan Howard turned down recent interest from the Lakers to interview for the team’s vacant head coaching position, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Howard intends to remain in Ann Arbor to coach his two sons next year. Howard last interviewed for the gig in 2019, before the Lakers ultimately hired Frank Vogel.
The Kings are expected to hire former Toronto and Phoenix head coach Jay Triano as part of Mike Brown‘s new coaching staff, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link). Triano, who also coached the Canadian national team from 1998-2004, most recently served as an assistant in Charlotte under James Borrego.
Brown can’t yet devote his full attention to his new job with the Kings, since he’ll still be a part of Steve Kerr‘s staff in Golden State until the Warriors’ playoff run ends. However, Brown’s coaching staff is starting to come together. Holdover Doug Christie is expected to remain in his assistant role, and Jordi Fernandez is coming aboard as Sacramento’s associate head coach.
Let’s round up a few more items from around the Pacific…
- James Ham of The Kings Beat explores the Kings‘ options with the No. 4 pick, outlining how moving up three spots on lottery night increased the number of directions Sacramento could take with that selection.
- Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins headlines a list of potential extend-or-trade players this summer, according to Danny Leroux of The Athletic, who explains that Wiggins is one of several veterans who could become a viable offseason trade candidate if he and the team don’t work out a contract extension.
- After injuries sidelined him for 56 of 137 contests from 2019-21, Warriors center Kevon Looney is proud of the fact that he was able to play in all 82 games in 2021/22, as he tells Mark Medina of NBA.com. “People were putting the injury label on me,” Looney said. “I take pride in being a tough guy and doing all the dirty work. So, to be a guy that was not healthy messed with my mentals.”
- Evan Sidery of BasketballNews.com takes a closer look at Deandre Ayton‘s future with the Suns, which appears increasingly uncertain as his restricted free agency nears.
Rival executives and league personnel view Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren as the most likely pick for the Magic at No. 1 in next month’s draft due to the front office’s affinity for length, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond have gravitated toward lanky players with huge wingspans since arriving in Orlando and did the same during their days in Milwaukee, Fischer observes, citing Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Henson, Thon Maker, Jonathan Isaac, and Mohamed Bamba as examples.
Fischer also points to Holmgren’s good relationship with last year’s No. 4 overall pick Jalen Suggs – they played together at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis – as another reason why the Magic may be leaning toward the Gonzaga star.
Whether the Magic end up drafting Holmgren or another top big man prospect like Auburn’s Jabari Smith, league personnel increasingly believe that Bamba is increasingly likely to leave the team this summer, Fischer says. Bamba is eligible for restricted free agency, but there may not be room for him in a frontcourt that would include Holmgren or Smith, Wendell Carter, and the returning Isaac.
Here’s more from Fischer:
- There’s a “strong belief” among rival executives that the Kings, who badly want to get back to the playoffs, will explore trading the No. 4 pick, according to Fischer. Holmgren, Smith, and Paolo Banchero are the consensus top three players in the draft class, but a number of prospects are in play at No. 4, so there may be a team that feels compelled to move up to snag its preferred target, Fischer writes.
- League personnel view the Trail Blazers at No. 7 and the Pelicans at No. 8 as other good candidates for trades among lottery teams, per Fischer. The Thunder, Grizzlies, and Spurs, all of whom own multiple first-round selections, are worth monitoring for possible trade-up scenarios, and there are a few teams that may want to move their first-rounders for future picks due to salary cap or luxury tax concerns, Fischer adds.
- Shaedon Sharpe is considered the wild card of the lottery and could come off the board as high as No. 4, Fischer says. Some executives told Bleacher Report that Sharpe could realistically have been a candidate for No. 1 overall if he had played at all at Kentucky. Given how little Sharpe has played in the last year, he’s regarded as a high-risk, high-upside pick.
Newly-hired Kings head coach Mike Brown has selected Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez to serve as his new associate head coach, Sacramento announced on Wednesday (via Twitter).
Fernandez has prior experience working with Brown in Cleveland, and was on Brown’s staff with the Nigerian National Team during the 2020 Olympics, tweets Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 (KTXL).
Fernandez, 39, has been an assistant with the Nuggets for the past six years. As Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports relays (Twitter link), Fernandez was Michael Malone‘s No. 2 assistant in Denver and served as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2021/22.
Brown is well-known as a defense-first coach, so clearly he trusts Fernandez in that regard. Brown is currently serving out his stint as associate head coach of the Warriors, who stymied the Mavericks in the first game of their Western Conference Finals matchup by a score of 112-87.
In other Kings coaching news, Marc J. Spears of ESPN and Andscape reports (via Twitter) that former assistant coach/chief of staff Roy Rana will be heading to Japan to be the new head coach of the Kyoto Hannaryz. Rana was with Sacramento for the past three seasons and was named the head coach of the Egyptian National Team in January, per CBC.ca.
The Kings‘ 2021/22 season got off to a rough start and didn’t get any better from there. Sacramento became the first and only team to make an in-season coaching change in ’21/22, and Alvin Gentry‘s winning percentage (.369) after replacing Luke Walton was barely an improvement on Walton’s mark (.353).
The Kings made a major splash at the trade deadline when they sent 2020 first-round pick Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana in a six-player deal that landed two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento, and there was some brief hope that the acquisition of Sabonis could help push the team into play-in territory during the home stretch of the season.
However, the Kings continued to lose games after the trade and ultimately shut down Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, neither of whom played in the final three weeks of the season due to injuries. The end result? Sacramento is now the holder of an ignominious NBA record, having missed the playoffs for a 16th consecutive season.
The Kings’ Offseason Plan:
The Kings will be laser-focused on ending their postseason drought in 2022/23 and general manager Monte McNair will certainly be feeling some pressure to make it happen, since he’s reportedly entering the final year of his contract.
Sacramento’s desire to be a playoff team raises some interesting questions about the No. 4 overall pick in the draft. With Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, and Paolo Banchero likely to come off the board in the top three, would the Kings target an older prospect who is considered more NBA-ready, such as forward Keegan Murray? Are they interested in rolling the dice on guard Jaden Ivey to create an electric offensive backcourt, even if it creates more questions about how their defense would hold up? Would they be willing to put that fourth overall pick in a trade for an impact veteran?
It’s a tricky spot for McNair. There’s certainly no guarantee that the Kings will be able to add a franchise player at No. 4, but it’s still such a valuable asset that they’d want to acquire a legitimate star if they were to trade it. Will a player of that caliber be out there this summer? If not, could the Kings consider a deal where they move down a few spots in the draft and acquire a starter-caliber veteran rather than a potential All-Star?
Whether they keep it or trade it, that No. 4 pick will be the Kings’ best bet to acquire impact talent, since they won’t have cap room available to make waves in free agency. Re-signing restricted free agent Donte DiVincenzo and using their mid-level exception on a rotation player could be the extent of Sacramento’s free agent moves.
If they do hang onto their lottery pick, there are some other ways the Kings could get involved in trade discussions.
Center Richaun Holmes looks like the most obvious trade chip on the roster — the four-year, $46.5MM contract he signed last summer seemed pretty team-friendly at the time, but Holmes struggled to find his niche following the acquisition of Sabonis and his stock has dipped a little over the last year. Still, he’s in his prime at age 28 and he should draw interest from teams in need of help at center.
The Kings will also have to decide whether they consider forward Harrison Barnes part of their long-term future. Barnes is a solid – but not spectacular – scorer and defender who is entering a contract year. His expiring $18.4MM deal would have positive value, but he’s also the sort of player who should fit well alongside Fox and Sabonis, so a possible contract extension shouldn’t be ruled out either.
Other non-core pieces on expiring contracts include Justin Holiday, Terence Davis, Maurice Harkless, and Alex Len. While there shouldn’t be any urgency to move any of those four, I imagine the Kings would be open to discussing any of them if rival teams inquire.
Of course, Sacramento has already made one of its biggest offseason decisions, announcing earlier this month that Warriors assistant Mike Brown will be the team’s next head coach. The Kings wanted a coach who had experience turning a lottery team into a playoff club. Brown technically fits that bill, having done so in Cleveland, but he had plenty of help from LeBron James in that instance — he’ll face a more significant challenge trying to repeat that feat in Sacramento without one of the NBA’s all-time greats on his roster.
Salary Cap Situation
Note: Our salary cap figures are based on the league’s latest projection ($122MM) for 2022/23.
Guaranteed Salary
De’Aaron Fox ($30,351,780)- Domantas Sabonis ($18,500,000)
- Harrison Barnes ($18,352,273)
- Richaun Holmes ($11,215,260)
- Justin Holiday ($6,292,440)
- Davion Mitchell ($4,833,600)
- Maurice Harkless ($4,564,980)
- Terence Davis ($4,000,000)
- Alex Len ($3,918,000)
- Total: $102,028,333
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Trey Lyles ($2,625,000): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $2,625,000
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Chimezie Metu ($1,910,680) 1
- Total: $1,910,680
Restricted Free Agents
- Donte DiVincenzo ($6,602,272 qualifying offer / $14,027,490 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $14,027,490
Two-Way Free Agents
- Neemias Queta ($1,616,044 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $1,616,044
Draft Picks
- No. 4 overall pick ($7,901,280)
- No. 37 overall pick (no cap hold)
- No. 49 overall pick (no cap hold)
- Total: $7,901,280
Extension-Eligible Players
Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2022/23 season begins.
- Harrison Barnes (veteran)
- Justin Holiday (veteran)
- Domantas Sabonis (veteran)
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Jeremy Lamb ($15,750,000 cap hold): Bird rights
- Josh Jackson ($6,506,955 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Damian Jones ($1,811,516 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Corey Brewer ($1,811,516 cap hold): Early Bird rights 2
- Total: $25,879,987
Offseason Cap Outlook
Accounting for their guaranteed salaries and the cap hold for their first-round pick, the Kings will have about $110MM on their books, putting them in position to be an over-the-cap team. They should be able to re-sign DiVincenzo to a fair contract and use their full $10MM+ mid-level exception without going into luxury-tax territory, if they so choose.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $10,349,000 3
- Bi-annual exception: $4,050,000 3
- Trade exception: $4,023,600
- Trade exception: $1,630,934
Footnotes
- Metu’s salary will become fully guaranteed after June 29.
- The cap hold for Brewer remain on the Kings’ books from a prior season because he hasn’t been renounced. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- These are projected values.
Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post.