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Kings’ Monte McNair On Hot Seat

April 16th, 2025 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings general manager Monte McNair is on the hot seat entering the play-in tournament, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

McNair, who was hired as Sacramento’s general manager in September 2020, helped the franchise end its long playoff drought in 2023, but the team hasn’t progressed as hoped since then. The Kings were eliminated in the play-in tournament in 2024 and will face the same fate this spring unless they can beat the Mavericks at home on Wednesday and the Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday.

After going 48-34 in 2022/23, the Kings won 46 games last season and dropped back below .500 with just 40 victories this season. DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento’s major acquisition last summer, hasn’t had the sort of impact the front office envisioned, while De’Aaron Fox time as a King came to an end earlier this season when the club decided to trade its star point guard after he made it clear he didn’t plan to sign an extension.

The Kings’ front office has already undergone some changes this year — assistant general manager Wes Wilcox left his position in Sacramento to become the GM for the University of Utah. Reporting at the time suggested it was a signal that the Kings’ top executives may be on shaky ground.

According to Scotto, if McNair is replaced this offseason, former Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth is considered by a number of people in league circles as a possible candidate to watch in Sacramento.

As for McNair, some of Scotto’s sources believe a reunion with the Rockets would be a possibility for him if he’s let go by the Kings. McNair worked in Houston’s front office for over a decade before being hired by Sacramento.

The Kings’ head coaching position is also in flux, with Doug Christie having held the job on an interim basis since December. Management’s decision on Christie could depend in part on which direction the franchise goes with its front office, but Scotto notes that team owner Vivek Ranadive is fond of Christie, who also has support from Vlade Divac.

Divac, Sacramento’s former general manager who was fired in 2020, returned to the organization in a team ambassador role in 2023 and has been around the club more frequently lately, as Sam Amick of The Athletic first noted and Scotto confirms. According to Scotto, Divac’s increased presence has league personnel wondering if he could return to a front office role in the event of McNair’s exit.

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Poll: Who Will Win Wednesday’s Play-In Games?

April 16th, 2025 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

When the 2024/25 season began, the Mavericks were coming off a 50-win year and an appearance in the NBA Finals. The Kings were coming off a 46-win campaign and had added DeMar DeRozan in free agency. Dallas had championship aspirations, while Sacramento felt good about its chances of making it back to the playoffs after being eliminated in the play-in tournament last spring.

But neither team’s season played out as hoped. The Mavericks’ shocking decision to trade Luka Doncic caused a fan revolt, but it was really the team’s health issues that sunk its hopes of contending for a title. Big men Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford, and newly acquired Anthony Davis all missed significant time in the second half of the season due to injuries, while a torn ACL ended Kyrie Irving‘s season in early March.

Even without Doncic, a fully healthy version of this Mavericks team could’ve been a force to be reckoned with in the postseason. But losing Irving cost Dallas its top ball-handler and play-maker, forcing the team to lean heavily on guards like Spencer Dinwiddie and Brandon Williams and significantly lowering its ceiling.

While the Irving-less Mavs are unlikely to win a title this year, that doesn’t mean they can’t win a play-in game. They’ll visit Sacramento on Wednesday as the No. 10 seed in the West and will face a No. 9 Kings team whose season didn’t go much better than Dallas’ did.

Acclimating DeRozan didn’t go as smoothly as hoped and the Kings fell well below .500 two months into the season, leading to the ouster of head coach Mike Brown. Interim head coach Doug Christie helped turn things around in the short term, but just a few weeks later, word broke that the team was looking to trade De’Aaron Fox — he was ultimately sent to San Antonio.

While the Kings’ trade of its star point guard wasn’t nearly as controversial as the Mavericks’, it didn’t exactly kick-start a memorable second half. Zach LaVine, the centerpiece of Sacramento’s return in that three-team blockbuster, wasn’t an ideal fit — the team had a -3.8 net rating during his 1,170 minutes on the court, and his 119.9 defensive rating was easily the worst mark among the team’s rotation players.

Given the way the seasons have played out in Dallas and Sacramento, both teams have the profile of a one-and-done play-in team, but someone has to win on Wednesday and earn the right to face Memphis on Friday for the No. 8 seed in the West. For what it’s worth, oddsmakers favor the home team — the Kings are 4.5-point favorites, per BetOnline.ag.

Over in the East, a familiar matchup is on tap for Wednesday evening. If there’s such a thing as a play-in rivalry, Bulls vs. Heat qualifies. Miami defeated Chicago in the win-or-go-home play-in game for the No. 8 seed in 2023 and again in 2024. The two teams will square off in a single-elimination matchup for a third straight year, though this time it’s just for the right to stay alive and face Atlanta for the No. 8 seed on Friday.

Like Dallas and Sacramento, both the Bulls and Heat traded away star players this season, though those situations played out in very different ways.

LaVine, who had been on the trade block for multiple seasons, was a model citizen in Chicago and was enjoying a nice individual bounce-back season, though it wasn’t translating to team success — at the time he was dealt to Sacramento, the Bulls were just 21-29. And in the immediate wake of the trade, things didn’t improve — Chicago lost six of its next seven games to fall to 22-35 and appeared ticketed for the lottery.

Unexpectedly, though, the team suddenly began showing signs of life, led by breakout star Coby White and buoyed by trade-deadline additions like Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, and Zach Collins. From March 6 onward, the Bulls improbably won 15 of their last 20 games and ranked in the top 10 in the NBA in both offense and defense.

The Heat’s season followed almost the opposite trajectory. Their star, Jimmy Butler, was disruptive and did all he could to publicize the fact that he had no interest in continuing his career in Miami, earning multiple team-imposed suspensions leading up to the trade deadline. But the team held its own amid the drama and was actually above .500 (25-24) on the day Butler was sent to Golden State.

Even though Butler hadn’t actually been playing much for the Heat for weeks, his departure kicked off an ugly downturn for the club, which wrapped up its season by going just 12-21 after the trade deadline. That stretch was salvaged to some extent by a six-game winning streak in late March and early April, but was otherwise pretty brutal — no playoff or play-in team had a worst post-deadline record than Miami, and a handful of lottery teams (Phoenix, Portland, and Toronto) were better.

Despite those late-season results, the Bulls are favored by just one point over Miami on Wednesday, according to BetOnline, with oddsmakers perhaps respecting the Heat’s wins over Chicago in each of the past two play-in tournaments.

We want to know what you think. Are you taking the favorites and picking the Kings and Bulls on Wednesday, or do you expect to see at least one upset in the No. 9 vs. 10 games? Which teams will keep their seasons alive and which ones are headed home?

Vote in our poll and head to the comment section below to share your thoughts and predictions.

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And-Ones: Clutch Player Award, NBA Europe, Award Picks, Oweh

April 15th, 2025 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The official candidates for Clutch Player of the Year have been revealed, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor tweets. Here’s the list of candidates that voters can select for the award, as chosen by the league’s 30 head coaches:

Curry won the award last year.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • While the NBA is trying to establish a new league in Europe, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum insists that the goal is not to replace the EuroLeague, Eurohoops relays via a Reuters interview. “Our goal is to create a commercially viable league that features high quality on -court competition and respects the rich tradition of European basketball. And we think that that will better serve fans and players on the continent,” Tatum said. He notes that there are major cities in Europe that don’t have a team where the NBA can establish roots. “There are big markets in Europe that aren’t being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren’t being serviced,” he said. London, Paris, Berlin and Rome are among the candidates that NBA Europe considers as prime targets.
  • The Athletic’s John Hollinger reveals his award picks. He has Gilgeous-Alexander atop his MVP list and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson as his Defensive Player of the Year. O’Connor, writing for Yahoo Sports, has the same duo winning those awards. They also both have Stephon Castle taking Rookie of the Year honors, Payton Pritchard atop their Sixth Man of the Year lists, and Kenny Atkinson as Coach of the Year.
  • Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 tweets. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this past season. He played his first two seasons at Oklahoma.
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Stockton Kings Win G League Title, Mason Jones Named Finals MVP

April 15th, 2025 at 7:19am CST by Luke Adams

The Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s affiliate, claimed the 2024/25 G League title by winning the deciding game of a best-of-three series with the Osceola Magic on Monday.

After losing Game 1 to Orlando’s G League affiliate last Tuesday, Stockton evened the series with a 144-126 victory on Friday and then knocked off Osceola 118-110 on Monday, with Dexter Dennis, Terry Taylor, and Isaac Jones all scoring at least 21 points in the championship game.

Veteran guard Mason Jones, who is on a two-way contract with Sacramento, was named the G League Finals MVP (Twitter link). For the series, he averaged 22.3 points, 9.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game and made 11-of-25 three-point shots (44.0%).

Jones, 26, made his NBA debut in 2021 and has since appeared in 51 regular season games for the Rockets, Sixers, Lakers, and Kings, including 10 for Sacramento this season. However, he has played very limited minutes at the NBA level, whereas he averaged 23.6 PPG, 7.9 APG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.1 SPG in 35.9 MPG with a shooting line of .492/.447/.790 across 27 Tip-Off Tournament and regular season outings for Stockton this season.

Mason Jones was one of three players under contract with Sacramento who contributed to Stockton’s NBAGL championship. Fellow two-way player Isaiah Crawford also started all three games in the Finals, while Isaac Jones, who was promoted to the Kings’ 15-man roster last month, was assigned to Stockton for Game 3 and posted a double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds) on 8-of-11 shooting on Monday.

The Kings hold a minimum-salary team option on Isaac Jones for next season. Mason Jones and Crawford will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.

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Postseason Seeding Set For Western Conference

April 13th, 2025 at 5:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The seedings for the Western Conference playoffs came down to the very last game — the Clippers‘ 124-119 overtime victory over the Warriors on Sunday afternoon. That outcome assured L.A. of a playoff spot and pushed Golden State into the play-in tournament.

The red-hot Clippers, winners of eight straight, nailed down the No. 5 seed. The Timberwolves, who won their last three games, grabbed the last automatic berth into the first round, joining the Nuggets, who secured the No. 4 seed with their win over Houston on Sunday.

Here’s how the top 10 teams in the West finished the regular season, as the NBA confirms (via Twitter):

  1. Oklahoma City Thunder
  2. Houston Rockets
  3. Los Angeles Lakers
  4. Denver Nuggets
  5. Los Angeles Clippers
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves
  7. Golden State Warriors
  8. Memphis Grizzlies
  9. Sacramento Kings
  10. Dallas Mavericks

The play-in tournament in the Western Conference will feature the Warriors hosting the Grizzlies on Tuesday and the Kings hosting the Mavericks on Wednesday. The Golden State/Memphis winner will claim the No. 7 spot in the playoffs and face the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. The loser of that game will host the Sacramento/Dallas survivor on Friday for the No. 8 spot and the right to face the top-seeded Thunder in round one.

The Lakers will have home court advantage in the first round and face the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets will also have home court advantage in their first-round series against the Clippers.

The seedings for the Eastern Conference playoffs were decided prior to Sunday’s action and can be found here.

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Pacific Notes: Curry, LeBron, Redick, Carter

April 12th, 2025 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors star Stephen Curry left Friday’s game in Portland with a right thumb injury, but X-rays were negative and he returned to action after getting it wrapped up, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Curry, who initially injured the thumb in January, downplayed the issue after the game and said he’ll be good to go on Sunday vs. the Clippers, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“From what I know, just an aggravation,” Curry said. “The same thing (as the earlier thumb injury), but hopefully it wasn’t anything serious. … I just know it hurts right now, but I’ll be all right.”

The Warriors will need their top scorer at his best on Sunday — a win over L.A. would clinch a playoff spot for the team, while there’s a good chance a loss would lead to a play-in berth.

“I don’t want to be too dramatic,” Curry said when asked about Sunday’s game. “It should be like a Game 7 kind of vibe. You win and you control your destiny on a guaranteed playoffs series. If you lose, you roll the dice.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Like Curry, Lakers forward LeBron James exited Friday’s game with an injury. However, head coach J.J. Redick told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN, that James is “fine” after appearing to tweak his left hip/groin area. With Los Angeles locked into the No. 3 seed, LeBron seems unlikely to play much – if at all – on Sunday in Portland.
  • Asked on Friday whether he finds being a head coach more rewarding than being a player, Redick quickly said yes, though the Lakers‘ coach admitted he didn’t have a great explanation for why that’s the case, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register (subscription required). “I tried to figure that out for the last six months, I’m not sure,” Redick said. “But I will say, I think anybody that was around me as a player knows how much I enjoyed the job every day and knows how grateful I was to be in the NBA every day and very grateful to have a 15-year career. I like this more.”
  • Kings rookie Devin Carter didn’t make his debut until January due to a shoulder injury and has struggled offensively, averaging just 3.8 points per game on .375/.288/.591 shooting in 35 outings (10.7 MPG). Still, he’s playing a rotation role lately for the play-in club in large part due to his contributions on the other end of the floor. “I live with a lot of what DC does offensively as he still finds his way because he is spectacular on the defensive end,” interim head coach Doug Christie told Spencer Davies of RG.org, who spoke to Carter about his first NBA season.
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Kings’ Sabonis: ‘I’m Happy I’m In Sacramento’

April 12th, 2025 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

After leading the NBA in rebounds per game in 2022/23 and ’23/24, Kings center Domantas Sabonis is set to achieve the feat for a third straight season. His 13.9 rebounds per game this year represent a career high.

As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, unless Nikola Jokic blows away the NBA’s single-game rebounding record on Sunday, Sabonis will become the seventh player in NBA history to win at least three straight rebound titles, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Dennis Rodman, Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and Andre Drummond. Outside of Drummond, who is still active, all of those players are Hall of Famers.

“I didn’t know that they’re all there,” Sabonis said of the group. “That’s pretty cool, pretty cool. Pretty exciting, you know. At the same time, I’m just trying to go out there and play and do my job for the team and help whatever I can do to let them win. But obviously, it’s an honor to be mentioned with those guys. I think that’s really cool.”

Sabonis is also vying to be named to an All-NBA team for a third consecutive year. He made the third team in both 2023 and 2024 and said it “would be an honor” to do so again this season.

As Reynolds points out, Sabonis is one of just six players who have a chance to receive a third straight All-NBA nod in 2025 — Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry are the others.

“I never dreamt of being in the top 15 players of a season, let alone my name carrying a legacy, my dad’s name, the number, everything,” said Sabonis, the son of Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis. “It’s just awesome.”

While the Kings’ playoff hopes are still alive, they’ll have to win a pair of play-in games just to earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Given that the team has fallen well short of expectations this season, there’s a chance that Sabonis’ future in Sacramento will become a popular topic of speculation over the summer, Reynolds notes.

A report in March suggested that Sabonis is expected to “seek clarity” on the Kings’ direction this offseason following the in-season trade of his longtime running mate De’Aaron Fox. For his part, the star big man – who has three more years left on his contract – insists he’s just fine where he is and isn’t seeking a change of scenery.

“I’m happy I’m in Sacramento,” Sabonis said, per Reynolds. “My offseason home’s in Napa. I couldn’t be happier here. I love the fans. I love playing for the city. I just wish we could perform better and give them what they deserve.”

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Western Notes: Jones, Davis, Wolves, Blazers, Cronin

April 10th, 2025 at 10:12pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Kai Jones has filled a critical role since joining the Mavericks on a two-way contract in early March. In 11 games (six starts) for a Dallas team suffering from crucial injuries, Jones is averaging 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 84.8% from the field.

According to RG.org’s Grant Afseth, head coach Jason Kidd was complimentary of Jones and recognized his impact on keeping Dallas in the postseason picture.

“Kai’s been phenomenal,” Kidd said. “We’re very lucky to have him because he’s part of what saved our season.”

In an exclusive interview with Afseth, Jones spoke about what allowed him to emerge for the Mavericks and how he’s developed since entering the league in 2021.

“I’ve been working on everything, from the summertime to now, just working on my all-around game — understanding the game, understanding when to take certain shots, when to shoot three, when to shoot the mid-range, when to attack,” Jones said. “Just continuing to rep everything out. I feel comfortable everywhere on the floor, so it’s been a good opportunity to show that. Just continuing to work every single day, you know how it is.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • Terence Davis was thankful to receive the call to join the Kings and is excited to be back with the team he spent parts of three seasons with from 2021-23, according to Fox 40 Sacramento’s Sean Cunningham (Twitter link). “Any time you come to a familiar place and you have friends and front office guys, teammates that show love to you, it’s awesome, it’s an amazing feeling,” Davis said. “In my case, I feel like I kind of made a small impact on this organization. … I’m just thankful.” In 121 appearances (16 starts) with the Kings during his original stint, Davis averaged 8.6 points per game.
  • The Timberwolves showed what kind of team they were when they lost a Tuesday game against Milwaukee in which they led by 24 points in the fourth quarter, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic opines. The Bucks were able flip the script of the game by switching to a zone defense. “It’s a bad fourth quarter against a zone defense,” coach Chris Finch said. “I don’t think it’s a microcosm of the season.” Krawczynski believes it’s deeper than that, with Minnesota rolling through parts of the season before coming to a screeching halt in a difficult loss.
  • Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin earned an extension on Monday, showcasing the club’s dedication to fulfilling his vision for the organization, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report writes. Portland has had a respectable season, staying in play-in contention until the spring, with young players like Toumani Camara among those who have taken serious strides. Now, as Highkin notes, the Blazers will need to make decisions on key veterans Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant and the future of coach Chauncey Billups.
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Pacific Notes: Zubac, Monk, Warriors Loss, Podziemski

April 10th, 2025 at 10:54am CST by Dana Gauruder

Ivica Zubac recorded the first triple-double of his NBA career in the Clippers’ win over the Rockets on Wednesday, compiling 20 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. The veteran center achieved the feat when he assisted on Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s late three-pointer.

Zubac, who signed a three-year extension in September, almost didn’t get a chance to make some personal history.

“I wanted it,” Zubac told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “T. Lue (coach Tyronn Lue) wanted to sub me out, then everyone was like, ‘No, no, no.’ He asked me and I was like, ‘I’ll stay.’ I wanted it. I told Bogie ‘I’ll get it to you and you got to shoot it no matter what,’ and he did. Bogie is a big-time shot maker. So, I told him he’s never paying for dinner again. I’m glad he made that shot.”

The Clippers’ sixth straight win kept them tied with the Nuggets for the fourth-best record in the West.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • Kings sixth man Malik Monk won’t be available for at least two weeks due to a calf strain. It’s a case of very bad timing for the club as the postseason approaches, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee notes. “It’s super unfortunate because we depend on him a lot,” interim Kings coach Doug Christie said. “In many ways, he is the leader of the team, definitely on the emotional side. A lot of the energy, the things that go on in the locker room, practice. He’s the head of the snake in many ways. He’ll still be around, obviously, but two weeks is two weeks and we need him. We need Malik’s energy, his shooting, his athleticism.”
  • A bad loss to the Spurs on Wednesday left the Warriors in a precarious position. They’re now in seventh place in the West with two games remaining. If the Grizzlies win their final three games against the Minnesota, Denver and Dallas — plus the Clippers beat the Kings on Friday and the Nuggets beat the Rockets on Sunday — then the Warriors would be stuck in the play-in tournament, regardless of whether they win their final two games, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. Golden State has games remaining against the Trail Blazers and Clippers. “A good team takes care of business the next two and goes from there,” Stephen Curry said. “We have to prove we’re a good team.”
  • Warriors wing Brandin Podziemski had a rough outing on Wednesday, scoring just seven points in 33 minutes. In his previous four games, Podziemski averaged 23.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists. His surge in the second half of the season has fueled the Warriors’ chase for a top-six spot, Slater writes. “He was pressing early,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He was trying too hard to be an All-Star instead of just taking the next step. And we had a lot of guys who could all play. He didn’t stand out in camp. He didn’t play well enough to earn what he’s earning now.”
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Malik Monk To Be Reevaluated In Two Weeks For Calf Strain

April 9th, 2025 at 7:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings will have to get through the play-in tournament without Malik Monk, who will be reevaluated in two weeks after being diagnosed with a strained left calf, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Monk was injured Monday at Detroit, leaving the game for good with 1:38 left in the first quarter. A two-week absence would bring him back early in a first-round playoff series if Sacramento is able to advance that far.

Monk has excelled this season while starting 45 of the 65 games he’s played after finishing as the runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2024. He’s averaging a career-high 17.2 points to go with 3.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 31.6 minutes per night with .439/.325/.865 shooting numbers.

After beginning the season in his customary bench role, Monk was moved into the starting lineup by former head coach Mike Brown on December 1. He was shifted back to a sixth-man role when he returned from an injury on March 27.

Monk is a potentially huge loss for the Kings, who are still trying to wrap up home court advantage in the 9-10 play-in matchup. At 39-40, they lead Dallas by one game entering Wednesday’s action.

With Monk sidelined, Sacramento brought back guard Terence Davis earlier today to fill an open spot on the roster.

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