Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Redick, Hield, Lakers, Clippers

May 9th, 2017 at 10:10pm CST by marksuleymanov

J.J. Redick has been a prolific scorer during his four-year stint with the Clippers, being a key cog in the team’s journey to four straight playoff appearances. However, with the sharpshooter set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, it may be time to move on, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders opines.

Redick enjoyed another strong season in Los Angeles, averaging 15.0 PPG while still shooting an astounding .429 percent from beyond the arc. But there have noticeable differences in Redick’s output, especially during the postseason. As Blancarte points out, issues creating space have caused Redick to take lower percentage shots — his three-point shooting percentage has fallen each postseason since 2013 and this year, he attempted just 3.7 treys during the Clippers’ seven-game series against the Jazz.

Also, despite being an above average defender, Blancarte writes that “Joe Johnson, Rodney Hood and Gordon Hayward were simply too big and too skilled for Redick to handle defensively.” Redick will be 33 when he inks a new deal and there has been speculation of him joining the Knicks, potentially in a sign-and-trade scenario involving Carmelo Anthony, Marc Berman of the New York Post previously detailed. With four years and four early exits in the playoffs with the Clippers current core, it could be time for all parties to move on.

Here is some more news coming out of the Atlantic division:

The Hawks recently readjusted Mike Budenholzer’s role, taking him out of the team president position so he can focus solely on coaching. SB Nation’s Tom Ziller believes the Clippers should do the same with Doc Rivers. While Rivers is a well-regarded coach, the Clippers are at a crossroads following another early playoff exit and Ziller believes GM Rivers is not as effective as coach Rivers — especially given the team’s aforementioned core not yielding championship results.
Buddy Hield experienced a rejuvenation after he was sent from the Pelicans to the Kings in the DeMarcus Cousins trade several months ago. As Benedict Tagle of NBA.com writes, Hield increased his production from 8.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG to 15.1 PPG and 4.1 RPG per game in Sacramento. The sixth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft now understands how he can make additional strides.“I need a lot of things, this summer is great for me because next year it will show how big of a jump I can make,” Hield told NBC Sports California. “After that, we build off of that. Just keep building. I’m never going to take a step back.”
In a lengthy piece, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus examines how a Lakers team that has completely restructured its front office plans to tackle this offseason and beyond. The team will divide its focus into four tiers of scouting: College, international, NBA and the NBA Development League.“We don’t have to really change the way we have done the draft,” an anonymous source said to Pincus in regards to the team’s strategy. “In terms of everything else, I feel we have areas to improve, especially in free-agent acquisitions…we just have to be precise and efficient in every area.”

Kings Could Create Most Cap Room Of Any NBA Team

May 5th, 2017 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

With free agency less than two months away, Eric Pincus of Baskeball Insiders takes stock of salary cap situations around the NBA. Based on Pincus’ calculations, seven teams already project to have no cap room, and many more clubs will join that list if they re-sign one or two of their own players. The Kings could create the most cap space of any team, at $60MM+.

Offseason Preview: Sacramento Kings

May 4th, 2017 at 9:23pm CST by marksuleymanov

After the Kings missed their 11th consecutive postseason, Keith P. Smith of RealGM analyzes the team’s various needs ahead of the 2017/18 offseason. Sacramento’s offseason objectives will include acquiring a point guard, trying to replace the departed DeMarcus Cousins, and figuring out Rudy Gay‘s contract situation where the oft-injured forward holds a player option for next season.

Perry A Force Behind Classic Pistons Team

April 30th, 2017 at 6:06pm CST by Austin Kent

When the Kings hired Scott Perry to be their executive vice president of basketball operations they netted one of the masterminds behind the dominant Pistons teams of the mid-aughts. Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee details Perry in an extensive feature.

Kings Notes: Rebuild, Bogdanovic, Seattle

April 29th, 2017 at 12:26pm CST by Austin Kent

If the Kings are to succeed in their rebuild – one that they committed to by trading DeMarcus Cousins in February – they’ll need to take advantage of their lottery picks, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes.

Last year the Kings traded down in the draft, this year they’ll need to add “quality over quantity” with, presumably, two Top 10 picks.

Marks also comments on the club’s flexibility post-Cousins and warns that the organization should steer clear of locking into long-term contracts with other players. A wiser approach, he says, would be to focus on one- and two-year contracts.

Four years ago today the Kings officially stayed in Sacramento after the NBA’s board of governors denied the team’s request to relocate to Seattle. Sactown Royalty celebrates the anniversary.
There’s reason to be excited about Kings prospect Bogdan Bogdanovic. Benedict Tagle of Kings.com recently broke down the shooting guard’s impressive performance in the first round of the EuroLeague postseason.
Thrust into a larger role in the second half of the season, Kings rookie Skal Labissiere is making considerable progress. John Calipari, the big man’s head coach in one season at Kentucky, spoke with Kayte Christensen of NBC Sports about the rookie earlier this month.

Kings Notes: Draft, Bogdanovic, Labissiere

April 27th, 2017 at 9:00am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings must establish a long-term answer at the point guard position, Bobby Marks of The Vertical contends. There will be plenty of options on the free agent market, including Darren Collison and Ty Lawson, who both started at least 20 games for the club this past season. However, Marks believes the team should look to the draft to find a playmaker at the position.

The Kings’ first-round pick is currently slotted in the eighth spot in the upcoming draft. They have only a 2.5% chance of moving into the top-3 since the Sixers will likely swap first-rounders with them should their pick come in higher than Philadelphia’s, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors details. Sacramento will also receive the Pelicans’ pick should it fall outside the top-3 (96% chance) as a result of the DeMarcus Cousins trade.

Here’s more from Sacramento:

The franchise must be patient as it rebuilds post-Cousins, Marks argues in the same piece. For quite some time, Sacramento had a short-term goal of making the postseason, something that led it to chase after veterans in free agency and not take a long-term view when building the roster. Sacramento will likely have cap space for the third straight offseason and Marks cautions that the team should refrain from adding any long-term money to the books in order to maintain future flexibility since the organization will most likely not be in a position to contend during the 2017/18 season.
Benedict Tagle of NBA.com examines the game of Kings’ draft-and-stash prospect Bogdan Bogdanovic. GM Vlade Divac previously said the organization wants him to come stateside this offseason. “We would love to have him here. We have his rights, and this summer we’ll talk about it,” Divac said.
Skal Labissiere broke out toward the end of the season and his former college coach credits the Kings for putting the 21-year-old in a position to succeed, as James Ham of Comcast Sportsnet relays. “I look at Skal and the progress – I give Sac credit,” Kentucky coach John Calipari. “These guys are working with him. He’s playing more confident. They’re putting him in positions he can have success. I didn’t do as good a job as they did.”

Divac Embraces 'Drama'-Free Kings

April 23rd, 2017 at 8:57pm CST by Austin Kent

After a tumultuous first few seasons at the helm, Vlade Divac has been given an opportunity to manage a stable Kings franchise, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes. “I knew the staff I wanted to put together. There was always so much (drama) going on ever since I got here, it took up a lot of my time,” Divac said. “Finally I have been able to find people who believe in what we are trying to do and who I am very comfortable with.“

Kings Hire Scott Perry As Executive VP

April 21st, 2017 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

2:51pm: The Kings have made it official, formally announcing Perry’s hiring in a press release.

“I’m thrilled that Scott will be joining our front office team,” Divac said in a statement. “His extensive experience in the league and management talents will help build on our progress are we work to develop a winning franchise.”

2:40pm: Just over a week after he was dismissed from the Magic front office along with Rob Hennigan, former Orlando assistant GM Scott Perry has found a new job. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links), the Kings are hiring Perry as their executive VP of basketball operations and intend to have him work closely with Vlade Divac.

Perry, a seasoned NBA executive who has strong relationships throughout the league, is expected to execute many of the general manager duties in his new role with the Kings, though Divac will still have the final say on basketball decisions, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).

Shortly after word broke last Thursday that the Magic had fired Hennigan and Perry, multiple national reporters expressed surprise that Orlando would let Perry get away, since he and Hennigan had different voices in the front office. According to multiple reports, Perry wanted to make a trade with the Kings that would have landed DeMarcus Cousins in Orlando, but Hennigan wasn’t on board with the proposed deal — Perry will now join the other team involved in those Cousins talks, though the All-Star center is obviously no longer in Sacramento.

Perry began his career as an NBA executive back in 2000 when he was hired by the Pistons to work under GM Joe Dumars. Perry won a title with the club and later worked for the SuperSonics under Sam Presti before returning to the Pistons and eventually joining Hennigan’s front office in Orlando.

Perry will add a veteran voice to a decision-making process that has been headed by Divac and controlling owner Vivek Ranadive, two men without extensive NBA front office experience on their respective résumés.

New Head Of Analytics Hired

April 20th, 2017 at 10:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have hired Luke Bornn as their VP of Analytics and Strategy, James Ham of NBC Sports California reports. Bornn, 31, was working for soccer’s A.S. Roma. “We’ll be looking at more advanced modeling tools often with the player tracking data to try and get a deeper understanding of player performance,” Bornn told Ham. Roland Beech, the team’s previous analytics guru, left the organization earlier this week.

Kings Must Be Patient

April 16th, 2017 at 2:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee wonders if the Kings will be patient enough to build something sustainable. Jones believes the team needs to give its young talent time to develop, something that will require the ownership to have more patience than they’ve shown in the past.
The Kings could draft a point guard and re-sign either Ty Lawson or Darren Collison to mentor the young prospect, Jones contends in a separate piece. Sacramento has plenty of cap room this summer and Jones believes it could mean a lucrative contract for one of its veteran point guards.