- Andrew Sharp of Sports Illustrated proposed a DeMarcus Cousins-to-Detroit trade, in which the Kings would receive a package headlined by Andre Drummond. Cousins has had a tumultuous (albeit productive) run with Sacramento, as illustrated by Kevin Arnovitz’s profile piece on ESPN.
Sources with “intimate knowledge” of the Kings insist that team owner Vivek Ranadive won’t entertain the prospect of trading DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Arnovitz writes in a lengthy and entertaining feature piece for ESPN.com. That’s something we’ve heard before, and comes as little surprise, considering the Kings and Cousins are reportedly on track for an offseason contract extension.
Arnovitz’s piece features many more fascinating tidbits about Cousins and about the Kings’ franchise though, many of which we haven’t heard before. The entire story is worth checking out, but we’ll round up a few of the highlights right here:
- Although Ranadive insists that the only major player personnel decisions he has made were the ones to trade for Rudy Gay and to not hang onto Cousins, Arnovitz writes that “not a single league source for this story outside of Sacramento said that ultimate authority resides anywhere but with Ranadive.”
- Arnovitz hears from one NBA insider that Ranadive told him “some months back” that he’d like to assemble a big three in Sacramento, with Russell Westbrook joining Cousins and Gay. It’s not clear if that declaration was made prior to Westbrook signing his extension with the Thunder, but either way, it seems extremely unlikely that the OKC star would end up with the Kings. Gay also seems likely to depart in free agency this summer, though Ranadive remains unconvinced of that, per Arnovitz.
- Members of front offices that have dealt with the Kings say that Sacramento’s front office structure is confusing to navigate, according to Arnovitz. “There’s just so much ambiguity about how the decision-making process works [in Sacramento] and what information actually gets back to whom,” said one rival executive. By way of example, Arnovitz cites one Kings source who says that during the 2015 draft, there were as many as five team owners in the draft room, including one who was trying to make a side deal for a second-round pick.
- One league source tells Arnovitz that Ranadive has an “unhealthy fixation on the Warriors,” having previously been a part of Golden State’s ownership group.
- According to Arnovitz, communication between Cousins and Kings’ executives has sometimes created problems. Sources tell Arnovitz that Cousins was assured that George Karl wouldn’t be hired as the team’s head coach in 2015. Cousins was later told in February 2016 that the team was going to fire Karl that day, but it ultimately didn’t happen until two months later.
- Be sure to check out Arnovitz’s full story for many more tidbits about Cousins and the Kings.
Here are the D-League transactions from the day:
- The Raptors have recalled point guard Delon Wright and forward Bruno Caboclo from their D-League affiliate, says the team’s media relations department over Twitter. In 15 games Caboclo has averaged 9.1 points for the Raptors 905 while Wright has missed the entire season thus far on account of a shoulder injury.
- The Kings have assigned rookie big man Georgios Papagiannis to their D-League affiliate tweets James Ham of Comcast SportsNet. In 13 games with the Reno Bighorns, Papagiannis has averaged 10.9 points and 7.6 rebounds.
- The Nets have assigned forward Chris McCullough to their D-League affiliate, the team has announced in a press release. In 24 games with the Long Island Nets, McCullough has averaged 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
- Used sparingly through the first few months of his rookie season, Malachi Richardson didn’t expect to get the taste of first-quarter action he did on Saturday. Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee suggests that it might be Dave Joerger‘s December decision to give the Kings shooting guard extra opportunities finally coming to fruition. Already well-equipped to handle himself on offense, the Syracuse product will need to improve upon his defense, suggests teammate Garrett Temple.
Rudy Gay will have surgery Monday to fix a torn Achilles tendon, the Kings announced on their website. The procedure will be performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and Gay will be out for the remainder of the season. The injury may affect the free agent market, as Gay had planned to opt out of his $14,263,566 deal for next season.
- Garrett Temple has taken Gay’s spot in the starting lineup for now, but long-term decisions may not be made until next month, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. If the Kings continue losing and slip out of the playoff race, coach Dave Joerger may elect to give more minutes to younger players. Rookie guard Malachi Richardson was used in the first half Saturday for the first time all season. “Just be a buncha different dudes running in and out of there,” Joerger said. “Trying to find something that fits as you go through it.”
- The Achilles injury suffered by Rudy Gay will impact more than just the Kings. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders explores all of the ripple effects that the Gay news could have on the trade market throughout the league as teams that considered making bids for the forward will have to look elsewhere.
If the Kings weren’t considered to be a playoff contender at full strength, they certainly aren’t without Rudy Gay. After averaging 18.7 points on 45.5% shooting in 30 games, Gay tore his left Achilles’ tendon against the Pacers on Wednesday; a season-ending injury.
Gay has vowed on Twitter to come back “stronger than ever,” but the Kings will still face a myriad of issues in 2016/17. Now 11th place in the Western Conference, the Kings sit at 16-26 following a lopsided loss to the Grizzlies. What’s more, the Kings’ roster is full of veterans preventing rookies Malachi Richardson, Georgios Papagiannis, and Skal Labissiere from receiving court time. Willie Cauley-Stein recently voiced grievances on the lack of opportunity in his sophomore season.
“I feel I was showing stuff at the end of last season that would make people say, ‘Oh, damn, they got a steal in the draft,'” Cauley-Stein told Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. “Now it’s like I took 25 steps forward and 30 steps back. It’s like my whole rookie season didn’t matter and I’m back at square one. Nothing I did last year is having an effect on my career. It’s been very frustrating.”
The team appears unlikely to trade DeMarcus Cousins, but they have several assets who could help another team’s playoff run. With a lack of direction for the 2016/17 season, several on-and-off the court controversies, and no clear path to minutes for younger players, we want to know…
Should the Kings trade off assets and start a complete rebuild? Is there any hope in salvaging the season to grab a No. 7 or 8 seed? Will Gay – who has a player option for the 2017/18 season – opt to remain in Sacramento, or is he a lock to test the market even after his injury?
The latest column from ESPN.com’s Marc Stein is filled with fresh rumors as next month’s trade deadline approaches. We’ve already shared the Bulls’ interest in Chris Bosh and the Magic’s offer for Goran Dragic. Here are some more intriguing trade tidbits:
- Nuggets big man Jusuf Nurkic is almost certain to be traded before the February 23rd deadline. Denver officials admitted that pairing Nurkic with Nikola Jokic didn’t work, and they want to ship him to a team where he has a chance to be a starting center.
- Teams are very skeptical about the Hawks‘ assertion that All-Star forward Paul Millsap has been pulled from trade consideration. The 31-year-old has a player option worth nearly $21.5MM for next season and is expected to test the free agent market.
- The Kings had numerous offers for Rudy Gay, mostly during the offseason but also more recently, but elected to keep him in hopes of earning a playoff spot. The Thunder, Heat and Blazers were the most interested teams last summer. Gay is out for the season after tearing an Achilles tendon Wednesday night.
- The Kings would like to find teams willing to take Ben McLemore and Arron Afflalo.
- The Clippers offered the Suns a future second-round pick for P.J. Tucker, but Phoenix is holding out for a first-rounder. The Clippers owe their first-round pick this year to Toronto and in 2019 to Boston, so the next first-rounder they could offer would be in 2021.
- Tucker and Brandon Knight are considered the most available Suns. Coach Earl Watson said this week that the team will not trade veteran center Tyson Chandler.
- The Nuggets would like to sign Alonzo Gee to another 10-day contract once Mo Williams clears waivers. Gee’s first 10-day contract expired Wednesday, the same day Williams was waived after being acquired in a trade with the Hawks.
JANUARY 19th, 4:24 PM: Gay’s MRI confirmed full tear of his left Achilles, Kings radio reporter Sean Cunningham tweets. He’ll have surgery in the coming days, Cunningham adds.
JANUARY 18th, 11:50 PM: Kings star Rudy Gay suffered a torn left Achilles tendon in Wednesday’s game against the Pacers, tweets James Ham of CSNBayArea.com.
That was the preliminary diagnosis from the Kings’ medical staff. An MRI will be conducted Thursday to confirm the injury.
Gay had to be carried off the court after being hurt on a non-contact play late in the third quarter.
If the diagnosis is correct, it would mean the end of Gay’s season and possibly his time in Sacramento. He had proclaimed before training camp that he planned to opt out of his $14,263,566 deal for next year and test the free agent market. However, that could change now depending on the severity of the injury.
It would also remove a big name from the trade market barely a month before the Feb. 23rd deadline. The Kings were widely expected to find a taker for Gay rather than lose him for nothing once the season ended.
Sacramento will not be able to file for a Disabled Player Exception to replace Gay, tweets Bobby Marks of the Vertical, who notes that the deadline passed on Sunday.
This is Gay’s fourth year with the Kings after being acquired in a trade with Toronto midway through the 2013/14 season. He is averaging 18.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in 29 games.
The Kings will be without forward Omri Casspi for up to two weeks, writes Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee. Casspi injured his calf on Monday and underwent an MRI later that night.
Said to have strained the plantaris tendon in his right calf, Casspi will look to get back to action as soon as possible in an effort to reclaim his spot in the team’s rotation. Casspi has seen his role fluctuate over the course of the season and has appeared in just six of the Kings’ last 15 games.
In 22 games for the Kings this year, Casspi has averaged 5.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per.