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Kings Notes: Casspi, Tyler, Gay

September 4th, 2014 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings have aggressively sought trades under GM Pete D’Alessandro, and once they officially send Jason Terry to the Rockets, only Sixers GM Sam Hinkie will have pulled off more swaps since they took their respective jobs at the beginning of the 2013 offseason, as I noted this week. Here’s the latest from Sacramento as D’Alessandro continues to shuffle the roster:

The Kings have struck deals with four other players and shook hands on the Terry trade since they reached agreement with Omri Casspi in July, but the plan is for Casspi to officially sign once he returns from traveling overseas, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Casspi confirmed as much to David Pick of Eurobasket.com in a radio conversation Wednesday, telling him he’ll put pen to paper once he passes a medical exam (Twitter link). Casspi recently played in a Eurobasket qualifying tournament with the Israeli national team.
Sacramento is also still on track to waive Jeremy Tyler eventually, according to Jones (Twitter link). The team has been expected to waive Tyler ever since acquiring him from the Knicks last month, as USA Today’s Sam Amick reported at the time. His non-guaranteed contract is set to become partially guaranteed on the 15th.
The Kings made an aggressive pitch to convince Rudy Gay to opt in for this season, and it worked not only to persuade Gay to stick around, but to assure him of the team’s confidence in him, as he tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post. “It was good,” Gay said. “After two tough seasons, it was good to know that they wanted me there, not just for now, but for long [term].” Gay, in the final year of his deal, has expressed a willingness to consider an extension at some point before next summer.

And-Ones: Gay, Clippers, Monroe, Rogers

August 8th, 2014 at 6:48pm CST by Alex Lee

It’s been a rough week for Team USA following the gruesome injury sustained by Paul George and the subsequent withdrawal of Kevin Durant. However, help is on the way in the form of Kings forward Rudy Gay, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Gay was a reserve on USA’s 2010 title squad and joins Chandler Parsons and Gordon Hayward this time around as the team’s only true small forwards. At tonight’s Hall of Fame ceremony, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told NBA.com’s David Aldridge that a repeat gold medal performance this summer would be the “sweetest win because of the circumstances.” (via Marc Stein on Twitter).

Here is what else is happening around the league on Friday night:

The official transfer of the Clippers could happen at any moment, as attorneys for Donald Sterling claimed in a request for a stay of a probate court decision that affirms Shelly Sterling’s right to sell the team to Steve Ballmer, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. The judge in the probate trial signed the final statement of decision Thursday, clearing the way for Donald Sterling to file the request, as Fenno explains. The sale may proceed once the judge issues a final order, which could come at any time, Fenno adds.
There is a very good likelihood that Greg Monroe is in a Pistons uniform next season according to David Mayo of MLive.com (via Twitter), who puts the chances at 85 to 90 percent. With the sign-and-trade market for Monroe now essentially non-existent, Mayo believes the sides will either come to an agreement on a longer-term deal or that Monroe will sign his one-year qualifying offer. Monroe would become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he chooses the latter route.
The Wizards have added Roy Rogers as an assistant coach, the team announced on their website today. Rogers has six years experience as an NBA assistant under his belt, previously working with the Nets (twice), the Celtics and the Pistons. Prior to reaching the NBA ranks, Rogers coached in the D-League for four years after a seven-year playing career. He joins fellow assistant David Atkins, hired in July, as a newcomer on the staff of head coach Randy Wittman.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Terry, Love, Williams

July 15th, 2014 at 7:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jason Terry may still be under contract with the Kings for one more season, but he isn’t ruling out an eventual return to the Mavericks, as both Tim MacMahon (via Twitter) and Bryan Gutierrez of ESPN Dallas note. The former Dallas guard was a guest on 103.3 FM’s Fitzimmons and Friedo Show and expressed his desire for a reunion.

“I won’t rule out returning back to Dallas. It’s my home and my heart…I bleed blue. I’m a Maverick.” Terry added that championships are his driving force as he finishes out his career. “I want to get back on a team that has a realistic shot to win a championship, and I think Dallas is doing those types of things.

Here’s more out of out of the Western Conference this evening:

Terry also commented on the current state of the Kings and his plans for the near future. “(They’re) in transition right now. For me, at this point in my career, I want championships…I wouldn’t say it’s rebuilding, but a building process…DeMarcus Cousins (is) a huge talent. (His attitude is) a little shaky. Rudy Gay (is) not a proven winner in this league but a tremendous talent and a guy you can build around…I think there will be some more conversations with my agent and the Sacramento Kings to get a better picture of where they are headed and what they’re trying to accomplish.”
An increasing number of executives around the league expect the Timberwolves will trade Kevin Love before the start of the season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Warriors and Wolves have resumed their trade talks involving Love after having hit a stalemate earlier, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Minnesota believes Golden State will eventually relent and be willing to trade Klay Thompson in a deal for Love, and that the Cavaliers will come around to including Andrew Wiggins in their offers, sources tell Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
The Mavericks are still looking for another point guard and have spoken with free agent Mo Williams, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports; team president Donnie Nelson doesn’t seem too optimistic about their chances of landing him, notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram (Twitter link).
Nelson later acknowledged that the team won’t have any money to make a play for Carlos Boozer (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Rockets, Gay, Livingston, Miles

July 14th, 2014 at 9:02am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets promised Chris Bosh that they would match the Mavs’ offer sheet for Chandler Parsons if he jumped from Miami to Houston, but when Bosh agreed to re-sign with the Heat, the Rockets changed course, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com details (All Twitter links). Houston declined to match the deal for Parsons during the three-day window that expired Sunday night, and now the Rockets are poised to turn their attention back to longtime target Rajon Rondo and find a way back into the Kevin Love sweepstakes, Stein says. Here’s more from around the league after a busy weekend:

Rudy Gay, who chose in June to opt into the final season of his contract with the Kings, said Sunday that he’s open to signing an extension but will wait to see how the team develops, as he told reporters, including Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “If I was going to opt out, I was definitely going to look at my options on different teams,” Gay said. “But with me opting in, I’m not saying no extension is going to happen. I’m just trying to see where we’re going as a team and how we plan on getting better.”
The final season of Shaun Livingston‘s three-year contract with the Warriors is worth $5,782,450 but only guaranteed for $3MM, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. That guarantee could increase if Livingston triggers incentives, Pincus adds.
Mutual options don’t exist in the NBA, but it appears that the last year of C.J. Miles‘ new four-year deal with the Pacers will function much like a mutual option, as Pincus details (Twitter link). Pincus indicates that his salary for that season is non-guaranteed but becomes guaranteed if he’s not waived after a certain date. Presuming he’s retained, Miles has a player option for that season, according to Pincus.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports lists the contract guarantee date for Peyton Siva as having been July 12, so it appeared that his minimum salary contract would be fully guaranteed for the coming season when he remained on the Pistons roster through Saturday. However, Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter) and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com both list the date as the 20th, so it appears that Siva’s contract remains non-guaranteed unless he’s not waived on or before this coming Sunday.
The Jazz didn’t attempt to re-sign Richard Jefferson before he moved on to the Mavs, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Rudy Gay To Opt In With Kings

June 25th, 2014 at 7:56pm CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 7:56pm: Gay has opted in as expected, the team announced.

SUNDAY, 1:35pm: Kings forward Rudy Gay will exercise his $19.3MM contract option for the 2014-15 season, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Meanwhile, Gay will table extension talks until later this summer.

The Kings want to re-sign Gay to a new, long-term deal and they’re expected to sit down with agent Alex Saratsis of Octagon in the near future to get that going. Gay has waffled on his desire to remain in Sacramento but sources tell Wojnarowski that he has been impressed with the commitment of new owner Vivek Ranadive to build a contending team.

By re-upping his deal, Gay will give himself a hefty guaranteed payday while also getting a chance to see how the Kings’ proposed rebuild looks over the course of the next year. If things pan out to Gay’s liking, he can extend his contract with the club through the 2017/18 season, providing he signs the extension after the calendar flips to July. If Gay isn’t confident in the team’s direction, he can pack his bags and go elsewhere in the summer of 2015.

Gay enjoyed something of a mini-resurgence during his time with the Kings last season. In 55 games, the forward averaged 20.1 PPG off of 48.2% shooting from the floor. He also put up a career-high PER of 19.6 after years of criticism from the stats-conscious community over his lack of efficiency.

Pacific Notes: Love, Warriors, Kings, Gay

June 22nd, 2014 at 9:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Warriors could position themselves for a run at Kevin Love as a free agent if they’re unable to land him via trade, but it won’t be easy, as Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News. Most NBA sources indicate to Kawakami that Golden State is high on Love’s wish list and that he’d sign a new deal with them, but the Warriors would still have to beat out all the other offers. If they can’t talk the T’Wolves into a trade, they might get their chance next summer, but it’ll require a lot of work, as Kawakami outlines. Here’s more out of the Pacific Division..

Consistent with what we’ve been hearing over the last few days, a source tells ESPN’s Chris Broussard (on Twitter) that there’s no way the Warriors will trade Klay Thompson to the Wolves or Lakers. Of course, the Warriors are quite enamored with Love so we surmise that things can change.
The Kings are optimistic they can reach an agreement on an extension with Rudy Gay this summer, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Earlier today it was reported that Gay will opt in with Sacramento for 2014/15.
The Kings never believed that Gay would leave them hanging going into the draft, but they’re still relieved that he didn’t, Jones tweets. Had Gay left the Kings in limbo, it could have muddled their offseason plans and even their approach to the No. 8 overall pick.

Western Notes: Thompson, Sterling, Gay

June 19th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

With Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala slated to make $10.6MM or more each next season and through 2016/17, a lucrative contract could be hard to come by for Klay Thompson in Golden State, writes Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Keeping that in mind, one source tells Wojnarowski that Thompson would be open to being traded to the Timberwolves because it would increase his chances of receiving a max contract.

Klay’s father – former NBA champion Mychal Thompson – offered his thoughts on ESPN 710 radio today, suggesting that Klay would actually be unhappy in Minnesota. “If this (Kevin Love trade) happens, I will have to talk (Klay) down from the ledge” (Twitter link via Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).

As Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune further transcribes from Mychal’s radio appearance, Klay’s disappointment would stem from missing out on the opportunity to play alongside Love on the Warriors.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

Later in his piece, Zgoda says that Bill Duffy – Klay’s Thompson’s agent – will surely push for a max deal on his client’s next contract.
According to Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Donald’s mental competency has now been examined by other doctors and “the results are different,” tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
DeMarcus Cousins told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he reached out to Rudy Gay about staying on board with the Kings (Twitter link). Gay has a player option for 2014/15 worth just above $19.3MM.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that Nick Calathes will be back with the team next season, according to a tweet from Rob Fischer of FOX Sports (hat tip to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal). Calathes’ contract is non-guaranteed for the 2014/15 season.
Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien and Pacers vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are drawing interest from Memphis as potential add-ons to the Grizzlies front office, hears Chris Vernon of 92.9 ESPN (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: Lakers, LeBron, Gay, Draft

June 12th, 2014 at 4:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding dismisses the notion that the Lakers will let a superstar free agent direct their coaching search, writing that it’s more likely they’ll select the best fit for Kobe Bryant. If the Lakers somehow land LeBron James this summer, they’d go with the best available coach for winning now, but it wouldn’t be someone James handpicks, Ding adds. There’s more from Ding’s piece amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:

James is the only player with the potential to become a free agent this summer whom the Lakers regard as being worth the maximum salary, according to Ding.
The Kings emerged from Tuesday’s meeting with Rudy Gay encouraged about their chances of keeping the forward, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Gay has until the end of the month to decide on his player option for next season, worth more than $19.3MM.
Kyle Casey, Jarell Eddie and Joe Jackson are among the previously unreported draft prospects set to workout Saturday for the Kings, the team announced.

And-Ones: Gay, Fisher, Rubio, Rockets, Union

June 11th, 2014 at 12:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings pulled out all the stops for Tuesday’s meeting with Rudy Gay to try to convince him to remain with the Kings, though GM Pete D’Alessandro was careful not to make too aggressive a pitch, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details.

“There’s no pressure here,” D’Alessandro told Jones before the meeting. “It’s not a pressure situation. It’s got to work. It’s got to work for him, it’s got to work for us, and we’re looking for a really good, just honest conversation, and hopefully, it turns out the way we expect.”

While we wait to find out what Gay decides to do with his player option for next season, worth more than $19.3MM, here’s more from around the league:

Derek Fisher‘s five-year contract with the Knicks contains team options and bonus clauses that could bring it to its reported five-year, $25MM value, but his base pay is much lower according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Fisher is guaranteed only about $4MM this year, Beck writes.
Ricky Rubio has spoken mostly in positive terms about the Timberwolves, but in an interview with Marca.com, Rubio suggested that he would make signing with a winner his top priority when he hits free agency (translation via HoopsHype). The point guard is up for a rookie scale extension this summer with Minnesota, which hasn’t made the playoffs since he arrived.
Rockets coach Kevin McHale tells Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that he doesn’t feel like coaching on an expiring contract is a detriment. He also said that he’s confident the team can take the necessary steps forward with minor moves and internal improvements rather than a rumored splashy offseason addition.
Joseph Lombardo, the founder of an investment firm affiliated with the players union for more than a decade, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for forging a contract with the union, reports Tom Hays of The Associated Press. The firm, Prim Capital, had close ties to ousted union executive director Billy Hunter.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Sterlings, Scott, Gay

June 10th, 2014 at 9:38pm CST by Cray Allred

Shelly Sterling will ask a judge to make an expedited decision regarding Donald Sterling’s mental capacity so that she can move forward with the Clippers sale, now that her husband is no longer willing to comply with the sale, per a report from Tami Abdollah of The Associated Press. If Shelly is not successful in court, the NBA will reschedule a hearing to take a vote to terminate Donald Sterling’s ownership, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. The league canceled the original hearing when Shelly Sterling arranged for a voluntary Clippers sale by the Sterling family trust. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

One of Donald Sterling’s lawyers tells James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times that they will try to prolong the court decision regarding his client’s mental health.
On ABC’s broadcast for Game 3 of the Finals, commissioner Adam Silver stated that the league will wait for the Sterlings’ court case to resolve before taking their next step. “This is now a dispute between the Sterlings,” Silver said. “We’re on the sidelines.”
On the heels of his second interview with the Lakers, Byron Scott tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he still views himself as the front-runner for the job. Scott again banked on his relationship with Kobe Bryant as an advantage for his candidacy. “Again, I think I’ve got a hand up on (the job) because of our relationship,” said Scott. “We get along extremely well. Kobe knows all about me and what I’m about. He knows that I’m an old-school coach who’s very demanding on the defensive end and knows that defense and rebounding wins championships, so I think from that point of view we see eye to eye.”
The Lakers didn’t give Scott any clarity on the nature of their coaching search during his second interview, a source tells Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
Rudy Gay met with the Kings as planned today to hear Sacramento’s pitch for him to pick up his $19.3MM player option, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.