Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Sign To Keegan Murray To Five-Year Extension

October 16th, 2025 at 3:34pm CST by Eli Cohen

October 16: Murray’s extension with the Kings is now official, per the team (link to press release).

“Keegan is one of the most versatile players in the league,” Kings general manager Scott Perry said in a statement. “He’s shown that he can defend multiple positions and efficiently shoot the ball from the perimeter. Keegan is also a young man of high character who reflects the vision we’re shaping in Sacramento.”

October 15: The Kings have agreed to sign Keegan Murray to a five-year, $140MM rookie contract extension, reports Shams Charania for ESPN (via Twitter).

Murray, who turned 25 in August, was the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Iowa. He holds career averages of 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game on .451/.372/.812 shooting splits.

Murray experienced a breakout sophomore season in 2023/24, averaging 15.2 PPG and 5.5 RPG while recording a steal and nearly a block per game. However, he took a slight step back in his third year last season as Sacramento brought in more offensive firepower around him in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.

Murray has shown the potential to be a high-level shooter and wing defender, and spoke recently about his excitement for Dennis Schröder to take on some of the tougher backcourt assignments, which would free him up to defend opposing teams’ best wings and forwards.

He also recently stated his two goals for the season: to hit at least 40% of his threes and to win the league’s Most Improved Player award.

Murray recently underwent surgery to address a torn thumb ligament and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

James Ham of The Kings Beat notes (via Twitter) that Murray is expected to officially sign his new contract in the next 24-to-48 hours, ahead of Monday’s rookie scale extension deadline. ESPN’s Anthony Slater adds (via Twitter) that there are no team or player options on the five-year deal, which will run through 2030/31.

Murray is the sixth player this offseason to agree to a rookie scale extension, joining Magic forward Paolo Banchero, Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr., Heat forward Nikola Jovic, and Thunder teammates Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. He’s now locked into the Kings’ long-term plans, with the longest-running contract on the team.

Injury Notes: Sabonis, George, Williams, Bailey, Vanderbilt

October 16th, 2025 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings fell to 0-3 during the preseason on Wednesday with a loss to the Clippers. More concerning than the defeat was the fact that star center Domantas Sabonis exited the game midway through the third quarter and was ultimately ruled out for the rest of the night due to what the team called a right hamstring issue, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (subscription required).

Sacramento already projects to be shorthanded in the frontcourt when the regular season begins next week, with forward Keegan Murray sidelined due to thumb surgery. It’s unclear whether or not Sabonis’ injury is serious enough to jeopardize his availability for the start of the season — head coach Doug Christie said after the game that he didn’t have a concrete update yet on the big man’s status.

“Listen, your star player goes down, you never want to see that, period,” Christie said, according to Anderson. “I can’t speculate on what it is. Hopefully it’s nothing. We have some time before the first game, but those are the things you just don’t want to see. But it’s part of what we do. It’s the same thing with Keegan. As unfortunate as it is, it’s just part of our game.”

We have more notes on injuries from around the NBA:

Sixers forward Paul George continues to make progress in his recovery from offseason knee surgery. Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Wednesday that George has advanced to participating in live, full-court three-on-three drills, as Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports relays (via Twitter). It’s the first time the veteran forward has taken part in live action this fall.
There’s a belief in Phoenix that center Mark Williams will be available for opening night after not playing at all in the preseason, says John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Twitter link). The Suns big man has been playing 5-on-5 and will get the opportunity to take part in a few more scrimmages before the team’s opener next Wednesday. Gambadoro adds (via Twitter) that he doesn’t expect Jalen Green (hamstring) to miss more than two or three games at the start of the season unless he experiences another setback.
Rookie forward Ace Bailey has been ruled out for the Jazz‘s preseason finale on Thursday due to bilateral knee tendinopathy, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Head coach Will Hardy downplayed the issue earlier this week, so there’s no indication at this point that Bailey won’t be ready when the regular season tips off next Wednesday.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt was ruled out of the second half of Wednesday’s preseason game vs. Dallas due to a left quad contusion, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says the injury appeared to occur when Vanderbilt got kneed in the thigh. Vanderbilt is hoping to play a key role for L.A. this season after being limited to 65 total outings over the last two regular seasons due to health issues.

Warriors, Lakers Top 2025 NBA Franchise Valuations

October 16th, 2025 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are still the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2025 on Thursday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $11.33 billion, which represents an incredible 24% increase from last year’s $9.14 billion valuation. The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, at $12.8 billion, continue to be the only global sports franchise whose valuation comes in higher than Golden State’s, according to Sportico’s projections.

As Badenhausen outlines, the Warriors lead the NBA in revenue by a significant margin, having generated an estimated $833MM last season. Golden State makes more than $5MM per game in ticket revenue, along with $2.5MM from luxury suites; the club also has a $45MM per year jersey patch deal with Rakuten, earns almost double what any other team makes in sponsorship revenue, and is one of the few teams to fully own and operate its arena, per Sportico.

After placing third a year ago, the Lakers have jumped to second place on Sportico’s 2025 list at $10 billion, based on Mark Walter‘s recent agreement to purchase the team at that valuation. The Lakers moved slightly ahead of the third-place Knicks, who come in at $9.85 billion.

Every team’s valuation has increased by at least 9% since last year, per Sportico, with the average value of an NBA franchise now at $5.51 billion (up 20% from 2024) and no team worth less than $4 billion.

The average valuation has more than doubled since 2022, when it was $2.58 billion. As Badenhausen writes, the NBA’s new $76 billion media rights deal and its global ambitions – including the possible creation of a league in Europe – have played a part in those gains.

Although the Warriors’ $833MM is something out of an outlier, NBA teams generated an average of approximately $408MM in revenue last season, according to Badenhausen, with the Grizzlies coming in last at $301MM. Memphis also ranks 30th on Sportico’s list of franchise values.

Despite placing at the bottom of this list, the Grizzlies actually had the most significant increase in their franchise valuation this past year, rising from $3.06 billion to $4 billion (31%). The Pelicans (30%), Timberwolves (29%), and Eastern Conference champion Pacers (27%) were the other biggest risers.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But these projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2025:

Golden State Warriors: $11.33 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $10 billion
New York Knicks: $9.85 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $6.72 billion
Boston Celtics: $6.35 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $6.22 billion
Chicago Bulls: $6.12 billion
Miami Heat: $6.03 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $5.61 billion
Houston Rockets: $5.53 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $5.24 billion
Toronto Raptors: $5.22 billion
Phoenix Suns: $5.09 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $5.02 billion
Sacramento Kings: $5 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $4.86 billion
Denver Nuggets: $4.8 billion
Washington Wizards: $4.78 billion
Indiana Pacers: $4.76 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $4.54 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $4.5 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $4.34 billion
Utah Jazz: $4.27 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $4.25 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $4.24 billion
Orlando Magic: $4.21 billion
Detroit Pistons: $4.17 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $4.13 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $4.02 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $4 billion

As Badenhausen notes, Sportico’s projections are based on a control sale price, rather than limited stake purchases. Controlling shares in the Celtics, Lakers, and Trail Blazers all changed hands this past year, though only the Celtics sale has been formally approved by the NBA so far.

William Chisholm is buying the Celtics in two stages, with an initial valuation of $6.1 billion and a blended valuation of roughly $6.5 billion. Walter is purchasing the Lakers at a valuation of $10 billion, while Tom Dundon is buying the Blazers at a $4.25 billion valuation.

Kings Exercise Third-Year Option On Devin Carter

October 14th, 2025 at 8:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have exercised their third-year option on guard Devin Carter, according to a team press release.

Carter’s third-year salary will carry a cap hit of $5,158,080. Sacramento had until the end of the month to exercise that option, which is for the 2026/27 season. The team’s next contract decision on Carter will come next fall, when his $7,370,896 fourth-year option for ’27/28 will have to be either picked up or turned down.

Selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Carter appeared in 36 games with the Kings during the 2024/25 season. He averaged 3.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11 minutes per game. The Providence product missed a chunk of the season after undergoing left shoulder surgery in July 2024.

Carter was reportedly included in at least one of the packages offered by the Kings in their failed attempts to acquire Jonathan Kuminga from Golden State this summer.

All of this year’s rookie scale team option decisions can be viewed here.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Butler, Warriors, Clippers, K. Brown

October 14th, 2025 at 7:44am CST by Luke Adams

Keegan Murray‘s thumb injury creates a difficult lineup decision for the Kings, who don’t have much reliable depth behind the former No. 4 overall pick at power forward, writes James Ham of The Kings Beat.

“It’s tough because Keegan has size, strength, athleticism and he shoots 40 percent [from 3-point range], I think everyone is looking for that,” head coach Doug Christie said on Sunday. “We have a couple of different guys that can equal Keegan, but we don’t have Keegan, so replacing him is definitely going to be difficult.”

The Kings have a pair of preseason games still to come on Wednesday and Friday, and Christie said he intends to “try a couple of different things” during those contests as he weighs his options for a fifth starter alongside Dennis Schröder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis.

As Ham writes, veterans Dario Saric and Drew Eubanks and rookies Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud are among the potential candidates for the role, but the Kings have more depth in the backcourt, where Malik Monk and Keon Ellis currently project to come off the bench. The team’s thin depth chart at the four is one reason why Sacramento was so interested in Warriors restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga this offseason, Ham notes.

We have more from around the Pacific:

Warriors forward Jimmy Butler won’t play on Tuesday vs. Portland after spraining his ankle in a Friday practice, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN. However, the injury isn’t considered serious and head coach Steve Kerr is hopeful that Butler will return for Friday’s preseason finale vs. the Clippers.
After ESPN’s Kevin Pelton projected the Warriors to win 56 games, the second-most in the NBA, his ESPN colleague Zach Kram breaks down why Golden State could be more dangerous than the general consensus suggests. Kram cites Al Horford‘s potential impact, a well-balanced roster, and the fact that the Warriors have fewer obvious question marks than several of their Western Conference rivals.
Within a report detailing how the NBA approved the Clippers‘ initial sponsorship agreement with the green-bank company Aspiration in 2021, Bobby Marks and Baxter Holmes of ESPN note that people familiar with the investigation into the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard believe the probe will take months, perhaps not wrapping up until after the 2026 playoffs. The league hired the law firm Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz to look into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by paying Leonard via a separate “no-show” endorsement deal with Aspiration.
Clippers forward Kobe Brown, a first-round pick in 2023, believes he’s a “way better” player now than he was when he entered the NBA two years ago, but he also recognizes that his role may still be limited due to the team’s impressive veteran depth, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. He’s OK with that if head coach Tyronn Lue determines it’s what’s best for the club. “If the team’s winning, I’m winning,” Brown said. “I don’t look at it as a negative thing. I just do my job basically.”

Keegan Murray Undergoes Thumb Surgery, Out At Least 4-6 Weeks

October 13th, 2025 at 8:59pm CST by Luke Adams

October 13: Murray underwent successful surgery on Monday, according to the Kings (Twitter link via James Ham of The Kings Beat). He will be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks.

October 12: Kings forward Keegan Murray has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, the team announced today in a press release.

It’s unfortunate timing for Murray, who is eligible to sign a rookie scale extension between now and October 20. While his injury likely won’t impact the Kings’ long-term view of him or significantly impact those negotiations, the 25-year-old won’t have the opportunity to make a final case for a new deal on the court this week in the team’s two remaining preseason games.

The fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft, Murray had a promising rookie season in which he averaged 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, shot 41.1% from beyond the three-point line, and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting as he started 78 games for Sacramento.

The 6’8″ forward has remained a starter for the Kings in the two years since then and has improved as a defender, but hasn’t taken a step forward offensively. In 2024/25, he averaged 12.4 PPG on .444/.343/.833 shooting while playing a career-high 34.3 minutes per night.

If Murray, who is earning roughly $11.1MM this season, doesn’t sign a rookie scale extension by next Monday, he’ll be on track for free agency during the summer of 2026. The Kings would have to tender him a qualifying offer worth approximately $14.7MM to make him a restricted free agent at that time.

It’s unclear who will take Murray’s spot in the starting five while he recovers, but forward Nique Clifford started the second half in his place on Friday alongside Dennis Schröder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis. Dario Saric and Doug McDermott are among the team’s other options at forward — if head coach Doug Christie wants to roll with a guard-heavy lineup, he could make Malik Monk or Keon Ellis a starter.

Five Under-The-Radar Veteran Extension Candidates To Watch

October 13th, 2025 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for teams to sign players to rookie scale extensions is a week from today, and we'll be keeping an eye on several notable rookie scale extension candidates in the coming days. That group includes Pistons teammates Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, Nuggets guard Christian Braun, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Rockets forward Tari Eason, Kings forward Keegan Murray, and Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe.

A number of big-name players are also eligible for veteran contract extensions, with Rockets forward Kevin Durant, Heat guard Tyler Herro, and Hawks guard Trae Young among those we're been monitoring ahead of the 2025/26 season.

However, many of the most viable extension candidates have flown somewhat under the radar this fall, so we want to shine a spotlight on some of those players today. In the space below, we'll take a closer look at five players who are eligible for veteran contract extensions and who could realistically sign new contracts either before opening night or at some point during the season.

Let's dive in...

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Stein’s Latest: Giannis, Westbrook, Mavericks, Referees

October 13th, 2025 at 8:03am CST by Arthur Hill

If Giannis Antetokounmpo is ever traded, it’s more likely to happen during the offseason, Marc Stein of The Stein Line states in his latest Substack column (subscription required). That’s the conclusion Stein reaches after listening to the chatter out of Milwaukee since it was revealed last week that the Bucks and Knicks had trade discussions regarding the Greek superstar during the summer.

Stein cites Antetokounmpo’s response when asked about the rumor, saying that he’s happy in Milwaukee now but could reconsider his stance in “six, seven months.” He also said the idea of forcing a trade is “temptation,” adding that it “starts when the season ends (and lasts) until the season begins.”

Given that background, Stein believes this might be a “make-or-break” season regarding Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks. The front office took a huge gamble over the summer, waiving and stretching Damian Lillard‘s contract to create enough cap space to sign Myles Turner away from Indiana. However, the rest of the roster is virtually the same as it was when the team finished 48-34 last season and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Antetokounmpo has repeatedly expressed his desire to compete for another NBA title and seems likely to revisit the idea of changing teams if Milwaukee can’t make progress toward that goal.

Antetokounmpo’s contract runs through 2026/27, with a $62.8MM player option for the following season. Stein points out that he’s about to enter the first season of a three-year, $175MM extension he agreed to shortly after the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard in 2023.

Stein shares information from around the league:

Russell Westbrook remains a free agent eight days away from the start of the regular season, but he appears very unlikely to continue his career overseas. League sources tell Stein that there have been “zero discussions” about that possibility. A report on Sunday indicated “strong mutual interest” between Westbrook and the Kings, and Stein’s sources say the 36-year-old guard remains focused on his next NBA opportunity, even if it doesn’t come until later in the season.
The Mavericks are expected to play two preseason games at The Venetian Macao resort next October, Stein hears. He adds that team owner Patrick Dumont was instrumental in helping the NBA rebuild its business relationships with China following a 2019 dispute sparked by Daryl Morey’s online support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
NBA referees have been wearing earpieces during the preseason to allow them to communicate easier with each other, Stein adds, and they could become standard equipment when the regular season begins.

Kings Sign, Waive Mitch Mascari, Daniel Batcho

October 13th, 2025 at 7:38am CST by Luke Adams

October 13: Both players have been waived, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

Ocotber 10, 8:00 pm: As expected, Mascari and Batcho have officially signed their non-guaranteed contracts with the Kings, per RealGM’s transaction log.

October 10, 11:51 am: The Kings have reached an agreement to sign free agent shooting guard Mitch Mascari, agent George S. Langberg tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Mascari, who won a pair of NCAA DII championships at Northwest Missouri State in 2021 and 2022, transferred to Drake for his final year of college in 2024/25. The 6’5″ guard averaged 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game across 35 outings last season, knocking down 40.3% of his three-point tries. He played all 40 minutes in Drake’s victory over Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament, racking up four steals in that game.

Mascari suited up for the Suns’ Summer League team in Las Vegas this summer and averaged 1.7 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG in 10.9 MPG in three contests.

While Scotto didn’t provide any details on the agreement, it’s almost certainly an Exhibit 10 contract that will put Mascari in line to be an affiliate player for the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League team. If he spends at least 60 days with Stockton, the undrafted rookie would be eligible to earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth a maximum of $85,300.

Since Sacramento has multiple openings on its 21-man preseason roster, no corresponding move will be necessary to make room for Mascari. According to James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link), expectation is that the move will happen later today, along with the reported signing of Daniel Batcho, with both players waived shortly thereafter.

Shams: Kings, Russell Westbrook Have ‘Strong Mutual Interest’

October 12th, 2025 at 12:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Veteran point guard Russell Westbrook remains an unrestricted free agent after he declined his $3.47MM player option with the Nuggets in June. Throughout the offseason, Westbrook has been repeatedly linked to the Kings, and ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Friday that the two sides continue to have “strong mutual interest” (Twitter video link).

“I’m told there is strong mutual interest between Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings,” Charania said (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). “And the Kings have a need for a reserve point guard. They were 29th in bench points, 29th in bench assists last season. Russell Westbrook helps with that, and he’s got relationships across that organization.

“Domantas Sabonis, he’s close with, played with him. He played with Dennis Schröder as well. DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, they have L.A. ties as well. BJ Armstrong, the new assistant general manager there. He knows BJ Armstrong from the agency side, and he does have respect with Scott Perry, their new general manager, and Doug Christie, their new head coach.

“We’ll see if a deal gets done before the start of the season or during this upcoming year.”

Carmichael Dave of SactownSports.com (Twitter link) posits that there’s about a 70 percent chance that Westbrook will sign with Sacramento at some point, assuming the two sides can figure out the financials.

The plugged-in radio host also hears Westbrook has a lucrative contract offer on the table to play in China, but the former NBA MVP likely wouldn’t go that route until after the All-Star game, which is in his hometown of Los Angeles.

The Kings currently only have 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts, plus Keon Ellis on a non-guaranteed deal and Terence Davis on a training camp pact.

Westbrook, 36, played a significant role for the Nuggets after signing with Denver as a free agent during the 2024 offseason. He averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 27.9 minutes per game across 75 appearances (36 starts) during the regular season, with a .449/.323/.661 shooting line. He also contributed 11.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 3.7 RPG in 13 playoff contests (24.1 MPG).