Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Exec Wes Wilcox Named University Of Utah GM

March 26th, 2025 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

March 26: The Utes have formally announced Wilcox as their new general manager.

March 25: The University of Utah is targeting Kings assistant general manager Wes Wilcox as the new GM of its men’s basketball program, reports Pete Thamel of ESPN.

While nothing’s official yet, Thamel says the two sides are expected to reach a deal in the near future. James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link) confirms that Wilcox is expected to leave Sacramento for the Utes.

Wilcox initially joined the Kings under general manager Monte McNair in 2020 and was signed to a contract extension in 2023. Prior to his stint in Sacramento, Wilcox held front office jobs in Cleveland and Atlanta, including serving as the Hawks’ GM from 2015-17. He also worked for the Heat and Pelicans earlier in his career.

According to Thamel, if Wilcox officially joins the Utes, he would become the highest-ranking sitting NBA front office executive to accept a college front office job.

This sort of NBA-to-NCAA move is becoming increasingly common due to the ongoing professionalization of college sports, Thamel writes, adding that schools are expected to be able to pay athletes directly through revenue sharing beginning next season.

The University of Utah reached a deal earlier this month to hire Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen as the team’s new head coach. Wilcox hired Jensen as the head coach of the G League’s Canton Charge back when he worked in the Cavaliers’ front office, Thamel notes.

And-Ones: Gores, WNBA, Micic, Bibby, Williams, NIL

March 24th, 2025 at 9:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A new development plan for the Detroit riverfront includes building a multi-sports complex that would support the city’s bid to gain a WNBA franchise, JC Reindl of the Detroit Free Press reports. Pistons owner Tom Gores and a team of local investors plan to use the site to host the team’s practice facility and headquarters. The Pistons and their G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, play their games in downtown Detroit.

Reports surfaced in late January that Detroit was one of the cities bidding for a new WNBA franchise.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

Anadolu Efes guard and former NBA player Shane Larkin said that Suns guard Vasilije Micic could wind up in the EuroLeague next season, as Eurohoops.net relays. “Me and Vasa talk all the time. He’s one of my good friends,” Larkin said, per Meridian Sports. “Obviously we have a lot of history together. And, you know, he’s happy where he’s at, but he’s definitely open to opportunities.” Micic has appeared in just two games with Phoenix since he was traded by Charlotte. Phoenix holds an $8.1MM option on Micic’s contract for next season, which is a virtual lock to be declined.
Mike Bibby, a 14-year NBA veteran, has agreed to become the head coach at Sacramento State, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. Bibby played the prime of his career with the Kings.
Kam Williams of Tulane will test the NBA draft waters, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. The 6’8” wing was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 9.3 points per game and shooting 41% on 3-point tries in his first college season.
Writing for The Stein Line (Substack link), Jake Fischer interviews agent Daniel Poneman regarding the NIL and how it impacts the NBA draft and college basketball.

Domantas Sabonis Makes Quick Return From Ankle Injury

March 24th, 2025 at 5:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings big man Domantas Sabonis will return to action on Monday against Boston, Sam Amick of The Athletic tweets.

Less than a week ago, the team announced Sabonis would be out at least 10 days due to a moderate right ankle sprain. That timetable came after Sabonis underwent an MRI.

After missing the last three games, Sabonis was surprisingly listed as questionable to play against the Celtics after fully participating in practice on Sunday.

He’ll now suit up for the Kings, who currently hold the ninth spot in the Western Conference standings with a 35-35 record. Sabonis is averaging 19.2 points, an NBA-leading 13.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in 58 outings.

If Sabonis appears in seven more games, he’ll be eligible for postseason awards. Whether that provided any additional motivation for him to return quickly is unknown, but the club has lost its last two games to the Bulls and Bucks without his inside presence, so the team’s tenuous hold on a play-in spot is probably the more pressing concern. The Kings also have a home game against Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Contract Details: I. Jones, Bradley, Knox, Warriors

March 24th, 2025 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The two-year deal that Isaac Jones signed with the Kings when he was promoted from his two-way contract over the weekend is a minimum-salary agreement that will pay him $152,957 for the rest of this season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.

The second year of Jones’ contract is a minimum-salary team option that would be worth $1,955,377 if it’s exercised.

Picking up that option in June is one path Sacramento could take if the team decides it wants to keep the rookie forward/center around beyond this season. The other would be to decline the option and then issue Jones a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent — in that scenario, the club could attempt to negotiate a longer-term contract with him.

Here are more details on some recently signed contracts:

Tony Bradley‘s new minimum-salary standard contract with the Pacers isn’t just a rest-of-season arrangement. It includes a 2025/26 team option worth $2,940,876. By tacking on an extra year to that deal, Indiana will carry a ’24/25 cap hit of $330,394 for Bradley. If the center had signed a one-year contract, that cap charge would’ve been $263,939, with the NBA reimbursing the Pacers for the remainder of his $330,394 salary.
Kevin Knox‘s standard contract with the Warriors is a one-year, minimum-salary contract. That means Knox’s cap hit is just $263,939, though his salary is $330,394. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
After officially signing Knox, the Warriors remain below their first-apron hard cap by approximately $257K. A rest-of-season minimum-salary contract signed on Monday would carry a cap hit of $251,942, so Golden State could technically add a 15th man to its roster at any time between now and the end of the season. However, there’s probably no rush to do so quite yet.

Injury Notes: Sabonis, Davis, Maxey, Walker, Harden

March 24th, 2025 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings announced on March 18 that center Domantas Sabonis, who was diagnosed with a moderate right ankle sprain, would be reevaluated in 10 days. However, just six days later, Sacramento has listed Sabonis as questionable to play on Monday vs. Boston.

As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes, the Kings announced that Sabonis has made significant progress in his recovery from the ankle sprain and fully participated in Sunday’s practice. It seems possible that an injury initially expected to sideline the big man for at least six games might only cost him three. Teammate Malik Monk predicted that outcome on the night Sabonis injured his ankle last Monday.

“It looked pretty bad,” Monk told reporters at the time. “But Domas (is) strong. He’ll probably be back sooner than we think.”

If Sabonis is able to return sooner rather than later, it would bode well for his potential end-of-season award eligibility — he needs to play at least 20 minutes in seven of the Kings’ remaining 12 contests to meet the requirements for the NBA’s 65-game rule. Sacramento also remains in the midst of a battle for a play-in spot. At 35-35, the team is ninth in the Western Conference standings, 1.5 games ahead of the Suns and Mavericks, who have matching 34-37 records.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

The Mavericks have upgraded big man Anthony Davis from doubtful to questionable for Monday’s game in Brooklyn, tweets Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. NBA insider Marc Stein previously reported that Davis was targeting Tuesday’s game in New York for his return from an adductor strain. I wouldn’t expect the Mavs star to play both ends of the back-to-back set, but it certainly sounds as if he could be back in action either today or tomorrow.
There had been a belief that Tyrese Maxey (lower back sprain/finger sprain) might return on the Sixers‘ current road trip, but it doesn’t appear that will happen after all. The trip will wrap up in New Orleans on Monday and head coach Nick Nurse said on Sunday that he wasn’t expecting to have Maxey back for that game, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I do expect him back (before the end of the season),” Nurse said. “But I don’t think he’s going to make it for today or tomorrow, I’ve been told.”
Sixers guard Lonnie Walker, who missed four games while in the concussion protocol, had to depart his first game back on Friday due to a headache. He sat out Sunday and the expectation is that he’ll miss Monday’s game too. “He just didn’t feel great,” Nurse said on Sunday, per Pompey. “And they just wanted to, with an abundance of caution, pull him back out of there. So they are going to take a look at him. He’ll be out tonight and tomorrow for sure. Then we will see where we go from there.”
After injuring his foot in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma City, James Harden was able to finish the game, but the ailment seemed to be affecting him down the stretch and in the locker room afterward, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. Harden was playing some of his best basketball of the season as of late, having averaged 29.2 points per game with a .396 3PT% in the Clippers‘ last nine outings (including eight wins) entering Sunday, so the team will be holding its breath as it evaluates his foot, Murray notes.

Kings Promote Isaac Jones To Standard Contract

March 22nd, 2025 at 6:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:18pm: Jones’ new contract is official, tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.

6:14pm: The Kings will convert two-way center Isaac Jones to a standard contract covering two years, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Jones, 24, reached his active-game limit on Wednesday after playing four minutes in a victory over Cleveland. As a two-way player who has been with his team since the start of the season, Jones was eligible to be on the active roster for 50 games, whether he played or not.

Jones will be able to resume playing immediately, starting with tonight’s home game against Milwaukee, assuming the new contract is finalized in time. The deal also enables him to participate in the postseason, including play-in games.

Jones signed the two-way contract in July after going undrafted out of Washington State. He has appeared in 31 games in his rookie season, averaging 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per night and shooting 67.6% from the field. He has also played 11 regular season games with the team’s G League affiliate in Stockton.

Jones provides interior depth while starting center Domantas Sabonis is sidelined with a sprained right ankle. Sabonis is expected to remain out of action for at least another week.

Sacramento has an opening on its 15-man roster, so another move won’t be necessary before Jones can be promoted. The Kings won’t be able to add someone else to replace him because the deadline for signing two-way players was March 4.

And-Ones: Rebuilding Teams, Free Agency, Flagg, NBL

March 21st, 2025 at 9:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Among 11 NBA teams in various stages of their respective rebuilds, the Spurs are best positioned for the long run, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link). San Antonio’s place atop the rankings has a lot to do with the presence of Victor Wembanyama on the roster, but Bontemps points to Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and recently acquired point guard De’Aaron Fox as other likely core pieces for the Spurs, who could end up with two more lottery picks this spring.

Interestingly, Bontemps places the Hornets and Wizards at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, on his rebuild rankings, praising Charlotte in particular for its promising collection of young talent. The Trail Blazers and Bulls come in at 10th and 11th on Bontemps’ list, largely because there are questions about whether either team has a franchise player to build around and whether they’ll be in position to land one in the draft anytime soon.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

John Hollinger of The Athletic highlights several of the challenging situations that teams will face in free agency this summer, including the Cavaliers with Ty Jerome, the Nuggets with Russell Westbrook, the Kings with Jake LaRavia, and the Sixers with Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele. Many of those clubs will be limited in what they can offer their free agents, either due to a lack of full Bird rights or tax/apron concerns.
Meanwhile, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) looks ahead to 2026 and explains why next year’s star-studded free agent class will likely be something of a mirage, given all the contract extensions likely to be signed between now and then.
ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) spoke to 10 NBA executives about projected No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, surveying those execs on the Duke freshman’s strengths and weaknesses, his odds of winning a title with the Blue Devils, and whether there’s any chance he decides to stay in school for another year. “I can’t remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school,” one Eastern Conference scout told ESPN.
Ahead of the NBA playing its first games in Australia this fall, a battle over the ownership of the country’s National Basketball League appears to be brewing. Olgun Uluc of ESPN Australia has the story.

Kings/Bulls Notes: DeRozan, White, LaVine, Huerter, T. Jones

March 21st, 2025 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward DeMar DeRozan became the 27th player in NBA history to record 25,000 career points on Thursday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. As Law Murray of The Athletic notes, DeRozan joins LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry as active players who have scored at least 25,000 points.

However, the impressive milestone was bittersweet for DeRozan and the Kings, who lost to his former club, the Bulls.

While DeRozan exchanged in some lighthearted trash-talking with his former teammates leading up to the game, he made it clear afterward that he still supports them, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. DeRozan particularly singled out Coby White, who scored a game-high 35 points in Chicago’s victory.

“Rooting for all those guys, honestly,” DeRozan said. “I watch every single game when we don’t play. Even if we’re playing at the same time, I check the box score and see how guys do. Obviously, I still talk to my sons every day, make sure they’re making their bed and everything. It was great to see Coby thriving the way I knew he would be. You know, working out with him every summer, seeing how much he loved the game, how much he put into it, it was dope to see.

“In the group chat [Wednesday] night, I was talking trash to [Patrick Williams] and [Dalen Terry] about them having nightmares just thinking about guarding me. So it’s fun, and it’s a different type of excitement you have going against familiar faces.”

Here’s more on the Kings and Bulls:

Thursday marked Zach LaVine‘s first game against Chicago since he was traded to the Kings last month. In the lead-up to the game, LaVine reflected on his time with the Bulls, saying he had “no bad blood” and a “really good tenure” during his nearly eight years with the team, according to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. “I put that jersey on with a lot of pride,” LaVine said. “I love Chicago. Always will. If you go out there and try your best and it don’t work, sometimes it’s frustrating, both on the organization and as a player. But I wore it with my heart on my sleeve. I can’t get mad at that.”
While LaVine wasn’t out for revenge, the same can’t be said for Kevin Huerter, who was traded by the Kings to the Bulls in the LaVine deal. The 26-year-old had one of his best games of the season against Sacramento, putting up 25 points (on 10-of-16 shooting), seven assists, five rebounds, four steals and a block in 37 minutes. “We’re competitors at the end of the day,” Huerter said Wednesday, per Cowley. “Any game we go into, we’re trying to win. I know those guys over there [in Sacramento] really well. Any time you get moved on from a team, I think it’s natural that you want to kick their ass next time you play them, but there’s no ill will, no hard feelings. [I’m] still pretty close with a lot of people there, so [I’ll] go try and compete.”
Bulls point guard Tre Jones sustained a left midfoot sprain during Thursday’s game, tweets K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. X-rays were negative, Johnson adds, and it’s unclear if Jones will miss time due to the injury. The impending free agent has played well for Chicago since he was acquired from San Antonio in the LaVine deal, particularly over the past couple weeks.

Kings’ Isaac Jones Reaches Active Game Limit

March 21st, 2025 at 2:20pm CST by Rory Maher

Rookie big man Isaac Jones, who is on a two-way contract with the Kings, has been active for the maximum of 50 NBA games this season and is no longer eligible to play for Sacramento in 2024/25, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Jones reached the 50-game limit in Wednesday’s victory over Cleveland when he played four minutes. He has appeared in 31 games this season and been active for 19 more, averaging 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per contest.

Although he ultimately wasn’t selected, Jones was among the players who boosted their stocks with strong performances in last year’s pre-draft process. The former Washington State standout quickly reached an agreement on a two-way deal with the Kings shortly after going undrafted.

As Marks notes (via Twitter), Jones can continue to practice with the Kings, but he won’t be able to play again unless his two-way contract is converted to a standard deal. A report back in January suggested that Jones was a candidate to be promoted if the Kings still had openings on their standard roster after the trade deadline, and they do — they’re tentatively carrying 14 players, with Terry Taylor on a 10-day contract that runs through March 27.

Jones, who was named to the NBA G League’s Up Next event at All-Star weekend, has also appeared in 15 total games this season with the Stockton Kings. His role has been more significant at the G League level, averaging 21.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block on .567/.300/.745 shooting in 32.3 minutes per contest.

Several other players on two-way contracts are also nearing their active game limits, according to Marks. Kessler Edwards (one) and Brandon Williams (five) of the Mavericks, Hornets wing Wendell Moore (five) and Sixers guard Jeff Dowtin (five) will soon be ineligible to appear in NBA games. All three of the Lakers’ two-way players — Jordan Goodwin (three), Trey Jemison (eight) and Christian Koloko (nine) — are close to their limits as well, as we noted on Thursday.

Players on two-way contracts are ineligible for the postseason, including the play-in tournament.

Pacific Notes: Butler, Zubac, Lue, Van Gundy, LaVine, LeBron, Hachimura

March 20th, 2025 at 10:13pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. became one of the few top executives in recent history to trade for a former teammate when acquiring Jimmy Butler at this year’s deadline. Dunleavy, who played with Butler in Chicago, wasn’t deterred by the fact that some of the forward’s stints with prior teams had ended poorly, nor by Butler’s apparent willingness to hit free agency in 2025 (he wound up extending with the Warriors). Now, as NBA insider Jake Fischer writes, the move is paying dividends for surging Golden State.

“There’s nobody who could explain the intricacies of Jimmy Butler better than Mike Dunleavy,” a league source said to Fischer.

The Warriors knew they needed top-end talent, having reportedly pursued Lauri Markkanen and Paul George in the offseason and Kevin Durant at the deadline. In Butler, they acquired the impact player they sought. The Warriors are now 15-3 since the trade, and by extending Butler, they’re hoping to show him how much they value what he adds to the organization.

“This is a commitment to each other,” Dunleavy said. “I didn’t want this to be a temporary thing or a rental or anything like that. I think he feels the same way, on the backside of his career and doesn’t want to be jumping around.”

The Warriors signed Butler to a two-year, $110.9MM extension when he arrived in Golden State.

“I am wanted here,” Butler said. “I’m appreciated here. I’m grateful that [Dunleavy] saw what I could bring to this organization and this team.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Clippers‘ confidence in Ivica Zubac continues to grow, Janis Carr of The Orange County Register writes. Zubac is averaging career highs of 16.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game this season. He had a 28-point, 20-rebound game on Tuesday after having nearly recorded a triple-double (17 points, 14 boards and eight assists) on Sunday. “He’s doing a good job of taking his time, making the right pass and making the right play and so he’s only going to keep getting better,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “Give him credit for what he’s doing.”
Lue missed Tuesday’s game due to back pain, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner. He previously missed four of the past six Clippers‘ games due to the injury. Assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy also missed Tuesday’s game due to personal reasons.
Kings guard Zach LaVine was unavailable on Wednesday due to personal reasons, but was active for their Thursday matchup against the Bulls, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network reports (Twitter link). He’s averaging 22.7 points per game on .527/.441/.894 splits in his first 18 outings with Sacramento.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said he’s “hopeful” both LeBron James and Rui Hachimura will be able to return this Saturday, according to Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina (Twitter link). A report on Sunday indicated that James was expected to miss at least another week, so if he does indeed return on Saturday, he’d narrowly beat that timeline. Hachimura’s Saturday return seems more likely, since that original report suggested he would be able to come back within the week.