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2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Sacramento Kings

May 26th, 2017 at 6:40pm CST by Luke Adams

After flirting with possible playoff contention in the first half, the Kings opted instead for a full rebuild, sending DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans over the All-Star break for what was widely considered to be an underwhelming trade package. But with Buddy Hield playing well down the stretch and the Pelicans’ pick turning into a top-10 selection, the return on Cousins doesn’t look too bad anymore — and some lottery luck ensured that Sacramento will also have a top-five pick in June. Hitting on those two lottery selections would help get the Kings’ rebuild get off to a great start.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Kings financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:

Guaranteed Salary

Kosta Koufos ($8,393,000)
Garrett Temple ($8,000,000)
Willie Cauley-Stein ($3,704,160)
Buddy Hield ($3,675,480)
Georgios Papagiannis ($2,301,360)
Matt Barnes ($2,133,542) — Waived via stretch provision.
Anthony Tolliver ($2,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.¹
Malachi Richardson ($1,504,560)
Arron Afflalo ($1,500,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.²
Skal Labissiere ($1,312,611)
Caron Butler ($517,220) — Waived via stretch provision.
Total: $35,041,933

Player Options

Langston Galloway ($5,434,000)
Total: $5,434,000

Team Options

None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Arron Afflalo ($11,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.²
Anthony Tolliver ($6,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.¹
Total: $17,000,000

Restricted Free Agents

Ben McLemore ($4,187,598 qualifying offer / $10,022,205 cap hold)
Total: $10,022,205

Cap Holds

Rudy Gay ($20,000,000) — Player option declined.
Tyreke Evans ($15,991,931)
Darren Collison ($9,935,963)
No. 5 overall pick ($4,609,200)
No. 10 overall pick ($3,057,240)
Ty Lawson ($1,471,382)
Bogdan Bogdanovic ($1,423,560)
Total: $56,489,276

Trade Exceptions

Omri Casspi TPE ($2,963,814) — Expires 2/20/18

Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000

Maximum Cap Room: $55,844,782

The Kings have cap holds for a pair of top-10 draft picks to account for, but their guaranteed contracts don’t amount to much. Taking into account their draft picks, guaranteed salaries, and three cap charges for empty roster spots, the Kings would have just $45,155,218 in team salary. However, that would hinge on Galloway turning down his player option, Afflalo and Tolliver being waived, every free agent leaving, and Bogdanovic not being signed this season, so Sacramento is unlikely to have quite that much room heading into free agency.

Footnotes:

Tolliver’s salary reportedly becomes fully guaranteed after June 1.
Afflalo’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 23.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.

Pacific Notes: Bogdanovic, Cousins, Jackson

May 25th, 2017 at 9:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Bogdan Bogdanovic would have been a top-15 pick in this year’s draft had he entered it this season, sources within the league tell Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. Bogdanovic entered the 2014 draft and was selected by Phoenix. The Kings acquired his rights in a 2016 draft night trade.

Bogdanovic will be free to negotiate with Sacramento without the rookie scale restrictions come July since it has been three years since he was drafted. Voisin adds that he is expected to garner an annual salary between $5MM and $10MM.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

In the same piece, Voisin adds the organization has a different vibe this offseason—the first since the Kings traded away DeMarcus Cousins. The team’s younger players are actually staying in Sacramento and working out at the facility, something that hasn’t happened in quite some time.
Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic wonders if the Suns will pass on Josh Jackson because of his off-court issues. Jackson’s two-way game makes him a great fit for the team and he could easily to be available at No. 4.
Haller (separate piece) takes a look at several prospects whom could be fits for the Suns in the second round. In addition to owning the No. 4 overall pick, Phoenix has the No. 32 and No. 54 selections.

Kings Targeting Point Guard, Small Forward In Draft

May 24th, 2017 at 9:50pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings are targeting a point guard and small forward with their two top-10 picks, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes. GM Vlade Divac is high on De’Aaron Fox, who was reportedly eyeing the franchise before it moved up in the draft lottery. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks Fox as the fifth-best prospect in the upcoming draft class.

Draft Notes: Aldridge, Robinson, McIntosh, Kuzma

May 22nd, 2017 at 9:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics are likely to select one of the top two point guards, Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball, rather than moving their pick, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com. Boston has to protect itself with a tough decision coming on whether to re-sign Isaiah Thomas in the summer of 2018 and Fultz would make the most sense, Aldridge continues. Ball would be a natural fit with the Lakers, while the Sixers will probably go with small forward Josh Jackson, though Kentucky’s Malik Monk is an intriguing alternative, Aldridge adds. A trade in which the Suns move up a spot to snag Jackson to settle their small forward issues isn’t out of the question, according to Aldridge, who goes through each team’s need on a pick-by-pick basis.

In other news involving the draft:

Austin Peay’s Josh Robinson will hire an agent, meaning he won’t be able to return to the university, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The 6’2″ guard, who missed time this season after being suspended from the school’s basketball team, will look to play overseas.
MiKyle McIntosh is working out for the Raptors today, Goodman tweets. The Illinois State product has until Wednesday to make a final decision on entering the draft.
Iowa State point guard Monte Morris headed the list of prospects worked out by the Kings today, Sean Cunningham of KXTV tweets. Morris is considered second-round material by both DraftExpress and ESPN’s Chad Ford.
Gonzaga point guard Nigel Williams-Goss and Indiana big man Thomas Bryant were among the prospects the Lakers worked out on Monday, Robert Morales of the Orange County Register reports. None of the players Los Angeles brought in are considered first-round prospects.
University of Utah forward Kyle Kuzma, who has already hired an agent, will work out for the Jazz on Tuesday, according to Aaron Falk and Tony Jones of the Salt Lake City Tribune. The 6’9” Kuzma, who is considered a second-round prospect, was one of the other hopefuls who worked for the Lakers on Monday.

Draft Notes: Fox, Ntilikina, Chartouny

May 20th, 2017 at 7:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

De’Aaron Fox was eyeing Sacramento as a destination even before the Kings moved up in the lottery, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. The Kings need a long-term option at the point guard position and Fox could be the answer when they pick at No. 5. Howard-Cooper notes that Fox is friends with center Willie Cauley-Stein.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) hears that the Knicks, Mavericks, Sixers and Kings are the franchises which spent the most time scouting Frank Ntilikina in France over the past month. Ntilikina is the 10th best prospect in the draft, according to Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony.
Joseph Chartouny will withdraw from the draft and return to Fordham next season, sources tell Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The point guard scored 11.9 points and dished out 4.6 assists during his sophomore campaign at the university.
While it appears the Ball family may get their dream outcome of Lonzo Ball playing for the Lakers, Adi Joseph of USA Today lays out four scenarios that could hurt LaVar Ball‘s master plan.

Kings Looking To Rebuild Winning Culuture Under New Leadership

May 20th, 2017 at 9:34am CST by marksuleymanov

Despite no playoff appearances since 2006 and a slew of disappointing draft picks, new executive vice president of basketball operations Scott Perry is optimistic on the Kings’ future. Speaking to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Perry wants to bring a winning culture back to the team.“I am very excited about this opportunity to help Vlade and ownership to get the Kings back to the culture they had a while back,” he said. “There is a lot of young talent in the fold. Through the draft, we can create some pieces. It’s an exciting time.”
NBA.com has the full list of prospects scheduled to participate in a pre-draft workout with the Kings this upcoming Monday. Among the scheduled participants are Pittsburgh’s Jamel Artis, Georgia’s J.J. Frazier, Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet and more.

Draft Notes: Smith Jr., Kapita, Motley

May 18th, 2017 at 10:36pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Dennis Smith Jr. is drawing interest from several lottery teams, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog reports. The Knicks, Sixers, Wolves, and Kings have all reached out to the point guard to set up a workout. Smith is projected to be one of the top point guards taken on June 22 with Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony ranking him as the fourth-best player at the position and seventh-best player overall.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

Ted Kapita will likely sign an agent and remain in the draft, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The big man scored just 4.3 points in 12.6 minutes per game during his lone season at North Carolina State.
Johnathan Motley has signed an agent and will remain in the draft, John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald relays. Givony has Motley as the 40th best prospect in the draft.
Christian Wilson has withdrawn from the draft, Jon Rothstein of Fan Rag passes along. Wilson did not play at all last season for the University of Texas at San Antonio due to an arrest.
Jaaron Simmons, who graduated from the University of Ohio, will withdraw from the draft and play for Michigan, Brendan F. Quinn of Mlive.com reports Simmons will attempt to increase his stock with another collegiate season and Quinn notes that turnovers could be an area that the guard will look to improve. Simmons has 4.0 turnovers per contest last season.
Oregon State’s Stephen Thompson Jr. has withdrawn his name from the draft, according to Danny Moran of The Oregonian. The guard averaged 16.3 points per game as a sophomore last season.

Draft Workouts: Bucks, Knicks, Raptors, Kings, Lakers

May 17th, 2017 at 10:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the lottery out of the way, pre-draft workouts are starting to intensify around the league. We bring you a roundup of several that we heard about today:

Power forward Ivan Rabb of California will participate in a workout for the Bucks on Thursday, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. Projected as a mid-first-rounder, the sophomore is ranked 25th on the top 100 prospects list at DraftExpress. Milwaukee owns picks No. 17 and 48.
Earlier today, we told you that North Carolina center Tony Bradley was working out for the Knicks. Other players involved in today’s session were Kobi Simmons, Kasey Hill, Tyler Dorsey and Omer Yurtseven, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. It was New York’s first day of workouts. The Knicks enter the draft with pick No. 8 and two second-round selections.
Six players worked out for the Raptors today, relays Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic. Participating were Dylan Ennis, T.J. Williams, Rawle Alkins, Jeremy Hollowell, Rashawn Thomas and Tyler Lydon. Toronto has just one pick next month, at No. 23.
The Kings will hold their first pre-draft workout on Thursday, the team announced on its website. Sacramento, which came out of Tuesday’s lottery with picks No. 5, 10 and 34, will welcome Landen Lucas, Naz Mitrou-Long, Brynton Lamar, Wesley Iwundu, Eric Mika and Tai Webster.
The Lakers will host a Thursday workout for Isaac Hamilton, Zak Irvin, Davon Reed, Trevon Bluiett, Chance Comanche and Jaylen Johnson, tweets Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. In addition to the No. 2 pick, L.A. holds the 28th selection.

Ford's Latest Mox: De'Aaron Fox To Kings

May 17th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

In Chad Ford’s new mock draft at ESPN.com (Insider-only link), the first five picks off the board are Markelle Fultz (Celtics), Lonzo Ball (Lakers), Malik Monk (Sixers), Josh Jackson (Suns), and De’Aaron Fox (Kings).

2017 NBA Draft Lottery Results

May 16th, 2017 at 7:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics will pick first overall in the 2017 NBA draft, having won Tuesday night’s lottery one night after they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The C’s, who exercised their rights to swap with the Nets, entered the lottery with the best odds (25.0%) to land that No. 1 overall pick.

The Lakers were the other big winners in the lottery, moving up to No. 2, ensuring that they’ll keep both this year’s pick and 2019’s first-rounder. Had Los Angeles’ pick fallen outside of the top three, it would have been sent to the Sixers, and the Lakers would’ve owed their unprotected 2019 first-rounder to Orlando. Instead, the Lakers will keep this year’s pick and 2019’s, and will send Philadelphia their unprotected 2018 first-round selection.

The Kings also moved up into the top three, but the Sixers will acquire that pick, exercising their right to swap with Sacramento. The Kings will pick at No. 5, which is where Philadelphia would have selected. Sacramento will also land the Pelicans’ selection at No. 10. That New Orleans selection was acquired by the Kings in February’s DeMarcus Cousins trade and was top-three protected.

The Suns are the night’s biggest losers, having moved from No. 2 in the lottery standings down to No. 4 overall. The Magic, Timberwolves, and Knicks each moved down one spot as well.

Here’s the full lottery order for the 2017 NBA draft:

Boston Celtics (via Nets)
Los Angeles Lakers
Philadelphia 76ers (swapped with Kings)
Phoenix Suns
Sacramento Kings (swapped with Sixers)
Orlando Magic
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Dallas Mavericks
Sacramento Kings (via Pelicans)
Charlotte Hornets
Detroit Pistons
Denver Nuggets
Miami Heat

Tonight’s lottery results are fascinating on a number of levels, but particularly so for two of the NBA’s most-storied franchises, the Celtics and Lakers. Boston is in position to either pick a player like point guard Markelle Fultz, considered by draft experts to be a future star, or to dangle that No. 1 overall pick in a trade for an established veteran star next month. The Celtics are coming off a season in which they earned the top seed in the East, and they also own the Nets’ unprotected first-round pick in 2018, so the franchise is extremely well-positioned for the future.

As for the Lakers, they’ll breathe a sigh of relief after hanging onto their 2017 first-rounder, and they’re in position to create a union that has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks. UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball is widely viewed as the second-best prospect in this year’s draft, and he and his father LaVar have made no secret of the fact that Lonzo wants to play for the Lakers. Tonight’s lottery results make that a very real possibility.

The Kings are another winner tonight, having moved up from No. 8 to No. 5 and having also held onto the Pelicans’ pick at No. 10. Sacramento will be in a great position to pick two cornerstone pieces to kickstart the club’s rebuilding process.