Several Kings Prospects Stand Out During Summer League
- After a strong Summer League performance, it looks like rookie Nique Clifford will be able to help the Kings right away, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Clifford was a First Team All-Summer League selection, and team officials believe he’s versatile enough to handle either guard spot as well as small forward. Anderson adds that Isaac Jones and Devin Carter also showed that they’re ready for larger roles, while rookie center Maxime Raynaud will enter camp with a chance to become the primary backup center.
Kings’ Isaiah Crawford Becomes Unrestricted Free Agent
The Kings have withdrawn their two-way qualifying offer to forward Isaiah Crawford, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to RealGM’s official NBA transaction log.
Crawford signed a two-way deal with Sacramento last July after going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech. The 23-year-old logged just 46 total minutes in 15 games at the NBA level as a rookie, but was a key part of the rotation for the Stockton Kings in the G League, posting averages of 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 31.5 minutes per game across 37 outings, with a shooting line of .471/.401/.789.
Crawford received a two-way qualifying offer from the Kings last month, making him a restricted free agent, and the deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw those QOs passed on July 13. However, qualifying offers can still be rescinded with the player’s consent, so Crawford signed off on the move him to make him unrestricted.
[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]
The Kings have signed a pair of players – Dylan Cardwell and Isaiah Stevens – to two-year, two-way contracts since the new league year began on July 1. While Sacramento could technically still re-sign Crawford as an unrestricted free agent, rescinding his qualifying offer suggests the team has other plans for its third two-way slot.
Latest On Jonathan Kuminga
In a story for ESPN.com, Anthony Slater has provided more details regarding the stalemate between the Warriors and restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga.
According to Slater, the two sides did not discuss the financial terms of a new contract leading up to free agency, which led to Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, seeking sign-and-trades from rival teams. The Suns and Kings have shown the most external interest in Kuminga to this point, sources tell Slater, confirming reporting from his colleague Shams Charania.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 continues to hear the Suns are high on Kuminga and says they remain interested in trying to find ways to acquire him, despite having limited assets at their disposal (Twitter link). However, Golden State’s front office hasn’t been impressed with the offers from Phoenix or Sacramento, Slater writes.
In a potential Kuminga sign-and-trade, the Warriors don’t want to take on unfavorable contracts, “would like” to add a talented young player, and are determined to receive a first-rounder, per Slater’s sources.
As Slater details, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. was motivated to get a deal done this week and recently offered Kuminga what the the club believes is the “highest starting salary” he currently has on the table. But the 22-year-old wasn’t moved by the offer, as he told Charania, and seems much more interested in landing with another team.
Signing his $7.98MM qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract with an implied no-trade clause, is an option Kuminga is considering, sources tell Slater. Choosing that path would cost Kuminga money in the short term but would give him more control of his situation and an opportunity to hit unrestricted free agency in 2026, Slater notes.
Part of the reason that Kuminga is trying to find a new home is that he has a “painful memory” of being out of the Warriors’ rotation in their first-round playoff series vs. Houston, according to Slater. The former lottery pick desires a featured offensive role and wants to be a consistent starter, Slater adds.
A source tells Ashish Mathur of DallasHoopsJournal.com that Kuminga has “made it known behind the scenes” that he doesn’t want to continue his career in Golden State, partly because he doesn’t think he can become an All-Star with the Warriors. Kuminga publicly discussed his All-Star ambitions last month in an interview with Slater.
Ben Simmons To Decide On New Team By Next Week?
Ben Simmons, an unrestricted free agent, is “probably” going to sign with a new team by next week, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on Threads (hat tip to Brian Robb of MassLive).
Windhorst mentioned the Kings, Suns, Knicks and Celtics as teams that have been linked to Simmons, confirming previous reporting from Jake Fischer and Marc Stein.
Simmons is a three-time All-Star who has made a pair of All-Defensive first teams and was the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in 2021, but he has battled back issues in recent years and has been a tricky fit in lineups that feature any other non-shooters. In 51 total appearances for the Nets and Clippers last season, he averaged 5.0 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game.
In a subscriber-0nly story for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Keith Pompey takes a look at how Simmons’ career has been derailed, with back injuries the primary culprit. While he’s no longer the player he once was, the 29-year-old remains a talented and versatile defender, according to Pompey, who writes that Simmons is still worthy of an NBA roster spot.
Simmons seems likely to receive a minimum-salary contract from whichever team he picks, considering the former No. 1 overall pick has become a “situational role player,” as Pompey puts it.
Restricted Free Agent Kuminga, Warriors Remain At Impasse
Negotiations between restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors remain at a stalemate, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter video link).
“It’s a staring contest between these two sides that could continue much longer than just this month,” Charania said.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported last week that Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, has held numerous discussions with Warriors officials in Las Vegas this month trying to secure a contract that pays at least $25MM in average annual salary, even in the short term. According to Fischer, the Warriors have been reluctant to meet that price in a long-term agreement.
Charania visited with Kuminga on Wednesday said that the 22-year-old forward told him that he was in “absolutely no rush to do a deal with the Warriors.” According to new ESPN insider Anthony Slater (video link), coach Steve Kerr has been in contact with Kuminga during the process but Kerr’s tendency to reduce his role during crunch time and in the postseason has left some “scar tissue,” adding that Kuminga no longer wants to be a “Plan B” option.
Turner continues to pursue possible sign-and-trade transactions. According to Charania, the Suns and Kings “have made concrete offers with the Warriors over the last week or so.” Those clubs have also offered Kuminga an “opportunity for significant minutes, a starting-caliber role” and “those are two things he wants more than anything.”
Golden State has balked at the packages those teams have offered, which leaves Kuminga as well as the organization in limbo. The Wizards, Heat, Bulls, Bucks, and Nets have also been previously named as possible suitors for Kuminga.
The Warriors’ other potential offseason moves have been delayed until the Kuminga situation is resolved, Charania adds. Slater identifies Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton and Seth Curry as free agents that Golden State is interested in. The Warriors currently have just nine players on standard contracts.
Kuminga appeared in just 47 games in 2024/25, having missed more than two months due to a badly sprained ankle. He had an inconsistent role when healthy, averaging 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes per game, with a .454/.305/.668 shooting line.
Although he was out of the Warriors’ rotation entirely for some key games at the end of the regular season and in the postseason, Kuminga averaged 24.3 points per game on .554/.389/.720 shooting in his final four playoff games vs. Minnesota after Stephen Curry injured his hamstring.
Nique Clifford Discusses His First Summer League Experience
- Kings first-round pick Nique Clifford talked about his first Summer League experience and his expectations for his rookie season in an interview with Sean Cunningham of KCRA News in Sacramento (Twitter video link).
NBA Names Kyle Filipowski Summer League MVP, Announces All-SL Teams
Jazz forward/center Kyle Filipowski has officially been named the Summer League Most Valuable Player for 2025, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). Filipowski is also one of five players who earned a spot on the All-Summer League first team.
Here are the full All-Summer League teams, per the league (Twitter links):
First Team
- Kyle Filipowski (Jazz)
- Nique Clifford (Kings)
- David Jones-Garcia (Spurs)
- Jordan Miller (Clippers)
- Terrence Shannon Jr. (Timberwolves)
Second Team
- Ron Holland (Pistons)
- Isaac Jones (Kings)
- Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
- Ajay Mitchell (Thunder)
- KJ Simpson (Hornets)
Filipowski, who is entering his second NBA season after playing 72 games as a rookie, appeared in a total of six Summer League contests (Salt Lake City and Las Vegas). He averaged 23.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 blocks in 27.6 minutes per game. He especially excelled in Las Vegas, averaging 29.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG in three outings.
Clifford, a rookie drafted with the No. 24 pick last month, posted averages of 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals in six contests. Jones-Garcia, who is seeking a contract, finished an eight-game summer campaign with averages of 22 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He posted averages of 21.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in a handful of games in Vegas.
Miller (22.0, 7.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists) racked up impressive number in five summer games after being waived earlier this month by the Clippers. Entering his second season with Minnesota, Shannon (22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists) excelled in three contests.
After competing in the Summer League championship game on Sunday, both the Hornets (Knueppel and Simpson) and Kings (Clifford and Jones) had multiple players recognized for their play in Las Vegas. Knueppel was named the MVP of the championship game.
Stein’s Latest: Simmons, CP3, Clippers, Nuggets, Simons, Mavs
After his Stein Line teammate Jake Fischer reported that the Kings and Knicks look like the top candidates to land Ben Simmons, NBA insider Marc Stein suggests within his latest Substack article that at least a couple more clubs are in the mix for the former No. 1 overall pick.
According to Stein, Simmons has drawn interest from the Celtics since free agency began and has also had some recent conversations with the Suns.
While a couple of those teams could offer Simmons a portion of their mid-level exception, most of them have tax- or apron-related concerns that would make a minimum-salary offer more likely for the former 76er, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Sunday. Phoenix would cross the tax line with even a veteran-minimum signing, New York has used its full taxpayer mid-level exception, and Boston is currently operating slightly above the second tax apron.
Simmons is a three-time All-Star who has made a pair of All-Defensive first teams and was the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in 2021, but he has battled back issues in recent years and has been a tricky fit in lineups that feature any other non-shooters. In 51 total appearances for the Nets and Clippers last season, he averaged 5.0 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game.
Here’s more from Stein:
- Following up on Lawrence Frank‘s comments on Saturday about the Clippers “strongly, strongly considering” Chris Paul, Stein suggests that most rival front offices view the veteran point guard as “the Clippers’ signee to lose.”
- With Jared Dudley and J.J. Barea set to occupy the top two spots on David Adelman‘s bench in Denver, the Nuggets don’t intend to hire an assistant specifically for their third front-of-bench position. Instead, the plan is to rotate assistants in and out of that role depending on game-to-game scouting responsibilities, Stein explains. Ognjen Stojakovic, a holdover from Michael Malone‘s staff who is close with Nikola Jokic, is one coach expected to be in the rotation for that third assistant slot, Stein adds.
- League sources confirm to Stein that the Celtics are continuing to explore the trade market for recently acquired guard Anfernee Simons.
- The Mavericks will congregate in Canada this fall, according to Stein, who says the team’s training camp will be held in Vancouver, B.C.
Fischer’s Latest: Simmons, Brogdon, Kuminga, Celtics
The Kings and Knicks appear to be the most likely destinations for Ben Simmons in free agency, Jake Fischer said in a recent Bleacher Report stream (hat tip to BasketNews). Simmons, who played 51 combined games with the Nets and Clippers last season, is one of several prominent veterans who remain unsigned.
“We are still anticipating the Kings to be bringing in another veteran guard, and Ben Simmons is on that list of potential targets, in addition to Russell Westbrook, to Malcolm Brogdon, and I think he’d make an interesting addition there,” Fischer said. “I personally think Ben Simmons would be interesting in Minnesota, but I haven’t heard that they have interest in him.”
Sacramento currently has 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, along with non-guaranteed deals for Keon Ellis ($2.3MM) and Terence Davis ($2.5MM), so there’s flexibility to add an established guard. The Kings are nearly $9.9MM below the first apron.
Simmons, 29, was a rotation player with Brooklyn before being waived in early February, averaging 6.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 33 games. His role was reduced once he joined the Clippers, but he still offers versatility and defensive upside.
Fischer shared a few more rumors in his stream:
- The Bucks likely won’t pursue Brogdon after landing Cole Anthony, but Fischer said there’s still plenty of interest around the league in the veteran guard. Along with the Kings, he names the Pelicans, Timberwolves and Warriors as potential landings spots for Brogdon, who appeared in 24 games with Washington last season.
- Fischer doesn’t believe the Warriors have enough interest in Bulls center Nikola Vucevic to make him the main piece in a potential Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade. Vucevic has an expiring contract, and Golden State is expected to fill its need for a stretch five by signing Al Horford. Chicago is among several teams that have expressed interest in Kuminga, but Fischer says the most likely scenario has him remaining with the Warriors on “a short-term agreement.”
- The Celtics remain active on the trade market as they try to get their roster younger and cheaper, Fischer adds. He states that Boston had discussions with the Grizzlies recently, but doesn’t provide any other details. He states that rival teams believe the Celtics are trying to unload both Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang.
Kings, Hornets To Meet For Las Vegas Summer League Title
Play will wrap up in the Las Vegas Summer League on Sunday with the Kings facing the Hornets in the championship game at 9 p.m. CT. Both teams advanced with convincing wins on Saturday, with Sacramento defeating Toronto, 98-88, and Charlotte routing Oklahoma City, 109-80.
Isaac Jones led the way for the Kings with 36 points and six rebounds in the semifinal matchup. The 25-year-old power forward appeared in 40 games as a rookie last season and is set to return after the team exercised its option on him last month. Sacramento also got 15 points from Mason Jones, who missed the previous game with an oblique injury, and 12 points and seven rebounds from rookie center Maxime Raynaud.
Charlotte was led by 25 points from Jaylen Sims, who appeared in six games with the team last season after signing a 10-day contract in April. The 26-year-old shooting guard is currently a free agent. Kon Knueppel, the fourth selection in last month’s draft, scored 17 points in 21 minutes before leaving the game after suffering a head injury while diving for a loose ball, according to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
Even if Knueppel returns today, the Hornets will be without two of their top players. First-round pick Liam McNeeley missed the past two games with right Achilles tendinopathy, while last year’s lottery pick Tidjane Salaün sat out the last three games due to right Achilles soreness.
There were six unbeaten teams during this year’s preliminary games, with the Raptors (+15.8), Thunder (+14.8), Hornets (+12.7) and Kings (+11.5) advancing due to point differential ahead of the Timberwolves (+9.5) and Hawks (+8.0).
Today’s contest will feature a matchup of former college teammates Nique Clifford and KJ Simpson, who spent two years together at Colorado, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. The Kings traded up to take Clifford with the 24th pick in this year’s draft, and he’s gotten off to a strong start in Summer League, averaging 16.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals in five games while shooting 55.4% from the field and 50% from three-point range.
Simpson has served as the Hornets’ primary ball-handler in Las Vegas and has posted 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals in five games.
The Kings are seeking their third title since playoffs were added to the league in 2013. They defeated the Rockets in 2014 and the Celtics in 2021. The Hornets are chasing their first Summer League championship.