Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls, Others Have Interest In Rajon Rondo

July 1st, 2016 at 10:34pm CST by Luke Adams

10:34pm: Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets that the Kings aren’t out of the mix for Rondo yet, and also adds the Sixers to the list of teams with interest.

8:24pm: According to Scott Kushner and Brett Dawson of The Advocate (Twitter links), there’s nothing to the Pelicans’ reported interest in Rondo.

8:08pm: After trading a three-time All-Star point guard in June, the Bulls are now eyeing a four-time All-Star point guard in free agency, according to multiple reports. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets the Bulls have had contact with Rajon Rondo, with Marc Stein and Marc J. Spears of ESPN confirming (via Twitter) that Rondo had a meeting today in Chicago with the Bulls.

The Bulls sent Derrick Rose to the Knicks last month in a five-player trade, leaving an opening at the point guard spot. While Chicago could enter the season with Jose Calderon manning the point, it appears the team is exploring an upgrade, and Rondo is arguably the best point guard left on the market now that Mike Conley has re-upped with the Grizzlies.

Rondo, 30, enjoyed a bounce-back season with the Kings in 2015/16 after his time with Dallas ended poorly last year. The longtime Celtics point guard led the league with 11.7 assists per game, and also chipped in 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest. He even shot a career-best 36.5% from three-point range.

The Nets, Knicks, and Kings have been the teams most frequently linked to Rondo this summer, but the Nets have reached an agreement with Jeremy Lin, the Knicks have acquired Rose, and we heard earlier today that the Kings appear unlikely to bring back the free agent point guard. That could open the door for the Bulls or another club to strike a deal with Rondo.

One of Rondo’s other suitors is the Pelicans, according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that New Orleans has expressed interest in the Kentucky product.

Western Rumors: Anderson, Rockets, Bazemore

July 1st, 2016 at 6:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets are scheduled to meet with Ryan Anderson on Saturday morning, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The Kings are also still in the mix for Anderson, writes James Ham of CSN California — Sam Amick of USA Today adds (via Twitter) that Sacramento reached out to the veteran forward right when free agency opened last night. According to Amick (via Twitter), Anderson still has at least four serious suitors, including Houston and Sacramento.

Here are several more free agent rumors and updates from across the Western Conference:

The Timberwolves have expressed “strong interest” in Kent Bazemore, according to Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Minnesota is in the market for a veteran wing, having reached out to Luol Deng as well. Of course, the Wolves also made an effort to trade for Jimmy Butler during last week’s draft.
The Jazz are scheduled to have a second meeting today with free agent sharpshooter Jared Dudley, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links). Jones cautions that both sides still have multiple options in play, with Dudley generating “real interest” from the Suns too.
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets that he keeps hearing the Kings don’t intend to sign Rajon Rondo.
With his free agency underway, Trail Blazers RFA Allen Crabbe has changed his representation, hiring Aaron Mintz and Ty Sullivan of CAA Sports, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
The Spurs have expressed some interest in free agent big man Willie Reed, sources inform Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Dewayne Dedmon, a Magic restricted free agent, has drawn interest from the Warriors, a source tells Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

Kings Meeting With Dion Waiters, Interested In Courtney Lee

July 1st, 2016 at 4:33pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Minnesota GM Scott Layden has reached out to Courtney Lee, but no offer has been made yet, Darren Wolfson of ESPN.com tweets. In addition to the Wolves, Lee has received interest from the Knicks, Kings, Nets and Hawks, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Kennedy adds that Atlanta’s interest in Lee is contingent on Kent Bazemore‘s decision to stay or leave in free agency.
Dion Waiters will have a face-to-face meeting with the Kings this weekend, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Pompey adds that the Sixers would like their own meeting with the shooting guard.

Kings Increasingly Open To Trading Rudy Gay?

July 1st, 2016 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a growing sense around the NBA that the Kings are becoming increasingly willing to move Rudy Gay in a trade, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The Pacers reportedly spoke to Sacramento about a possible Gay trade before they acquired Thaddeus Young last week.

Gay, who turns 30 in August, has been one of the Kings’ go-to scorers over the past two-plus seasons, though his PPG dipped to 17.2 in 2015/16, his lowest mark since his rookie season. Still, Gay contributed 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and posted decent shooting percentages, making 46.3% of his shots from the floor and 34.4% from downtown.

Gay’s contract has two years left on it, but the final year is a player option, so he looks poised to hit the open market in 2017, assuming he has a solid 2016/17 season. Teams may not be willing to give up a significant return for one year of Gay, but his $13.333MM salary certainly looks reasonable compared to some of the prices being paid in free agency.

Sacramento is said to be eyeing a handful of shooting guards and forwards on the free agent market. The team is believed to have significant interest in Dion Waiters, and has been linked to Allen Crabbe and Courtney Lee as well. Ryan Anderson is also a rumored target for the Kings.

RFA Rumors: Dellavedova, Waiters, T. Johnson

July 1st, 2016 at 2:21am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier tonight, we heard that the Warriors plan to retain restricted free agent Harrison Barnes if they’re unable to land Kevin Durant. Here are several more updates on RFAs around the league:

The Kings, Hawks, Mavericks, and Bucks have all reached out to Matthew Dellavedova‘s camp early in free agency, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Dellavedova is in Australia preparing for the 2016 Olympics, so he’s unlikely to have face-to-face meetings with any suitors anytime soon, but it sounds like he’s interested in exploring his options. A return to the Cavaliers remains in play for the RFA guard, but it’s possible the price will get too high for Cleveland’s liking, Haynes writes.
Dion Waiters‘ representatives fielded interest from the Kings, Nets, Sixers, Bulls, Heat, and Thunder tonight, a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Oklahoma City extended a qualifying offer to Waiters earlier this week, making him a restricted free agent and giving the Thunder the right of first refusal.
On The Vertical’s free agency broadcast earlier tonight, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Tyler Johnson has received interest from a handful of teams, including the Nets and Pelicans, and is expected to begin taking meetings on Friday (Twitter links via Scott Kushner of The Advocate and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The restricted free agent guard, who got a qualifying offer from the Heat, could earn up to $10MM annually, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of the New York Post).

FA Rumors: DeRozan, Crawford, Clippers, Dudley

July 1st, 2016 at 12:47am CST by Luke Adams

Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News has updates on a pair of free agent shooting guards, reporting (via Twitter) that the Sixers and Lakers have inquired tonight on DeMar DeRozan, who is meeting with the Raptors in Los Angeles. Toronto remains the strong favorite to re-sign DeRozan. Wolfson also tweets that Jamal Crawford has received calls tonight from the Sixers, Knicks, Clippers, Magic, and Heat.

Here’s more from across the NBA:

In addition to reaching out to Crawford tonight, the Clippers also met with Austin Rivers in Orlando and Jeff Green in Miami, doing due diligence on their pending free agents, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. After meeting with the Clips, Rivers is expected to talk to the Knicks and possibly the Trail Blazers on Friday, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
The Nets, Jazz, and Suns are among the teams in pursuit of Jared Dudley, with the Wizards also in the hunt to bring back the veteran sharpshooter, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. Utah had a meeting with Dudley tonight, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
League sources continue to tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that the Kings may be preparing a “significant” offer for restricted free agent Dion Waiters. The Thunder would have the opportunity to match an offer sheet, but may not be aggressive in trying to retain Waiters now that they have Victor Oladipo.
The Thunder were indeed among the teams to reach out to Al Horford tonight, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. A Thursday report indicated that Oklahoma City has its eye on Horford as part of its pitch to keep Kevin Durant.
Speaking of Durant, during The Vertical’s free agency show tonight, Wojnarowski said that Jay-Z and Roc Nation tried to push Durant to take a free agent meeting with the Nets, but KD dismissed that idea (Twitter link via Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily).

FA Rumors: Turner, Batum, Gasol, Lin, Kings

July 1st, 2016 at 12:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks, Bulls, Pelicans, Mavericks, Lakers, and Grizzlies are in the mix for Evan Turner, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. No meetings have been finalized yet for Turner, but it sounds like he’ll meet with at least a few of those suitors. According to Deveney, there’s also still a possibility that the Celtics will re-enter the picture for Turner.

Here are more free agent updates from around the NBA:

Unsurprisingly, Nicolas Batum, who has generated interest from Dallas, New York, Charlotte, and a few other teams, is seeking a max contract, tweets Deveney.
According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, Trail Blazers and the Timberwolves are expected to be among the suitors for Pau Gasol, who has also been linked to Golden State, New York, and San Antonio.
Jeremy Lin‘s price tag is expected to be in the neighborhood of $12-14MM per year, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter).
The Kings have expressed interest in Dion Waiters and Allen Crabbe, per Wojnarowski (link via RealGM.com). Sacramento has also reached out to Courtney Lee, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
Jazz free agent Trevor Booker is drawing interest from multiple teams and is expected to have a starting salary around $10MM, sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).

Kings Interested In Anderson, Lee, Crabbe

June 30th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings are interested in Ryan Anderson and Courtney Lee, who are both unrestricted free agents, and restricted free agent Allen Crabbe, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.

Kings Submit Qualifying Offer For Curry

June 29th, 2016 at 9:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings have submitted a qualifying offer for combo guard Seth Curry, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (via Twitter). Curry’s offer is worth $1,215,696, with the 25-year-old having earned $947,276 for his 44 appearances this past season.

Latest Free Agency News

June 29th, 2016 at 8:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With free agency set to begin on Friday, here’s the latest news, notes and updates from around the league:

Unrestricted free agent Jamal Crawford has meetings set with the Clippers, Knicks, Magic, Mavericks and Heat for when the free agent signing period kicks off, Brad Turner of The Los Angels Times reports (via Twitter).
The Trail Blazers are potentially interested in signing unrestricted free agent center Dwight Howard to a short-term deal, Sam Amick of USA Today relays.
The Wizards want to re-sign unrestricted free agent Jared Dudley, but the Jazz are expected to make a run at the forward this summer as well, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
Unrestricted free agent forward Solomon Hill has four meetings scheduled for when the free agent signing period commences, though his former squad, the Pacers, are not among the franchises on the agenda, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star tweets.
The Blazers are expected to be very active in free agency this offseason, but one player who isn’t on the team’s radar is power forward Ryan Anderson, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com relays (on Twitter). Anderson is expected to be in high-demand around the league this summer.
On team that is indeed interested in Anderson are the Jazz, who plan to be aggressive this offseason in recruiting free agents, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. However, Utah is unlikely to land the stretch-four, Jones adds, classifying Luol Deng and Hill as more realistic targets.
The Clippers are interested in re-signing unrestricted free agent center Cole Aldrich, but will face competition from the Suns and Magic for the big man’s services, Turner tweets.
Restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas is open to returning to Houston and noted that the Rockets would be the first team he will meet with once the free agent period opens this Friday, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). The big man earned $2,288,205 for his work this past season.