Kings Mull Firing George Karl
Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive and team executive Vlade Divac were livid enough after the team’s 128-119 loss to the Nets on Friday night, which was the team’s sixth defeat in its last seven outings, that they are strongly weighing firing coach George Karl, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports. A league source who was involved in discussions regarding the coach’s job status described the situation as, “An overreaction to the loss,” Wojnarowski adds. The momentum to fire Karl waned enough in the hours following Friday night’s defeat that he will likely be on the sideline for Sunday’s contest in Boston against the Celtics, according to the Vertical scribe.
Regardless of whether or not Karl is calling out sets on Sunday, the issue remains that the embattled coach has lost management’s support as well as some members of the team’s locker room, sources told Wojnarowski. Center DeMarcus Cousins seemingly called out the coaching staff for the team’s continued flaws on the defensive end after the loss to the Nets, telling reporters, “I’m not going to keep blaming these guys in the locker room. Energy and effort is a huge part of the game, but I’m not going to keep blaming it on that. We got a bigger issue, and we need to figure it out as a team. I’d rather keep [problems] in house, but we definitely have a bigger issue than just energy and effort. That can’t be the excuse every night. … We’re going to work it out as a team, and hopefully we can fix this.”
It was just under a year ago that Karl was hired to replace interim coach Tyrone Corbin, who had taken over for fired coach Michael Malone in December of 2014. Things have not gone smoothly during Karl’s tenure, with the coach and Cousins seemingly at odds from the very beginning of Karl’s time with the team. The franchise reportedly considered parting ways with Karl last June, mere months after signing him to a four year deal, because of his difficulties with Cousins and Divac. Firing Karl could cause issues with Sacramento’s ownership group as Ranadive has progressively lost the support and belief of the other owners after the past few years of instability within the organization, Wojnarowski notes.
The amount of guaranteed money still owed to Karl could factor into the front office’s decision-making regarding the coach, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Karl is earning $3.25MM this season and he is owed $5MM for each of the next two campaigns, though his salary for 2017/18 is only partially guaranteed for $1.5MM. If the team does make a coaching change, league sources have told Stein that assistant coach Nancy Lieberman would not be named interim coach, as had been rumored, but current assistant and former Kings player Corliss Williamson would be a possibility.
And-Ones: Celtics, Sixers, Bender, Free Agency
The unprotected first-rounder that the Nets owe the Celtics for this year’s draft is available for the right price, Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Thursday in an appearance on the “Dale & Holley with Thornton” show on WEEI radio. That price is high, Ainge cautioned. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News wrote earlier this week that the pick was “definitely not available,” but while that might not technically be true, it sounds like that’s effectively the case for all but the most enticing offers.
“It would have to be, certainly, a very good player. And also it probably wouldn’t be someone in their 30s,” Ainge said to the radio hosts. “That would have to be a good young player, because again, even if we had a 5% or a 10% or a 15% chance at one of the top picks in the draft, that’s worth keeping.”
The Nets pick is No. 3 in the lottery order for now, as our Reverse Standings show, so if that position holds, it would give the Celtics a 17.8% chance at the No. 1 pick and about 50-50 odds of picking somewhere in the top three. See more from around the NBA:
- Brett Brown understands the Sixers front office has the task of improving the team for the future, and the roster he has isn’t exactly a coach’s dream, but he would prefer that Philadelphia stands pat at the trade deadline, as he told Tom Moore of Calkins Media. “All coaches beg for consistency,” Brown said. “You feel like your teaching message, your purpose, your points of emphasis have a chance to resonate and be delivered and improved upon better with time.”
- Versatility and an underrated toughness are some of the qualities that make Dragan Bender easily the top overseas prospect for the 2016 draft, but as the draft’s youngest prospect, his frame isn’t close to being ready to handle the NBA, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Still, he’ll almost certainly enter the draft this year, Givony hears, and his vast potential has him No. 3 in Givony’s prospect rankings.
- The ability to match competing bids in the summer, an understanding of the player’s contract demands from the extension window, and low rookie scale salaries are reasons why soon-to-be restricted free agents are intriguing trade candidates, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller posits, offering a few names as particularly interesting cases.
D-League Notes: Dukan, Stokes, Motiejunas
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams possess one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those 11 NBA teams without their own D-League squads this season have to assign players to D-League clubs affiliated with other NBA franchises. We at Hoops Rumors track all the NBA D-League assignments made during the course of the season and you can view the complete tracker, which is updated regularly, here.
Here are the D-League happenings for today:
- The Kings have assigned power forward Duje Dukan to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Dukan’s fifth trip to Reno on the season. The rookie is recovering from a bone contusion in his leg and will continue his rehab with the Bighorns.
- Power forward Jarnell Stokes has been assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s D-League affiliate, the Heat announced. Stokes has averaged 20.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.0 assist in 30.0 minutes of action per night over his previous four D-League stints.
- The Jazz assigned center Tibor Pleiss to their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release. This will be Pleiss’ third trek to Idaho on the campaign.
- The Rockets have recalled Donatas Motiejunas from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
Pacific Notes: Griffin, McDonough, Cauley-Stein
Clippers team owner Steve Ballmer said that Blake Griffin needs to be disciplined for his role in the altercation with equipment manager Mathias Testi that left the power forward with a broken shooting hand, Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times relays. “There needs to be consequences,” Ballmer said. “It’s the right thing to do.” The owner was also quick to note that Griffin is a significant part of the organization’s plans, Hernandez adds. Ballmer said Griffin would be welcomed back once he is medically cleared to play and has served any potential suspension the league may hand out, according to Hernandez.
“You know, everyone’s going to heal, and we’re going to have an opportunity to move forward,” Ballmer said.”We’re going to finish our investigation, decide what needs to happen and move forward. Blake’s a key part of our team. There’s no question about that. He certainly has been remorseful, which is great, and we’ll find a way to move past it. That’s part of life. An important part of life is learning how to have consequences.”
Here’s the latest from out of the Pacific Division:
- Suns GM Ryan McDonough accepts his share of the blame for the franchise’s current woes and vows to hold himself, along with everyone else in the organization, more accountable moving forward, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays. “I take a lot of responsibility, most of the responsibility for what has gone on and what has gone wrong with this organization over the past few months,” McDonough said. “I know I need to do a better job. My staff needs to do a better job. What’s happened recently has been a collective failure. All of us have not done well enough and that starts with ownership, goes to the front office, the coaching staff and the players. We need to do better.”
- Kings rookie Willie Cauley-Stein is driven to become a star in the NBA, and despite the negative predraft rumors regarding his love for the game, he has been one of the team’s hardest workers this season, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com writes. “For me to take the step that I want to take and the step that I think I need to take, I have to become an all-around basketball player or it’s not going to be fun for me,” Cauley-Stein said. “Playing this game won’t be fun for me if I don’t become the player that I know I can become and the player they know I can become. If I settled and was just a rim protector and an under-the-basket guy, then I cheated myself in life, that’s how I look at it.”
Western Notes: Garnett, Gay, Kilpatrick
Kevin Garnett gave reporters a pointed endorsement of interim coach Sam Mitchell, as well expressed his approval of the direction that the Timberwolves are headed as a franchise, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relays. “I feel real good about the progression of this team since Day 1 and I think it needs to be said and needs to be understood that I’m endorsing Sam Mitchell and our coaching staff and this organization,” Garnett said. “More importantly, I’m excited about our future. I’m excited about our young players. I feel like we’re getting better. These last 10, 15 games, we’ve gotten better. You see it and I think that needs to be said. I think you all need to understand we’re supportive around here.”
The veteran had raised some eyebrows with his previous silence regarding Mitchell, Zgoda notes. “Just because I haven’t done a lot of interviews and voiced my opinion on a lot of things,” Garnett continued, “I want you guys to understand that not only do I endorse Sam Mitchell, but the other players do, too. We believe not only in him, but the system and what we’re trying to do here. I think everybody needs to understand that. The transformation and what we’re trying to do here is build something for the future and these are the first steps of that. I don’t really come to you guys a lot and say two weeks, but I just want you guys to know that needs to be heard and said.”
Here’s the latest from out West:
- The Clippers are looking for a small forward and have interest in Rudy Gay, but their interest isn’t strong enough to obtain him, ESPN’s Chris Broussard says in a video report. Gay has been linked to the Clippers previously, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee wrote in January, but it wasn’t clear just how they viewed him. Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors profiled the trade candidacy of the Kings combo forward Monday.
- Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook don’t have any trouble seeing eye-to-eye, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.com as part of a larger piece on the Thunder. The team has been scanning the market for wing players but hasn’t made any serious pursuits, several league sources said to Lowe, who also hears that new coach Billy Donovan has been better at holding the team’s stars accountable during film sessions than predecessor Scott Brooks was.
- The Nuggets don’t intend to sign Sean Kilpatrick for the remainder of the season, Nate Timmons of BSNDenver.com tweets. Kilpatrick’s second 10-day pact expired on Monday.
Trade Candidate: Rudy Gay
Rudy Gay has played in the NBA since the 2006/07 season and posted steady numbers throughout his career. He still tends to leave his coaches and home fans exasperated, wondering why his multi-dimensional skills fail to translate into greater production. So it’s not surprising that Gay is apparently on the trading block for the third time in four years.
Scan the basic numbers and Gay ranks as one of the league’s top small forwards. Virtually any team would be satisfied with a player who averages 18.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 35.8 minutes — his career numbers.
Gay averaged a career-high 21.1 points and 3.7 assists last season, as he took a larger offensive role for a Kings team that struggled to find a consistent point guard. The acquisition of Rajon Rondo, the league’s assists leader, has led to a dip in Gay’s numbers (18.0 points, 1.7 assists) but he’s pulling down more rebounds (6.9 compared to 5.9 a year ago) as he switches back and forth between the forward spots.
In terms of ESPN’s Player Efficiency Rating, Gay is having another solid season. He ranks 10th among small forwards at 16.69. That’s down from his career best 19.46 PER last season and the 18.40 he posted in 2013-14 but still well above the league average of 15.0.
Basketball Reference’s Offensive and Defensive Box Plus/Minus ratings provide a different perspective on Gay’s effectiveness. His OBPM is 0.3, while his DBPM is 0.0 — the epitome of average. Gay earned a career-best 2.8 OBPM last season but that figure was twice as high as any of his other seasons. For his career, Gay averages a 0.5 OBPM and a 0.1 DBPM, evidence for his critics that he’s not as good as his basic numbers would suggest.
Gay doesn’t provide much of a 3-point threat, averaging one make per game while shooting 34.3% from long range. He also has a tendency to miss games with nagging injuries — he hasn’t played more than 75 games since the 2009/10 season.
As Kings beat writer Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee recently pointed out, much has changed since the Kings made him virtually untouchable in trade talks last season. He has struggled to fit into coach George Karl‘s system, Jones noted, while the team has concerns about its depth at the two-guard spot.
Any team acquiring Gay would have to view him as its starter through next season, if not 2017/18 as well, because of his contract status. He signed a three-year extension in November 2014 and is making $12.4MM this season. He’s guaranteed approximately $13.33MM next season and holds a player option for $14.26MM for the following season.
Sacramento is seeking a quality young player, or a rotation player with at least one year left on his contract, in any trade involving Gay, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein.
In January, Gay was linked in trade rumors to two other Western Conference teams, the Pelicans and Kings. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that Sacramento refused New Orleans’ offer of shooting guard Eric Gordon and small forward Alonzo Gee.
Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops reported earlier that the Kings wanted to trade Gay for power forward Ryan Anderson, an unrestricted free agent after this season, but the Pelicans wouldn’t bite. The offer involving Gordon, who is also an unrestricted free agent after the season, came prior to the finger fracture he suffered that will keep him out of action for four to six weeks.
While an intriguing possibility for the Pelicans, who are trying to climb back into the playoff race, the potential acquisition of Gay would negatively impact the team’s cap space, as Justin Verrier of ESPN.com recently wrote. It remains to be seen whether the Pelicans will be buyers or sellers in this market, given their current record, and taking Gay’s contract would be a significant commitment.
Grizzlies beat writer Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commerical Appeal recently suggested that the club could improve its current roster and future outlook by reacquiring the player it traded away to the Raptors midway through the 2013/14 season. Tillery opined that Gay would bring scoring, versatility and tough defense to the perennial playoff team. Pure speculation on my part but that proposal would probably have to include one or both of their impending free agent wings, Jeff Green (making $9.45MM in his walk year) and Courtney Lee (5.675MM).
Gay has also been linked in the past to the Bulls and Clippers and, given their current injury issues, it’s not a big stretch to see a match with either of those teams. The Clippers have a hole at small forward and Gay could also play the power forward spot with Blake Griffin on the mend from a broken hand.
The Bulls’ frontcourt depth has taken some hits with the season-ending loss of Joakim Noah, along with Nikola Mirotic‘s appendectomy that will keep him out through the All-Star break. Pairing up Gay with Jimmy Butler would give the Bulls one of the strongest 1-2 punches at the wing spots in the league.
There are some strong arguments for the Kings to retain Gay. They have moved into the playoff picture and may not want to interrupt their chemistry with a big trade. They would also need a wing player or two to justify the trade, since Gay’s backup Omri Casspi has defensive limitations and, as previously pointed out, the Kings could use an upgrade at shooting guard.
As James Ham of CSNBayArea.com recently reported, Gay also has a strong relationship with DeMarcus Cousins and Rondo. He was one of the principal players in recruiting Rondo as a free agent last summer.
Add all the factors together and there’s undoubtedly more trade rumors involving Gay to come this month. It’s unclear, though, whether the Kings will actually shake up their starting lineup and take that big step.
Do you think the Kings will trade Gay before this month’s deadline? Leave a comment to weigh in.
Dead Money: Pacific Division
Not every dollar of each team’s payroll shows up on the court, as franchises often dish out funds to players who are no longer on their rosters. Players with guaranteed money who are waived, either through a standard waiver release, use of the stretch provision, or when a buyout arrangement is reached, still count against a team’s cap figure for the duration of their contracts, or the amount of time specified by the collective bargaining agreement for when a player’s salary is stretched.
There are even situations that arise, like the one with JaVale McGee and the Sixers, where these players are actually the highest-paid on the team. McGee is set to collect $12MM from Philly, and he won’t score one point or collect one rebound for the franchise this season. The next highest-paid athlete for the Sixers is Gerald Wallace, who was also waived, and he is scheduled to earn $10,105,855 for the 2015/16 campaign. In fact, the total payroll for the Sixers’ entire active roster this season is $32,203,553, which is merely $3,709,857 more than the amount being paid to players no longer on the team!
Listed below are the names and cap hits associated with players who are no longer on the rosters of teams in the Pacific Division:
Golden State Warriors
- None
Los Angeles Clippers
- Carlos Delfino (Waived via the stretch provision) — $650,000
- Jordan Farmar (Waived via the stretch provision) — $510,922
- Miroslav Raduljica (Waived via the stretch provision) — $252,042
Total= $1,412,964
Los Angeles Lakers
- Jonathan Holmes (Waived) — $525,093
- Michael Frazier (Waived) — $50,000
- Robert Upshaw (Waived) — $35,000
- Jabari Brown (Waived) — $9,942
Total= $620,035
Phoenix Suns
- Michael Beasley (Waived via the stretch provision) — $777,778
- Cory Jefferson (Waived) — $372,820
- Bryce Cotton (Waived) — $228,663
Total= $1,379,261
Sacramento Kings
- Wayne Ellington (Waived via the stretch provision) — $882,630
- Vince Hunter (Waived) — $30,000
- Marshall Henderson (Waived) — $25,000
Total= $937,630
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Western Notes: Gay, Martin, Motiejunas
The Kings are holding out for a “quality young player” or someone whose contract runs beyond this season in return for Rudy Gay as they entertain offers for the combo forward, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. James Ham of CSNBayArea.com relayed earlier this evening that there is significant interest around the league regarding multiple players on Sacramento’s roster, including Gay and Marco Belinelli. While we await more trade rumblings, here are the latest happenings from out West:
- The Timberwolves are demanding more in a Kevin Martin trade than a simple offloading of salary, Stein notes in the same piece. The Bucks, Mavericks, Bulls, Grizzlies and Kings have all reportedly expressed interest in Martin to some degree, as Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron noted when he examined the shooting guard’s trade candidacy.
- Rockets power forward Donatas Motiejunas is slated to join the team’s D-League affiliate this weekend to continue rehabbing his injured back, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. As a fourth-year player, both Motiejunas and the NBPA needed to give their permission for the big man to head to Rio Grande Valley, Feigen notes, something Motiejunas was more than willing to do. “I’m excited,” Motiejunas said about joining the Vipers. “I know that I need to go there. I know that’s what I want. For catching a rhythm, that’s the thing that I will like to go, catch my rhythm back, catch my game flow, get back into shape. I’m happy with it and just to go play, get my confidence back, is a really good decision by me and my agent to go there. I asked them to send me. I know it’s going to be much harder for me if I don’t go there and not get reps. Then I have to work into the rotation somehow and maintain my condition. I really think it’s the best solution for me to go to the D-League, check on my body, get high minutes, get in a rhythm, get in a game shape and be ready to play.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Teams Showing Interest In Kings’ Gay, Belinelli
There is significant interest around the league regarding multiple players on the Kings’ roster, including Rudy Gay and Marco Belinelli, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com relays. Sacramento hasn’t indicated that it is willing to become a seller sitting at 20-26 on the season, Ham adds. With the franchise just a half game out of the final playoff slot in the West, the team would prefer to be buyers at the trade deadline if the right offer were to materialize, Ham notes.
Gay, 29, is owed $13,333,333 next season and possesses a player option for 2017/18 worth $14,263,566. The swingman is enjoying a solid-enough season, though his scoring average is down to 18.0 points per contest after notching 21.1 points per outing in 2014/15. The Pelicans had reportedly offered Sacramento Eric Gordon and Alonzo Gee in exchange for Gay previously, which was obviously declined. New Orleans also reportedly turned down an offer of Gay for Ryan Anderson. Gay has been linked to the Bulls and the Clippers in the past, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The former No. 8 overall pick out of UConn owns career averages of 18.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists to accompany a slash line of .452/.343/.764.
Belinelli, 29, signed a three-year, $19MM deal with the Kings in July, but he has shot the ball poorly, only connecting on 38.4% of his shots overall. Despite his rough start in Sacramento, Belinelli is a known commodity around the league, Ham notes. His track record of success has teams willing to overlook his slow start, but according to Ham’s source, the team hasn’t been offered much of substance in return for the veteran. Belinelli has made 46 appearances on the year, including one start, and is averaging 10.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25.3 minutes per night.
Northwest Notes: Batum, Malone, Singler
Nicolas Batum‘s former Trail Blazers teammates Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have fond memories of the small forward whom Portland traded to the Hornets this past summer, and Batum admits it will be “weird” Friday when Charlotte plays at Portland, The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman observes. Batum is a free agent at season’s end, and the Blazers will have plenty of cap space this summer, but there’s been no talk of a reunion.
“He was a really good teammate,” Lillard said. “I always remember my rookie year and my second year, when it would get to five minutes or less in the game, he would always come tap me on my back and be like, ‘Dame, it’s your time. Take over the game.’ Just being so young and having somebody who’s been a part of this team come to me and have that much confidence, that always meant a lot to me. He was always that type of person. He was unselfish. Just a good dude to play with.”
See more from the Northwest Division:
- Michael Malone still stings from having been fired from the Kings in 2014, but he’s fully engaged with the Nuggets and he and former Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro, who was Malone’s boss at the time of the firing and is now in the Nuggets front office, don’t feel any “angst or hate” toward one another, Malone tells Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports.
- Thunder coach Billy Donovan has said repeatedly that he’s a fan of what Kyle Singler can do on defense with his 6’8″ body, and the absence of the injured Andre Roberson will challenge Singler to live up to the five-year, $24.3MM deal he signed this past summer, observes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.
- Tyus Jones hasn’t played in 12 consecutive games for the Timberwolves, but he’s not complaining, and he prefers sitting on the bench and getting practice reps with his NBA teammates to playing on D-League assignment, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune details. The rookie spent much of December with the Jazz D-League affiliate.