Kings Looking To Rebuild Winning Culuture Under New Leadership
- 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
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- Christian Wilson has withdrawn from the draft, Jon Rothstein of Fan Rag passes along.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 has withdrawn his name from the draft, according to Danny Moran of The Oregonian.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
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
- 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
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.
Latest On Hawks’ Front Office Search
The Hawks placed former team president Mike Budenholzer and former GM Wes Wilcox into new roles earlier this month and it appears the team’s search for new front office members is progressing out of its “infancy stage.”
Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) hears that Sacramento’s Scott Perry is being considered for the open GM position. The Kings hired Perry as their executive VP of basketball operations less than four weeks ago.
Earlier today, we learned that the Knicks have granted the team permission to interview their Director of Player Personnel Mark Hughes for the Hawks’ open GM position. Like New York, Houston will allow Atlanta to interview a member of its front office. The Hawks have their eye on Rockets VP of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas.
Atlanta is reportedly also considering Cavs GM David Griffin and Joe Dumars. The team also plans on discussing the position with TV analysts Chauncey Billups and Brent Barry.
Bogdanovic Not Ready To Talk About Joining Kings
- Serbian star Bogdan Bogdanovic turned aside the latest question about whether he will join the Kings next season, according to Noel Harris of The Sacramento Bee. The inquiry came in an interview Monday with Turkish television. “I don’t like to talk about that during the season,” he said. “I have my goals here.” Bogdanovic has led his Fenerbahce Istanbul team to the Euroleague Final Four, earning all-league honors in the process. The Kings acquired his draft rights from the Suns in a trade last summer. “My interest is not only money,” he added. “I want to prove that I can play in the NBA. I don’t want to go there to sit on a bench.”
D-League Affiliate Will Be Moved
Warriors forward Andre Iguodala is listed as questionable for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, the team’s PR department tweets. He underwent an MRI on his left knee Monday, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes, and obviously the results were satisfactory even though the team has yet to provide details. Iguodala could still be rested as a precautionary measure, a source told Haynes. He did not practice on Monday. Iguodala was a non-factor in Game 1, playing just 10 minutes and scoring two points. Stephen Curry also sat out practice but will play in Game 2, acting coach Mike Brown told Haynes and other reporters.
In other developments around the Pacific Division:
- The Kings plan to move their D-League affiliate out of Reno after next season, according to Scott Howard Cooper of NBA.com. The Kings want their affiliate to be closer to Sacramento and playing games at multiple locations is a consideration, he adds. (Twitter links).
- The Lakers should try to trade for Pacers star Paul George this offseason rather than waiting to pursue him as an unrestricted free agent after next season, according to a panel of ESPN basketball experts. All but one of the five members on the panel believe that acquiring George now is worth the risk of losing him after just one season. Baxter Holmes opines that the Pacers would want a package of young players, including Brandon Ingram, and a draft pick in return.
- Rudy Tomjanovich is no longer with the Lakers’ organization, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Tomjanovich has served as a consultant in various capacities for over a decade and was also a scout for the team’s analytics department last season. Tomjanovich’s son, Trey, has also lost his job as a consultant and statistical analyst.
J.J. Frazier Working Out For Kings
- Georgia guard J.J. Frazier has workouts lined up with the Bucks, Kings, and Lakers after getting a look from the Timberwolves today, tweets Adam Zagoria. L.J. Peak and Antonio Blakeney are among the prospects joining Frazier at Minnesota’s group workout today, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
NBA Confirms Lottery Reps, Will Announce All-NBA Teams On Thursday
The NBA confirmed each team’s representatives today for this year’s draft lottery, which will take place on Tuesday night. As confirmed by the league (via Twitter), here are this year’s reps for lottery teams:
- Boston Celtics: Wyc Grousbeck (owner)
- Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker
- Los Angeles Lakers: Magic Johnson (president of basketball operations)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid
- Orlando Magic: Frank Vogel (head coach)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Andrew Wiggins
- New York Knicks: Walt Frazier (MSG Network broadcaster)
- Sacramento Kings: Dave Joerger (head coach)
- Dallas Mavericks: Michael Finley (assistant VP of basketball operations)
- New Orleans Pelicans: Alvin Gentry (head coach)
- Charlotte Hornets: Rich Cho (GM)
- Detroit Pistons: Jeff Bower (GM)
- Denver Nuggets: Gary Harris
- Miami Heat: Alonzo Mourning (VP of player programs)
Additionally, the NBA also announced that it will reveal several award winners and award finalists later this week. The league will unveil its three All-NBA teams on Thursday. Then, prior to the Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday, the NBA will name its three finalists for each major award: MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Coach of the Year.
Those individual awards won’t be officially announced until June 26, during the NBA’s inaugural awards broadcast on TNT. However, the All-NBA announcement on Thursday will be an intriguing one. A team’s ability to offer a player a more lucrative Designated Veteran Extension hinges on whether or not he earns an All-NBA nod. So teams like the Pacers and Jazz will be watching very closely to see if Paul George and Gordon Hayward earn All-NBA spots and become eligible for those super-max extensions.