Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Sign Antoine Davis, Drew Timme; Waive Skal Labissere

October 18th, 2024 at 7:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have waived big man Skal Labissiere while signing guard Antoine Davis and power forward Drew Timme, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via James Ham of The Kings Beat).

The roster moves capped a busy transaction day for the Kings, who also waived Boogie Ellis, Terry Taylor, and Brodric Thomas while signing Shareef O’Neal. All seven moves were confirmed in Sacramento’s official announcement. The team now has 20 players under contract.

A former first-round pick, Labissiere played for the Stockton Kings in the G League last season and appears on track to return to Sacramento’s NBAGL affiliate. He was on an Exhibit 10 contract and will earn a bonus worth $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary if he spends at least 60 days with Stockton.

In all likelihood, Davis and Timme received Exhibit 10 contracts and will also be waived this weekend in order to eventually join Labissere in Stockton.

Davis, who went undrafted out of Detroit Mercy in 2023, played for the Rip City Remix as a rookie, then had his returning rights traded from Portland’s affiliate to Sacramento’s a couple weeks ago. In 44 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Remix in 2023/24, he averaged 14.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 24.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .401/.364/.854.

Timme, a standout at Gonzaga, also went undrafted in 2023 and played in the G League last season. The 6’10” big man averaged 9.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 27 games (21.8 MPG) for the Wisconsin Herd, then had his rights traded to Stockton earlier this month.

Wolves’ Omoruyi, Lakers’ Goodwin Among Latest Players Waived

October 18th, 2024 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have waived forward Eugene Omoruyi, the team announced today (via Twitter). Omoruyi had been in training camp with Minnesota on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract.

While it initially looked like there might be a path for Omoruyi to compete for a roster spot, that became a more uphill battle following the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, which added two extra players on guaranteed contracts to Minnesota’s roster. The team now has 15 players with fully guaranteed salaries, plus PJ Dozier on a partially guaranteed deal, leaving no room for Omoruyi, who only got into one preseason game.

Omoruyi, 27, has played for the Mavericks, Thunder, Pistons, and Wizards since making his NBA debut in the fall of 2021. The 6’7″ forward made a career-high 43 appearances for Washington last season, averaging 4.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 0.8 APG in 9.1 MPG. His contract with the Wizards covered the 2024/25 season, but his salary was non-guaranteed and Washington opted to waive him in August.

Since Omoruyi had an Exhibit 10 clause in his contract, he’d be able to earn a $77.5K bonus if he ends up spending at least 60 days with the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate. He also still has one year of two-way eligibility remaining, so he could get a look from teams with an open two-way slot.

Here are a few more of the latest minor moves from around the NBA:

The Lakers announced on Friday that they have waived guard Jordan Goodwin and center Kylor Kelley and signed Grayson Murphy to an Exhibit 10 deal (Twitter link via Dave McMenamin of ESPN). All three players will likely be headed to the South Bay Lakers to open 2024/25.
The Cavaliers have placed Darius Brown II and Elijah Hughes on waivers, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log. Both players will likely report to the Cleveland Charge, the Cavs’ G League affiliate, where their Exhibit 10 contracts will allow them to earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K apiece. Brown is eligible to be designated as an “affiliate player,” while Hughes’ returning rights were acquired by the Charge earlier this month.
About 24 hours after signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract, the Trail Blazers have waived center Nick Muszynski, per NBA.com. His next stop figures to be with the Rip City Remix, Portland’s NBAGL team.
The Kings have signed free agent forward Shareef O’Neal to a training camp deal and plan to waive him on Saturday, according to Jake Gadon of CBS Sacramento (Twitter link). O’Neal, the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, will head to the Stockton Kings and will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with Stockton.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Kings Waive Terry Taylor, Brodric Thomas

October 18th, 2024 at 3:17pm CST by Rory Maher

The Kings have waived forward Terry Taylor and wing Brodric Thomas, sources tell Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento (Twitter link).

Taylor was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal for training camp. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the G League’s Stockton Kings. Thomas’ deal didn’t include Exhibit 10 language, so he wouldn’t be eligible for the same bonus.

Taylor is a three-year veteran who has previously played for the Pacers and Bulls. In 93 regular season games, he holds career averages of 4.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per contest.

Thomas, 27, has appeared in 44 NBA games with Houston, Cleveland and Boston over two seasons from 2020-22. He spent last season in the G League with the Clippers’ affiliate.

After waiving Boogie Ellis earlier in the day and releasing Taylor and Thomas, the Kings now have 18 players under contract, with all three two-way spots filled.

Hornets’ Charlie Brown Jr. Among Latest NBA Cuts

October 18th, 2024 at 10:10am CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets have waived Charlie Brown Jr., Harry Giles and Keyontae Johnson, the team confirmed in a press release. Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer was first to report the moves (Twitter link).

Brown has appeared in 49 regular season games with Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Philadelphia and New York over the course of his four NBA seasons. The 27-year-old was signed-and-traded to the Hornets from the Knicks as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster.

While it’s not surprising that Brown was released given Charlotte’s roster situation, it’s still a noteworthy event because he will be owed a guaranteed $2,237,692 for the 2024/25 season. Assuming he goes unclaimed, the Hornets will carry that salary as a dead-money cap hit on their books.

Notably, veteran swingman DaQuan Jeffries — another player acquired via sign-and-trade from the Knicks — was not cut today. That could mean the Hornets plan to keep him into the start of the regular season even though he fractured a bone in his hand last week. The team didn’t give a timetable for his return.

Both Giles and Johnson were on non-guaranteed training camp deals. A North Carolina native who played college ball at Duke, Giles is a former first-round pick (No. 20 overall in 2017) whose career was derailed by a series of major knee injuries. The 26-year-old big man split last season with the Nets and Lakers.

As for Johnson, he spent 2023/24 — his rookie season — on a two-way contract with the Thunder, but they chose not to give him a two-way qualifying offer over the summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Johnson, who had Exhibit 10 language in his contract, can earn a bonus worth $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s NBA G League affiliate. Giles’ deal didn’t include an Exhibit 10 clause, so he wouldn’t be eligible for the same bonus and therefore seems unlikely to end up with the Swarm.

The Hornets now have 17 players under contract, with 14 players on guaranteed standard deals, Taj Gibson with a significant partial guarantee on his minimum-salary deal, and a pair of players on two-way contracts. NBA teams are permitted to carry three two-way players, so the team still has one roster vacancy ahead of the regular season.

Here are a few more players who were waived on Friday — all three were on non-guaranteed training camp deals:

The Kings have waived undrafted rookie Boogie Ellis, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter). The former USC guard, who had a solid preseason showing with Sacramento, will likely be headed to the Stockton Kings to begin his first professional season. Sacramento will still have to waive at least a couple more players beyond Ellis to set its regular season roster.
The Thunder announced that they have released Buddy Boeheim and Cormac Ryan. Both players will likely be headed to the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate. The Thunder now have 18 players under contract, which is the regular season limit.

Kings Sign Doug McDermott

October 16th, 2024 at 10:34pm CST by Luke Adams

10:34pm: The signing is official, tweets Sean Cunningham of KTXL.

1:50pm: The Kings have reached an agreement on a one-year contract with free agent sharpshooter Doug McDermott, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

While there has been no confirmation that McDermott’s contract is guaranteed, it likely won’t be the same sort of sign-and-waive Exhibit 10 agreement we’ve seen so often in recent weeks for G League purposes.

McDermott is a 10-year NBA veteran who appeared in 64 regular season games in 2023/24 and the Kings have a pair of openings on their projected 15-man regular season roster after trading Jalen McDaniels to San Antonio, so there’s a clear path for him to claim a spot on the opening night squad.

McDermott, 32, is a career 41.0% three-point shooter across 655 total contests with the Bulls, Thunder, Knicks, Mavericks, Pacers, and Spurs. He spent the first half of last season in San Antonio before being traded to Indiana in the three-team deadline deal that sent Buddy Hield to Philadelphia.

Although McDermott was part of his teams’ rotations for much of the season, he averaged just 14.1 minutes per game, his lowest mark since his rookie year in 2014/15. In his reduced role, he contributed 5.5 points per night on .433/.410/.579 shooting.

Sacramento sent out Harrison Barnes, Sasha Vezenkov, and Chris Duarte in a pair of offseason deals, so it certainly won’t hurt the team to add another reliable outside shooter at the back end of its bench.

Assuming McDermott signed for the veteran’s minimum (which is highly likely) and makes the regular season roster, he’ll count against the Kings’ cap for about $2.09MM, leaving the team’s salary roughly $3.74MM below the luxury tax line with 14 players under contract.

Southwest Notes: Doncic, Spurs, Kennard, Rockets, Ingram, Zion

October 16th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks star Luka Doncic likely won’t play in the team’s preseason finale vs. Milwaukee on Thursday, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters today. However, Doncic went through a full practice on Wednesday and did “really, really well,” Kidd said, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link).

Doncic was diagnosed with a left calf contusion during the early days of training camp. At the time, it was deemed a minor injury that wasn’t expected to affect his availability for the team’s regular season opener on October 24.

Despite the fact that Doncic may not end up playing a single minute this preseason, it still doesn’t sound as if his ability to return for next Thursday’s game vs. San Antonio is in any doubt, given that he’s fully participating in practice more than a week out from opening night.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Based on the way Gregg Popovich has managed his rotation this preseason, it appears likely the Spurs will open the season with a starting five of Chris Paul, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, Harrison Barnes, and Victor Wembanyama, with Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, Zach Collins, and Blake Wesley also getting regular minutes, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). However, Popovich said his rotation isn’t set in stone yet, and obviously it’s subject to change once Devin Vassell is ready to return from his foot injury, Orsborn notes.
The Spurs received $2MM in cash from the Kings in the Jalen McDaniels trade, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Marks also fills in the cash details from a couple of the Spurs’ offseason trades, confirming that San Antonio received $1MM from the Pacers for moving from No. 35 to No. 36 in the draft and $110K from the Hornets in the Devonte’ Graham salary dump.
Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard was feeling some soreness in his foot after Monday’s game in Indiana, according to head coach Taylor Jenkins, who said that Kennard may have to miss some time as a result of the ailment (Twitter link via Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal).
The Rockets‘ preseason win over New Orleans on Tuesday showed how they can benefit this fall from offseason continuity after making significant roster changes in 2023, says Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “We’ve been playing with each other since last year,” veteran forward Jeff Green said. “We know what we want to do. We know what the goal is out there.” As Christian Clark of NOLA.com observes, Tuesday’s game was the first of the preseason for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, while Zion Williamson sat out for what head coach Willie Green called a “rest day.”

Kings Trade Jalen McDaniels, Second-Round Pick To Spurs

October 16th, 2024 at 7:09am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 16, 7:09am: The Spurs and Kings officially completed their trade on Tuesday, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

As outlined below, the deal sent McDaniels, cash, and the Kings’ unprotected 2031 second-round pick to San Antonio in exchange for the Bulls’ top-55 protected 2025 second-round pick. Sacramento also created a $4.74MM trade exception.

The Spurs, who cut Isaiah Miller in order to complete the trade, also intend to waive McDaniels but haven’t officially done so yet.

OCTOBER 14, 5:15pm: The Kings are sending their 2031 second-round pick to San Antonio along with McDaniels and cash, Charania writes in his full story at ESPN.com.

The Spurs will send Sacramento the Bulls’ top-55 protected 2025 second-rounder, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. If it lands in the top 55, which is highly likely, San Antonio will keep the pick.

OCTOBER 14, 3:02pm: The Kings and Spurs have agreed to a trade that will send forward Jalen McDaniels and a second-round pick to San Antonio, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).

It’s a salary-dump deal for Sacramento, while San Antonio will take on McDaniels’ $4.74MM expiring contract in order to acquire that second-round draft pick. According to Charania, the Spurs intend to waive McDaniels after the trade is official, so his salary will remain on their cap as dead money for the rest of 2024/25.

The 52nd overall pick in the 2019 draft, McDaniels showed some promise during the first four years of his career, which he spent primarily in Charlotte. His height (6’9″), wingspan (7’0″), and athleticism made him a versatile piece on defense, and he displayed a little outside shooting ability, making 34.2% of his three-point tries with the Hornets. The Sixers traded for him at the 2023 trade deadline.

However, McDaniels’ production and playing time cratered last season in Toronto after he signed a two-year, $9.26MM contract with the Raptors. He was sent to Sacramento in another Kings salary dump at the start of the 2024 offseason — in that trade, the Kings sent Sasha Vezenkov and Davion Mitchell to the Raptors, trimming over $8MM in salary by moving off two players who were each due salaries over $6MM.

The Kings still had financial constraints entering the preseason though, with a total team salary of about $169.7MM for 14 players. That gave them just over $1MM in breathing room below the luxury tax line, making it impossible to open the season with a full 15-man roster while staying out of tax territory. They also have some players who have unlikely incentives in their contracts, so their team salary could rise higher if those bonuses are earned.

Last month, when we identified five teams who could make cost-cutting moves, we mentioned the Kings, singling out McDaniels as a trade candidate, given his contract situation and his place on the team’s depth chart. At the time, we suggested it would likely take a second-round pick to move off his deal, which turned out to be the case.

Once the trade is official, the Kings will be carrying 13 players on standard contracts (11 fully guaranteed) and will have enough spending room below the tax line to fill out their 15-man regular season roster with minimum-salary players. Of course, they could still choose to open the season with fewer than 15 players in order to maximize their flexibility, if they so choose.

Sacramento will also create a trade exception worth McDaniels’ $4.74MM salary.

For their part, the Spurs can comfortably take on McDaniels’ contract using a portion of their $8MM room exception, so no outgoing matching salary is required. The Spurs have one of the lowest team salaries in the NBA and will still have plenty of room below the tax line after eating that contract.

For their troubles, they’ll add another second-round pick to their growing collection of draft assets. The incoming pick from the Kings will be unprotected, while the Spurs will send back a heavily protected future second-rounder to make the trade legal, tweets Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News.

San Antonio has a full 21-man roster, so a player will have to be waived in order to make room for McDaniels — one of the Spurs’ camp invitees on an Exhibit 10 deal figures to be the roster casualty.

Pacific Notes: Kaminsky, Suns, Watson, Kawhi, Kings

October 15th, 2024 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

It’s unclear whether or not the Suns will carry a 15th man on their standard roster to start the season, since doing so will cost them exponentially more in tax penalties beyond the player’s minimum salary. If Phoenix does carry a full roster, big man Frank Kaminsky looks like the favorite to be that 15th man, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The Suns waived two other camp invitees – Mamadi Diakite and Moses Wood – on Monday.

“He’s a veteran, smart, a lot of things we want to be about,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said of Kaminsky. “Having Frank in camp has been great and those will be the hard decisions with (Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein and general manager James Jones) and the front office. We’ve got to sit down and put everything together and make good, hard decisions.”

Kaminsky’s minimum-salary contract is non-guaranteed, so if the Suns do decide to hang onto him beyond the preseason, they’d essentially be paying him by the day. However, they’d also be increasing their projected tax bill each day he remains on the roster. That projected bill is already worth north of $185MM based on the team’s current financial commitments.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Phoenix’s G League affiliate, the Valley Suns, completed a trade on Monday, acquiring Paul Watson‘s returning rights from the Austin Spurs in exchange for the rights to Lindell Wigginton and Matt Lewis (Twitter link). Wigginton and Lewis are both playing overseas this fall, so the deal appears mostly about funneling Watson to the Suns’ NBAGL roster.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard won’t play at all during the preseason, head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed on Monday, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard, who dealt with inflammation in his right knee at the end of last season and during the offseason, has yet to take part in contact drills and is working on strengthening the knee. His status for the team’s regular season opener next Wednesday vs. Phoenix remains up in the air.
Breaking down the reported trade agreement that will send Jalen McDaniels to San Antonio, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee wonders if the Kings might be setting up another deal by creating additional financial flexibility in their deal with the Spurs. The trade will move Sacramento about $5.8MM below the luxury tax line, with 13 players on standard contracts.

Pacific Notes: Warriors Lineup, Hield, Dunn, Jones

October 14th, 2024 at 5:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were the only players who entered Warriors camp with guaranteed starting jobs. ESPN’s Kendra Andrews takes a look at the battles for the other starting spots.

As Andrews details, De’Anthony Melton and Brandin Podziemski are fighting for the shooting guard spot with Buddy Hield pegged as a sixth man. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kevon Looney are the candidates to play up front next to Green. Jonathan Kuminga is pushing for the starting small forward job with Andrew Wiggins sidelined by an illness during training camp.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Hield made a nasty remark about Sacramento in a “hot mic” moment two seasons ago after the Kings traded him to the Pacers, but the Warriors swingman told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee that he harbors no ill toward the organization or the city. “I’ll always love Sacramento,” Hield said. “Sacramento is kind of where my career started. I always thank (former GM) Vlade (Divac) and (team owner) Vivek (Ranadive) for reaching out and giving me an opportunity to come play for the city and this organization. My comments are my comments. I can’t take them back, but when you have a mic open, friendly conversation with your friends, and a hot mic catches you, you can’t take that back. I’ve got to take that on the chin, but I love Sacramento.”
Rookie wing Ryan Dunn has opened some eyes during Suns training camp and could be the steal of the draft, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Dunn only made a dozen three-pointers in 51 attempts during two seasons at Virginia, but has knocked down 12 on 27 attempts this preseason. Dunn’s strength entering the draft was his defense, so if he can continue to make threes, the 28th overall pick will be a valuable addition.
Kai Jones didn’t appear in an NBA game last season after two disappointing years with the Hornets. Jones is competing for a roster spot on the Clippers after signing a training camp contract this summer. Head coach Tyronn Lue‘s advice to him hit home, he told Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “(Lue) told me when I got here, that everything that I did in the past (I needed to) forgive myself, you know, just learn from it, grow from it and just be better,” Jones said.

Kings’ De’Aaron Fox Eyeing Potential Extension In 2025

October 14th, 2024 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox will bypass a possible three-year, $165MM contract extension this fall, with an eye toward signing a more lucrative deal during the 2025 offseason, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.

Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported back in June that Fox didn’t intend to sign an extension this offseason, so Charania’s reporting simply confirms that’s still the plan with an October 21 deadline looming.

Because he has two guaranteed years left on his contract, Fox can sign an extension up until next Monday, then would be ineligible to complete a new deal during the season before becoming extension-eligible again next summer. His current contract will pay him $34.85MM this season and $37.1MM in 2025/26.

While Charania’s story doesn’t explicitly say the Kings put their maximum three-year offer on the table for Fox this offseason, it certainly sounds like it would be available if he were interested in signing it.

As Charania explains, Fox has expressed both publicly and privately that his preference is to remain in Sacramento long-term and worked with high-ranking team officials on major moves this offseason, including the acquisition of DeMar DeRozan. However, he can qualify for a more lucrative deal next summer. His maximum standard contract at that time would be worth a projected $229MM over four years. The 26-year-old could also qualify for a super-max deal worth up to $345MM over five years if he earns an All-NBA spot next spring.

An All-NBA berth isn’t out of the question for Fox — in fact, he’s already earned the honor once, having made the Third Team in 2023. Last season, he averaged a career-high 26.6 points per game on .465/.369/.738 shooting, chipping in 5.6 assists and a league-best 2.0 steals per contest.