Kings Notes: Christie, Trade Rumors, Schröder, Lineup
Ahead of Tuesday’s game against Denver, Kings head coach Doug Christie spoke to reporters for about two-and-a-half minutes without taking any questions, acknowledging his team’s early-season struggles while insisting that the organization is “aligned in what we’re doing” and vowing that the club will “get it right,” per The Associated Press.
“Change is hard,” Christie said (YouTube link via KCRA 3). “It’s hard. But understand — and we understand — that we’re not there yet. But we’re about to work at it like crazy. We totally get that. And it will be bumpy. It will, because change is like that. But buckle up. For the real ones, buckle up.
“… When I see the hate, the haters, the fakers — all you guys, you keep that energy,” Christie continued. “That’s good. You keep that. And you know who you are because while you’re doing that, we’re gonna be working. And while you’re doing that, we’re gonna be growing. And while you do that, eventually, we’re gonna be coming — the Kings Show. Sac proud, know that.”
Christie spoke during his pregame session about prioritizing defending, rebounding, and sharing the basketball, but the team hasn’t done any of those things especially well yet this season. Sacramento ranks 27th in the NBA in defensive rating (120.4), 29th in rebounding percentage (47.0%), and 14th in assist percentage (62.6%).
After losing on Tuesday to the Nuggets, the Kings hold a 3-8 record, including a 2-4 mark at home.
Here’s more on the Kings:
- As the AP’s report notes, Christie’s pregame remarks on Tuesday may have been in response to a rumor that circulated earlier in the day about the team’s willingness to shop stars Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan. That rumor appears to have originated from plugged-in local radio reporter Carmichael Dave (Twitter links). While it’s unclear if it was hard reporting or informed speculation, Dave suggested on Tuesday that the Kings are preparing to launch a full-fledged rebuild and intend to begin reshaping their roster next month when trade season unofficially opens.
- The Kings’ bench outscored Denver’s by 23 points on Tuesday, but Sacramento’s starters were outscored by 37 points, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Offseason addition Dennis Schröder continues to struggle — after a scoreless outing vs. Denver, he’s now shooting 38.3% from the floor (27.7% on three-pointers) this season, including 1-of-19 in his past three games.
- Asked after Tuesday’s loss if he’s weighing a starting lineup change at point guard or another position, Christie said the team is “considering everything,” per Anderson. “This is about us playing at a high level,” the Kings’ coach said. “Twenty-four minutes tonight, maybe 30. It’s not enough. We need a 48-minute effort to win in this league, especially against a team like that. That’s a team that’s a championship-level team. You can’t play for small stretches. (The effort was) better, but nobody’s checking for participation trophies.”
- Subbing in Russell Westbrook for Schröder is one option Christie figures to evaluate, according to Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. As Biderman points out, some of the Kings’ starters – who have historically been very productive offensive players – haven’t been playing up to their usual standards, but Christie is more concerned about the team’s performance on the other end of the court. “Offense? Ain’t nobody talking about offense,” he said when asked about that subject on Tuesday. “(We only scored) 108 (vs. Denver), but on most nights we’re scoring enough points. It ain’t about the offense. There’s a lot of people that can score the basketball. If we want to win, we need to focus on the defense, period. Offense — make some shots. You make and miss shots. I get that. There’s timing and different things. But I don’t want to hear about no offense.”
Kings Notes: Sabonis, Schröder, Ellis, Achiuwa
Domantas Sabonis was back on the court Sunday night after sitting out two games with a left ribcage contusion, but he couldn’t prevent the Kings from suffering their second straight blowout loss at home, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (subscription required). Sabonis, who played 30 minutes and posted 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 144-117 loss to Minnesota, was determined to play because he felt that the pain of losing was worse than the “sharp stab” he was feeling in his ribs.
“You don’t want to keep losing games,” he said after pregame warmups. “I love the game and we’re not winning, so you want to try to turn things around.”
It’s been a difficult season for Sabonis so far apart from the injury. The three-time All-Star is averaging 15.3 points per game, by far his lowest total since coming to Sacramento, and his shooting percentages of 47.7% from the floor and 15.4% from three-point range are down sharply from last season.
There’s more on the Kings:
- Also off to a rough start is point guard Dennis Schröder, who was added in a sign-and-trade deal as one of the team’s major offseason moves. Schröder’s shooting woes continued against the Wolves as he made just one shot on the night and is 1-0f-16 over the past two games. In an interview with Sean Cunningham of KCRA News (Twitter video link), Schröder admitted that he’s still adjusting to his new surroundings. “I don’t feel comfortable, and when I don’t feel comfortable it’s just not effective,” he said. “I’ve got to watch film and get better in areas where I can be more effective. If the shot’s dropping or not dropping, you can’t control if the ball goes in, but what you can control is on the defensive side of the ball that you’re impacting it.”
- Kings fans chanted for Keon Ellis during Sunday’s game, but once again he didn’t get off the bench until the fourth quarter. Coach Doug Christie explained why he’s not using Ellis more often despite the team’s defensive struggles (Twitter video link from Cunningham). “Trying to play 10 players and finding a rhythm for that is difficult, like there’s a logjam at that position,” Christie told reporters. “One guy plays damn near the whole game, the other guy plays a few minutes and then there’s Keon. But I know in this league that things happen how they happen, and the one thing we’re going to do is try to figure it out.” He also promised that Keon “will get his opportunity.”
- Christie was complimentary of Precious Achiuwa, who made his first start since joining the Kings and delivered 12 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes. “There’s some grown man things that Precious does out there, and I’m all for it,” Christie said. “There’s a level of physicality, there’s a level of aggressiveness and he rebounds the basketball.”
Pacific Notes: Ellis, Leonard, Curry, Warriors
Keon Ellis is trying to be philosophical about his reduced role in the Kings‘ rotation, writes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. Ellis logged just 12 minutes of action in Friday’s loss to Oklahoma City — all in the fourth quarter of a blowout — continuing a trend that has seen him reach 20 minutes in just three of the team’s first nine games.
Biderman notes that Ellis had reason to expect a more prominent position after finishing second on the team in three-point percentage last season at 43% and ranking second in the league with 280 deflections. Ellis provides a level of perimeter defense that the team has been lacking while ranking 25th in defensive efficiency, 28th in deflections and 28th in contested shots coming into Friday’s game.
“Because I know if I go out there, I do what I do,” Ellis responded when asked about his playing time. “If I don’t go out there, it is what it is. I control what I can control.”
The Kings added Dennis Schröder and Russell Westbrook to their backcourt during the offseason, and they’re both playing ahead of Ellis. Westbrook has been putting up vintage numbers lately, including 24 points, nine assists and six rebounds Friday night after posting a triple-double on Wednesday, but Schröder hasn’t been as effective. The Kings have been outscored by 85 points in the 287 minutes he has played and they have a minus-9.9 net rating when he’s on the court. Biderman states.
“It’s a numbers game,” coach Doug Christie said. “There’s a big logjam there. Night to night, it could be different. It’s not going to be any easier once you get Keegan (Murray) back. But this is a good problem to have. It’s one that hasn’t been here for a long time when you talk about wing players and the ability to have them. Keon’s a pro so I know he’ll be ready and prepared.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Kawhi Leonard will miss “the next few games” with a sprained right ankle, according to The Associated Press. Lue didn’t provide any specifics about Leonard’s condition, but he stated that medical tests are indicating it won’t be a prolonged absence.
- After missing two games with an illness, Warriors star Stephen Curry is listed as questionable for Sunday’s meeting with Indiana, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Curry started feeling fatigued in the second half of Tuesday’s contest and didn’t travel with the team on its two-game trip to Sacramento and Denver. Al Horford is also questionable after being scratched from Friday’s game due to a left foot strain.
- Draymond Green was critical of the Warriors‘ defense, and coach Steve Kerr lamented “a lack of purpose and energy” following Friday’s loss at Denver, relays Nick Friedell of The Athletic. Golden State fell behind early and wasn’t able to fight back in a 129-104 defeat. “There has to be some fire in the belly to get out of a tough night,” Kerr said. “It’s tough as a young player when things aren’t going their way, the game’s not going their way, it’s easy to get down. You can’t do that in this league. You have to fight and compete every second, and it didn’t feel like we did that tonight.”
Pacific Notes: Knecht, Booker, Williams, Schröder
Lakers forward Dalton Knecht got off to a great start as a rookie last season, averaging 12.2 points per game and making 43.9% of his three-pointers in his first 19 outings. However, he averaged just 8.1 PPG and knocked down just 34.8% of his outside shots the rest of the way while struggling defensively.
As Dan Woike of The Athletic writes, a poor Summer League showing in which Knecht shot just 32.1% from the field and 23.7% on three-pointers further exacerbated the concerns that rival scouts and executives have about the 24-year-old, whose trade value has dipped in the past year.
While Knecht has been viewed as a prime trade chip for the Lakers – he was part of the package the team was prepared to give up in February for Mark Williams – sources who spoke to Woike don’t believe the Lakers would be able to extract value comparable to the No. 17 pick they used on him right now. The general consensus, Woike writes, is that he could return multiple second-rounders, or perhaps even a single second-rounder.
However, Knecht is in just the second season of his four-year rookie contract and should still have plenty of time – and opportunities – to work on making his game more well-rounded. Head coach JJ Redick remains optimistic about Knecht’s potential.
“I’m very confident (that) when he’s confident, he’s a high-level offensive player in the NBA,” Redick said last weekend. “It’s the other stuff that he’s got to just do and find that consistency in his defense, on being the low man, or boxing out, or crashing every time or sprinting back and actually talking in transition. When he’s doing those things, he’s an impact player.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- With Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal no longer in Phoenix, Devin Booker knows there’s more pressure on him to be the face of the Suns on and off the court, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “(I) think it’s a big responsibility for me to be a leader and continue being a leader and getting everybody on the same page so we can start this thing off the right way,” Booker said within a more extensive Q&A ahead of the team’s preseason games in China.
- New Suns center Mark Williams, who is entering a potential contract year and has dealt with injuries during his first three NBA seasons, was a high-risk, high-reward investment for Phoenix. Doug Haller of The Athletic takes a closer look at the bet the Suns made on Williams and what his ceiling might look like. “He could be one of the better rim protectors in the game, first of all,” former Hornets assistant Tyrone Corbin said. “He could get quicker at setting screens and just rolling to the rim really hard. He’s a threat at the rim always because he can catch the ball. He just has to get there a little quicker. … He’s smart. … He has the potential to be a pretty good starter and a reliable guy in the lane.”
- While the Kings made it an offseason priority to add an experienced point guard like Dennis Schröder in large part to organize the offense, head coach Doug Christie is also asking the 32-year-old to “set the tone” defensively with full-court ball pressure. Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee has the story on Christie’s defensive expectations for Schröder and the rest of the Kings.
EuroBasket Notes: Schröder, Nowitzki, Wagner, Spanoulis, Awards
Dennis Schröder credited Dirk Nowitzki with inspiring the current crop of players who have turned Germany into an international basketball power, writes Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. After capturing MVP honors while leading his team to the gold medal at EuroBasket, Schröder paid tribute to the Mavericks legend, who was a German basketball icon in addition to his 21-year NBA career.
“Dirk, what he’s been doing for the German national team and what he’s done in the NBA and in the national team made us come to the national team and represent our country,” Schröder said.
Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in European history and earned a long list of honors in international competitions. Schröder is also building an impressive resume, adding the EuroBasket gold to the championship he won at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and a bronze medal in the 2022 EuroBasket, but he doesn’t want to be compared to Nowitzki.
“At the end of the day, my name is Dennis Schröder, and I’m just Dennis Schröder, and that’s my legacy,” he said. “Whatever I can bring to the table to make sure my teammates are good and we compete at the highest level and win gold medals. That’s what I’m going to do. Everything else doesn’t matter.”
There’s more from EuroBasket:
- German teammate Franz Wagner dedicated the championship to his brother, Moritz Wagner, who was unable to play due to an ACL tear in his left knee that he suffered with Orlando last season, per Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews. Franz said his brother is “super happy” about the gold medal, and he wore Moritz’s jersey during the victory celebration as a way to include him. “Obviously, he had a tough injury, and he’s trying to get back as fast as possible,” Franz said. “Couldn’t be here, but I think everybody on the team knows that he’s part of the group. It’s part of what we’re building.”
- Greek coach Vassilis Spanoulis was happy to leave with the bronze, which represents the nation’s first international medal in 16 years, according to Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops. “This medal belongs to all Greeks,” Spanoulis said. “We wanted to bring basketball to the top again. This generation deserved it. Thank you very much, and I hope this medal returns basketball to the golden era.”
- We covered Schröder’s MVP and the naming of the First Five on Sunday, but several other awards were also handed out. FIBA’s EuroBasket website lists Poland’s Jordan Loyd, Turkey’s Cedi Osman, Israel’s Deni Avdija, Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic as second-team honorees. In addition, Germany’s Isaac Bonga was named Best Defensive Player, Finland’s Miikka Muurinen received the Rising Star award and Turkey’s Ergin Ataman was recognized as Best Coach. Full standings for all 24 tournament teams have also been released.
Germany Defeats Turkey For EuroBasket Gold; Schröder Named MVP
A back-and-forth battle between a pair of 8-0 teams went down to the wire in Sunday’s EuroBasket championship game, with Kings point guard Dennis Schröder helping to secure a gold medal for Germany by scoring the final six points and turning an 83-82 deficit into an 88-83 victory over Turkey.
Schöder (16 points, 12 assists), former NBA wing Isaac Bonga (20 points, 4-of-4 three-pointers), and Magic forward Franz Wagner (18 points, eight rebounds) were the standout performers for Germany, which has won two of the past three major international basketball competitions.
Although the Germans didn’t make the podium at the Paris Olympics last summer, the country is now the defending FIBA World Cup (2023) and EuroBasket (2025) champion and has posted a 21-2 record in those three tournaments, per HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Germany outlasted a Turkish national team that was led by Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28 points), former NBA forward Cedi Osman (23 points, 6-of-9 on three-pointers), former NBA guard Shane Larkin (13 points, nine assists, six rebounds), and Sixers big man Adem Bona (12 points, 5-of-5 shooting).
While they weren’t able to claim their first EuroBasket championship, Turkey matched their best-ever result by taking silver. The Turkish team lost to Yugoslavia in the 2001 final, which was the only other time the country made the championship game.
Schröder was named the EuroBasket Most Valuable Player after leading the Germans to their first title in the event since 1993. He scored at least 16 points in all nine games, averaging 20.3 points and 7.2 assists per contest.
The 2025 EuroBasket All-Star Five was made up entirely of NBA players, with Lakers guard Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) joining Schröder, Wagner, and Sengun (Twitter link).
Antetokounmpo and the Greek national team beat Finland in the third-place game earlier on Sunday.
EuroBasket Notes: Championship Game, Bonga, Pesic, Rules Changes
Turkish coach Ergin Ataman is supremely confident heading into Sunday’s EuroBasket title game against Germany, according to BasketNews. Ataman is one of the most successful coaches in Europe, making five appearances in the EuroLeague Final Four and winning it three times. He has never won an international competition, but he believes his unbeaten team is ready to change that.
“I like to win. Before every game, we talk with our assistants. Even five minutes ago (before this conference), they told me that everybody is under a lot of stress and pressure now, especially in the federation. I told all our guys I have had this stress maybe in my first EuroLeague final,” Ataman said at Saturday’s press conference. “After that, it’s the same every game; it’s the same for me. I don’t have any stress. It’s a basketball game.”
In a separate story, Dennis Schröder, who has been through numerous huge games with Germany, refused to react to Ataman’s comments and said he and his teammates will concentrate on the task at hand.
“I mean, we try to focus on ourselves,” Schröder said. “I know the strategy he’s trying to do. And it’s been working for him for sure. So, at the end of the day, good job. We just try to focus on ourselves, go out, compete, stay together as a team, and bring the trophy home.”
There’s more as EuroBasket 2025 nears its end:
- Franz Wagner believes German teammate Isaac Bonga deserves another shot at the NBA, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. Wagner responded to a question after Bonga contributed 10 points and five rebounds and helped shut down Lauri Markkanen in the semifinal win over Finland. “I think (Bonga’s) shown for a couple of years now that he’s an elite defender, shoots the three really well, and can make some plays off the bounce too,” Wagner said. “So I think he could have a lot of teams interested in him.” Bonga spent four total seasons with the Lakers, Wizards and Raptors, but has been playing overseas since 2022.
- Veteran coach Svetislav Pesic will step down from the Serbian national team when his contract expires later this month, according to Eurohoops. With a roster full of current and former NBA players, Pesic’s team had been considered among the favorites at EuroBasket, but the Serbians were upset by Finland in the round of 16. “It was a privilege to be the head coach of the Serbian national team, to train and lead the best Serbian basketball players,” Pesic said. “… However, the time has come to find a new coach who will be able to continue what we started in the previous period.”
- FIBA Europe officials are considering changes to EuroBasket when the tournament returns in 2029, states Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews. President Jorge Garbajosa said injury replacements may be permitted and teams won’t be required to play on consecutive days.
Germany Into EuroBasket Final With Win Over Finland
Germany will compete in the gold medal game at EuroBasket for the first time since 2005 after defeating Finland by a score of 98-86 in the first of the tournament’s semifinals on Friday.
Germany piled up 61 first-half points and withstood a third-quarter surge from the Finnish team to hang onto its lead. A trio of NBA players were the team’s top scorers, with Dennis Schröder leading the way. The Kings point guard totaled 26 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds, and was a +22 in his 31-plus minutes on the court.
Franz Wagner (22 points, five rebounds) and Tristan Da Silva (13 points, four rebounds) of the Magic also played key roles for the Germans, who got contributions from former NBA players like Daniel Theis (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Isaac Bonga (10 points, five rebounds) as well.
Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was Finland’s star player over the course of the tournament but struggled to make an impact on Friday. Although he scored 16 points, Markkanen needed 17 field goal attempts to earn those points and was a -24 in 28 minutes of action.
It will still be a historic finish for Finland, which made the EuroBasket final four for the first time ever. Markkanen and the Finnish team will compete in the third-place game on Sunday in the hopes of claiming a bronze medal.
As for Germany, EuroBasket 2025 represents the latest deep run for a national team that has been one of the world’s best in recent years. The Germans finished third at EuroBasket 2022, won the 2023 World Cup, and placed fourth at the 2024 Olympics.
Greece and Turkey will square off this afternoon for the right to face Germany in Sunday’s final, with the loser taking on Finland in the third-place game.
Germany Tops Slovenia To Round Out EuroBasket’s Final Four
Germany overcame a second-half deficit and another scoring outburst by Luka Doncic to defeat Slovenia for a spot in the EuroBasket semifinals, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. Wednesday’s 99-91 victory preserves the Germans’ chances to capture another major international title after winning the FIBA World Cup in 2023.
Germany trailed by seven points late in the third quarter, but Tristan Da Silva sank a shot from mid-court at the buzzer to cut Slovenia’s lead to 74-70. That was the beginning of a 10-0 run that saw the German team take control of the game.
Franz Wagner led Germany with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Dennis Schröder contributed 20 points and seven assists. Former NBA center Daniel Theis added 15 points and nine rebounds. Maodo Lo scored 11 points and Andreas Obst had 10, as both players knocked down clutch three-pointers late in the game to preserve Germany’s lead.
Doncic, who has been posting historic performances throughout the tournament, set another record today with 39 points, the most anyone has ever scored in a EuroBasket quarterfinal contest. Despite picking up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, Doncic also finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists to narrowly miss another triple-double.
After the game, Slovenian players voiced complaints about the officiating, with center Alen Omic telling reporters that Doncic doesn’t get the respect he deserves, per Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews. Omic also pointed to the free throw disparity, with Germany getting 37 shots from the foul line compared to Slovenia’s 25.
“Our best player in EuroBasket is not protected the way he needs to be,” Omic said. “He got three fouls in 10–15 minutes of the game. What is this? He’s the best player of the tournament. Everybody comes to watch him.”
Doncic also commented on the officials in a post-game interview with Slovenia’s Sport TV, relays Semih Tuna of Eurohoops.
“First, I got a technical foul, two minutes into a game, for yelling ‘hello’, but OK,” Doncic said. “In a quarterfinal, that shouldn’t happen, no matter what kind of player you are. If you don’t even get a warning first, then I don’t know. But it’s a quarterfinal, fighting for a semifinal, so I really don’t know how they did that.”
The semifinal games will take place Friday at Arena Riga in Latvia, with Germany facing Finland in the opener, followed by a clash between Greece and Turkey. The tournament will conclude Sunday with the gold medal game and the third-place game.
FIBA has ranked the four quarterfinal losers, with Lithuania finishing fifth, followed by Poland, Slovenia and Georgia.
Turkey, Germany Advance To EuroBasket Quarterfinals
After trailing by a slim margin for the majority of the game, Turkey eventually defeated Sweden, 85-79, to advance to the quarterfinals of EuroBasket 2025, writes Semih Tuna of Eurohoops. The game was surprisingly competitive, considering Sweden went just 1-4 during the group phase while Turkey was 5-0, including Wednesday’s victory over Serbia.
Rockets big man Alperen Sengun was once again the standout performer for the Turkish national team, recording game highs of 24 points and 16 rebounds to go along with six assists and two blocks. Heat wing Pelle Larsson finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal in Sweden’s loss.
Head coach Ergin Ataman complained both before and after the game about Turkey having to compete at noon local time despite being the top seed from Group A, as Tuna relays in another story for Eurohoops.
“We didn’t wake up for the beginning of the game. After we understood we were in a difficult situation, in the third quarter, and came back in the game with very good defense, but we gave back this confidence to Sweden,” Ataman said. “Finally, we found a way to win. Now, we will think about the quarterfinal, which I think we will play in regular time, if they don’t want to change again and play in the morning at 11 o’clock.”
Turkey will face the winner of tomorrow’s matchup between Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Germany, which won the 2023 World Cup, was the only other undefeated team during the group phase and is the top seed from Group B. The Germans struggled mightily from three-point range on Saturday against Portugal, starting out just 1-of-24 before finishing 10-of-36, and only had a one-point lead entering the final period, according to Tuna.
However, Germany dominated the final frame, 33-7, to emerge with a 27-point victory.
“Obviously, you can improve in every game. I saw the first game with Sweden; they gave a great fight to Turkey, like Portugal gave a great fight to us,” said AS Monaco center Daniel Theis. “It’s the knockout stage. There are no easy games anymore.”
The German national team had five players — including Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner, Tristan Da Silva and Isaac Bonga — finish with double-digit points. Portugal was led by Celtics center Neemias Queta, who finished with game highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.
Germany will face the winner of Sunday’s matchup between Italy and Slovenia on Wednesday.