Update: Evans (knee) is expected to be available for Wednesday’s game against the Raptors, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Dec 032012
Nov 242012
Update: Williams (foot) will sit out Saturday’s game against the Kings, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Nov 132012
The NBA Players Association is appealing Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins’ two-game suspension, the Sacramento Bee reported Monday.
Jul 162012
The Sacramento Kings have reached an agreement on a two-year deal with free agent guard Aaron Brooks, the Sacramento Bee reported Monday.
Jul 082012
The Sacramento Kings and restricted free agent forward Jason Thompson are close to a new deal, according to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones.
#NBAKings are close to an agreement on a new contract with PF Jason Thompson according to a source.
— JasonJones (@mr_jasonjones) July 8, 2012
Details of the deal are not known, but Jones did tweet earlier in the week that sources told him the deal was worth more than six million dollars in its first year.
Thompson started 47 games for the Kings last season, averaging 9.1 points and 6.9 rebounds game while shooting a team high 53.5 percent from the field. He was the 12th overall pick by Kings in 2008.
While Thompson was a restricted free agent and the Kings would have the right to match any contract offered him, General Manager Geoff Petrie still said re-signing Thompson was the team’s top priority in free agency, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
Should the deal with Thompson be finalized, it likely takes the Kings out of contention for Orlando Magic forward Ryan Anderson, who met with the Kings last week. If Thompson re-signs, the Kings would have 13 players officially under contract, including forward Thomas Robinson, the No. 5 overall pick in this years’ NBA Draft.
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Jul 082012
Sacramento Kings‘ starting point guard Isaiah Thomas will forgo the upcoming Summer League games to finish his degree at the University of Washington, giving second-year guard Jimmer Fredette some extra opportunities to improve this offseason, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reported.
Fredette—who was the Kings’ first round draft pick in 2011 after leading the NCAA Division I men’s basketball in scoring at Brigham Young University—had a lackluster rookie season in which he struggled to control the ball and was a liability on defense.
In fact, the guy drafted 50 picks after him—Thomas—finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 25:30 minutes per game, 11.5 points per game and 4.1 assists per game compared to Fredette’s averages of 18:36, 7.6 and 1.8.
And while the lockout took away to ton of offseason games and team activities last year that can be helpful to the transition of rookie players, keep in mind that Thomas—and all other rookies—were in the same boat as Fredette.
So with Fredette and center Hassan Whiteside being the only returning Kings players on the Summer League roster, Fredette will get five pre-training camp games as the Kings’ starting point guard to work on his ball-handling and confidence in order to improve before next season.
And the Kings need him to.
The Kings have a roster that is filled with young talent, but they have struggled to find point guards who can consistently create shots for others before looking for their own. They finished 26th in assists per game last year.
While Thomas emerged as the Kings’ starting point guard mid-season, when he went to the bench the Kings were often left scratching their heads as to who should run the point.
Guard-forward Tyreke Evans led the team in assists per game at 4.5—largely because Thomas started the year behind Fredette in the rotation—but was moved to the small forward position to fill a team need and because he often settled for bad shots over moving the ball around.
Guard Marcus Thornton led the Kings in scoring last season, but when the ball was in his hands he was expected to score first and pass second—he averaged a mere 1.9 assists per game.
Guard-forwards John Salmons and Terrence Williams also spent time bringing the ball up court last season, but neither is a natural point guard.
And with only two roster spots available for the upcoming season—with restricted free-agent forward Jason Thompson possibly being one of the two if he accepts the Kings’ offer sheet—and approximately $15 million in cap space, it’s not likely the Kings will acquire another point guard in the offseason unless a trade is involved.
So this could be a big offseason for Fredette.
The Kings need another point guard to back up Thomas.
It would make life much easier for the Kings and allow them to focus their limited resources on other team needs if Fredette could consistently and effectively fill that role.
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Jun 282012
According to ESPN.com, sources say Houston is interested in moving up in the draft and have discussed a package to deal point guard Kyle Lowry and picks for the No. 5 overall selection.
The biggest buzz in the run up to the NBA draft has been the Houston Rockets desire to trade for Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.
They have already made a move to inch their way up to the No. 12 overall pick, dealing Samuel Dalembert to Milwaukee to secure that pick.
They already have the Nos. 16 and 18 overall picks, and presumably, they would package some or all of those picks to move up.
If Lowry indeed is involved in this deal, then chances are the Kings could choose to move disenfranchised guard Tyreke Evans.
A precipitous fall
A lot has changed since since 2010.
That year, Evans burst onto the NBA landscape like a hungry predator, feasting on opposing guards with his impressive quickness and tremendous upper body strength.
He scored 20 points per game as a rookie and dished out more than five assists to go with more than five rebounds per contest.
Kings fans were ecstatic about the direction of their team with Evans at the helm.
What followed were two lackluster seasons in which the team struggled with its own identity.
Evans was often criticized for questionable decisions and a tendency to try to do too much.
His jump shot suffered, and with it, so too did his numbers. Across the board, all of his numbers have gone down, most notably his scoring, which was just over 16 points per contest last year.
Add to that the emergence of Isaiah Thomas at the point, the drafting of Jimmer Fredette and the fact that the team has taken the ball-handling responsibilities out of Evans’ hands and moved him to small forward, and you have what appears to be a team looking to deal their promising guard.
The market for Evans
According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, the Kings would not be short of suitors should they look to deal the maligned guard.
And even after some struggles the last two seasons I’m told there are still as many as 11 teams that expressed interest in Evans, so he does have value.
There are a number of teams that could use a bigger scoring guard.
Philadelphia, Memphis, Houston, Utah, Atlanta and Portland could all be some of those teams, although Jones did not elaborate on which 11 teams were in the mix.
It is safe to say, however, that Evans’ combination of youth and skill could leave some teams salivating.
Conclusion
It seems likely that the Kings will make a move tonight. The Rockets have been bird-dogging their No. 5 overall pick, and the Kings have been predictably mum about who they have designs on regarding this pick.
If they decide to make a move, Evans likely won’t be a part of any initial trade.
Rather, based on what they do, they could use Evans as a bargaining chip down the road, perhaps even later this summer.
Evans has plenty of value, and given that he only has a contract that is worth $5.2 million next year and has a qualifying offer the next season of just under $7 million, he would be a value financially.
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Jun 272012
With the 2012 NBA Draft less than 24 hours away, the Sacramento Kings have a lot of thinking to do before using their fifth pick on Thursday.
The biggest holes in the Kings‘ starting lineup last season were at small forward and power forward, and with two out of the three draft picks being used on guards last year, it’s likely the Kings will be thinking a little “bigger” with their first pick this year.
However, the Kings also had the youngest team in the league last season which makes a high lottery pick a valuable trading piece if their goal is to get a veteran.
Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee reported that the Kings would entertain trade offers for Tyreke Evans this summer, which also makes you wonder if he and the fifth pick could be packaged up for a veteran and a lower first rounder.
Assuming the Kings don’t trade their first pick, let’s take a look at the five players the Kings are most likely to draft with it.
Jun 132012
The Sacramento Kings was never the best place for Tyreke Evans.
The former No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft has played three positions since being drafted out of Kentucky and has seen his numbers decline each year since winning the 2010 Rookie of the Year award.
His points-per-game average has dropped from 20 to 17 to 16, his rebounds from 5.3 to 4.8 to 4.6, and his assists from 5.8 to 5.6 to 4.5. His shooting percentage has fluctuated and, no, he still can’t hit a three.
According to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, the Kings are actually willing to listen to offers for their former budding star: “Kings executives will entertain trade offers for Tyreke Evans this summer, and they should.”
She’s right, and it’s the best move for Evans, too.
Just as recently as this week, another Sacramento Bee writer, Jason Jones, says the Kings are “reluctant” to extend Evans’ deal. He’s entering the final year of his contract and he could walk at season’s end.
While Evans has struggled to find an identity in the NBA, the Kings have only made matters worse. They’ve been unable to surround him with legitimate talent and they’re doing nothing to help him develop.
At only 22 years old, Evans is still extremely young and full of potential and, as of now, still holds a good amount value on the market.
As to where he goes depends heavily upon what position a team thinks he can play. Evans isn’t used to working without the basketball, but he’s not a true point guard.
He has so many positives to his game, but he offers just as many question marks, and at times negatives, as well.
So far the Kings have done nothing but waste time on the potential superstar, and it may be time to cut the cord. If they can find a deal worthy of his potential (which means it should still be a hefty price), they should seriously consider making the move.
Sooner than later the decision will have to be made whether to keep him in for the long haul, but the Kings can control the situation by working on it now.
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Jun 122012
NBA commissioner David Stern said on Tuesday that NBA owners would not support a relocation by the Sacramento Kings to Anaheim if the Kings decided to file for relocation.
From Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports:
Stern says owners wouldn’t approve move of Kings to Anaheim if such was on table and Kings owners plan on staying in Sacramento.
SI.com’s Sam Amick published the direct quote from the commissioner.
NBA Commissioner David Stern weighs in on Sacramento situation with very interesting take. When asked if there’s a scenario in which the team could still stay, & also asked whether the Board of Governors would support a move to Anaheim currently, he said, “If there was a vote now, there would be no support for a move. And I believe the ownership says they’re planning to stay there. On other situations, I might hazard a guess or a prognostication. On this one, I’m out of the business—for now.”
The Kings’ majority owners, the Maloof brothers, have said repeatedly since the Sacramento arena deal fell through months ago that they would not look to move the team.
“That’s not true, that’s not true. I swear that is not going to happen,” said Joe Maloof in an interview with the Sacramento Bee. In the interview, he also insisted that the team was not up for sale.
The city of Sacramento, led by Major Kevin Johnson, voted on and passed an arena deal in March that originally had the support of both the Kings and the city of Sacramento. The deal fell apart a month later when the Kings expressed concerns about multiple aspects of the plan.
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