League sources told ESPN on Tuesday that free agent forward Kevon Looney has reached an agreement to re-sign with the Golden State Warriors on a one-year, minimum deal.
This move obviously won’t make national headlines, but this is a great move for the Warriors. Looney started in Game 1 before being replaced by JaVale McGee, who is now a Los Angeles Laker, in Game 2. Looney played 39 minutes in those four games, but just three minutes in the last two after Andre Iguodala returned to the court.
Looney stands at 6’9″ and has a wingspan of 7’4″. He a competent small-ball center who can guard at all five positions. Also, his length allows him to defend and switch guards when necessary. In addition, his ability to defend the rim is pretty good.
Looney grew up in Milwaukee, where he played high school basketball at Alexander Hamilton High School. He went on to play college basketball at UCLA from 2014-15. He was originally selected 30th overall by Golden State in the 2015 NBA Draft. He spent the 2016-17 season with Golden State’s G League team in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Sacramento — The inaugural California Classic NBA basketball showcase began play on Monday night at the Golden 1 Center. The six-game classic is an opportunity for the four teams to prepare for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Breaking news almost overshadowed the games
DeMarcus Cousins is now a Warrior
As the Warriors and Heat were preparing for the first game of the evening’s doubleheader, news broke that former Sacramento Kings star and current free agent DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins had signed a one-year, $5.3-million contract with the Golden State Warriors.
There was a definite buzz that came over the arena as news of the signing spread among the fans. Leave it to “Boogie” to try and steal the Kings thunder.
The good news — it did not take long for the fans to forget about Cousins and start concentrating on basketball.
Kings two “Dukies” made their debut in front of the hometown crowd
Bagley III and Giles III getting ready for the California Classic Photo: @SacramentoKings
The Kings number one draft pick (number two overall) Marvin Bagley III was one of the starting forwards versus the Lakers in the second game on Monday night. He was joined on the front line by center and former Duke player Harry Giles III. Giles was “redshirted” last season while he completed bi-lateral rehabilitation.
The number two lottery selection in the NBA Draft is expected to be an immediate impact player, so the near-sellout crowd was ready to Bagley perform right from the opening tip. The word about Giles and his performance in workouts was so positive that many fans could not wait to see him in actual competition.
The two former Blue Devils did not disappoint.
Bagley III scored his first points at 6:58 in the first quarter when he hit a seven-foot fadeaway shot. Giles III got into the act 24-seconds later when he finished a fastbreak with a layup off an assist from Frank Mason. Giles started the fastbreak opportunity when blocked a 3-point shot attempt by Moritz Wagner.
Not to be outdone, Bagley III came back seconds later with a monster dunk on a fastbreak of his own. About a minute later, Bagley would sink a 26-foot 3-point shot. Yes, the big home crowd was going wild.
Frankly, my focus for the majority of the game was on Bagley III and Giles III. We had not had a chance to see the two players in action and this was a chance to really focus on their skills.
What did we learn about Harry Giles III?
First, Harry Giles III is a very tough, physical player. After being out for an entire season, there was a possibility he could have been a bit cautious getting back into action. The exact opposite happened. Giles looked like a man who was hungry to get into action and mix it up.
Giles III played physical with and without the ball. He left no doubt that he was on the floor for any Laker that had to play against him on Monday night. Giles III committed six personal fouls (players get 10 this time of year) in the game and some of them were very physical.
Giles III scored 13 points shooting 6-for-10 from the floor. He hit 1-of-2 3-point shots. Even though he played a very physical game, Giles III did not go to the free throw line once in 25-minutes of playing time. He grabbed three rebounds, had one steal and one blocked shot.
It was a nice professional debut for Mr. Giles III.
— Sports Radio Service (@SportsRadioSrvc) July 3, 2018
Marvin Bagley III is going to be a tough guy on the court
The Kings top draft choice made his presence known early in the game. He is not shy. Bagley III is into the game and very demonstrative about it. He is very active on the floor and does not appear to have any fear about mixing it up with opposing players.
At one point in the game, Bagley III made a move to the basket leading with his right shoulder. He did not make the shot but did go to the line to shoot free throws. The defender was left clutching his chest in pain after taking “the bump” to clear him out before Bagley III made his move to the hoop.
Bagley III posted 18 points in just under 26 minutes on the floor. He shot 6-for-11 overall and hit 1-of-2 from downtown. Bagley — who has not been know as a great free throw shooter — went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also hauled in six rebounds and blocked three shots.
In his first professional game, Marvin Bagley III performed as advertised, and that is a good thing.
— Sports Radio Service (@SportsRadioSrvc) July 3, 2018
Oh by the way … the Kings won the game
The Lakers can only watch as the Kings put the ball through the twine Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
The Kings beat the Lakers 98-93 on Monday night. It is important to remember that the rosters of these teams are made up of first-year players, rookies, G-League players and undrafted free agents. These are young players that the teams want to get experience plus players they may be considering for “two-way” contracts or for their G-League teams.
De’Aaron Fox — who will not play in the Las Vegas Tournament — was the leading scorer for Sacramento. He recorded 23 points, had eight rebounds, dished out six assists and made three steals. Fox shot 9-for-15 from the field but went just 1-for-6 from long-range. He went to the free throw line six times and converted five of those opportunities.
Frank Mason also had a very good game for SAC scoring 16 points. He hit 4-of-7 shooting and sank 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Mason also took advantage of the free throw line dropping in 6-of-7 shots from the line.
The Lakers were led by Moritz Wagner and Josh Hart who each scored 23 points in the contest. Svi Mykhalliuk added 15 points of his own.
This contest also featured two technical fouls charged to the Lakers. A Flagrant 1 Foul charged to Frank Mason and an ejection to one of the Lakers leading scorers — John Hart.
These young players have a great deal on the line, so they are willing to play with reckless abandon.
Golden State vs. Miami
The Warriors Damian Jones grabs one of his six rebounds Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
The Heat and the Warriors played in the first game of the doubleheader on Monday night. Golden State won the game 79-68. Kendrick Nunn led the Warriors scoring attack with 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Derrick Jones, Jr. was the leading scorer for the Heat and the game. He also recorded a double-double posting 24 points and 11 rebounds.
The schedule for Tuesday night
The Lakers and Heat will faceoff at 6:00 PM. The Warriors and the Kings will meet in the nightcap will tip-off at approximately 8:00 PM.
The Los Angeles Lakers might’ve took the basketball world by storm in the past few days, but the Golden State Warriors showed the Southern California team that they were going to make some shocking moves of their own.
League sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that center DeMarcus Cousins, also known as “Boogie,” has agreed to a one-year, $5.3 million deal with the Warriors. The 27-year-old last played for the New Orleans Pelicans from 2017-18.
Cousins began his NBA career in 2010 when the Sacramento Kings selected him with the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft. The four-time NBA All-Star played for the Kings from 2010-17.
Cousins played just one season at the University of Kentucky from 2009-10, where the Wildcats men’s basketball team made it to the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, before he forwent the remaining three years of college eligibility to enter the 2010 NBA Draft.
The Warriors now have a fifth star in Cousins. Although Warriors star Steph Curry has lightheartedly joked about Cousins as the “3rd Splash Brother” on Twitter, it’s too early to tell if Cousins will make a significant splash in Oakland. After all, Cousins is still going through his continuous recovery following a season-ending surgery for a torn left Achilles sustained on January 28th.
As if the addition of LeBron James wasn’t enough, the Los Angeles Lakers continued to fill out a new supporting cast around the Akron, Ohio, native with free agent center JaVale McGee, who reportedly agreed to a one-year, $2.4 million minimum deal, according to league sources who told ESPN’s Chris Haynes.
Free agent center JaVale McGee and Los Angeles Lakers have reached an agreement on a deal, league sources tell ESPN.
McGee last played for the Golden State Warriors, where he won two back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018. Before joining the winning squad, the Flint, Mich., native played for the Dallas Mavericks from 2015-16, Philadelphia 76ers in 2015, Denver Nuggets from 2012-15 and Washington Wizards from 2008-2012.
McGee was initially drafted 18th overall by the Wizards in the 2008 NBA Draft. He played college basketball at the University of Nevada, Reno, from 2006-08.
nba.com photo: LeBron James as a Laker in painted form is up for a four year stint with the Lakers
By Joe Hawkes Beamon and Jerry Feitelberg
The much anticipated moment is over as predicted LeBron James has signed a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers as the Lakers try to light the fuse on a franchise that has lagged since superstar Kobe Bryant retired. The Lakers have not been in the playoffs since 2013.
James, who has played most of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, will leave the team for the second time the first time was when he left for the Miami Heat. LeBron will be entering his 16th NBA season with three NBA Championship rings and four MVPs under his belt. LeBron is confident he can help establish some headway with the Lakers to make them great again.
After this last season’s Championship Final against Golden State, James looked to cry “Uncle” and wanted a change of scenery and looks at the Lakers as an organization that will build toward an NBA Championship Finals team. James makes L.A. his offseason home.
The Lakers are a young team the average player’s age is 25, James (33) will almost be like a player-coach with the young guys on the floor but he will seek assurances from the Lakers organization to get two or three veterans to make that extra push to get the Lakers to be a deep playoff team.
With the signing of James, Kawhi Leonard has expressed interest in joining the Lakers after he said he was no longer going to play for the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard could very well be one of the key building blocks the Lakers are looking towards in getting some experience on their roster.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is reportedly finalizing a lucrative contract extension.
Kerr is entering the final season of the five-year, $25 million deal that he originally signed in May 2014. He led the Warriors to the NBA Finals every season during his tenure thus far. He delivered three out of four NBA championships.
When Kerr was initially hired, he told NBA.com that going to the Warriors “just felt like the right move on many levels.” That was the correct feeling as Kerr has been at the center of what many would describe as a new dynasty in the Bay Area.
Over the past four years, the Warriors have averaged 66 wins per season, seen two Kia MVP seasons from Stephen Curry, utilized a successful system that landed Kevin Durant in 2016, produced several individual NBA All-Star appearances and three NBA championship trophies.
Kerr currently has a 265-63 regular season record and a 63-20 postseason record, the best marks among NBA coaches since he joined the Warriors.
Intense Marvin Bagley III on the court at Duke Photo: @sacramentokings
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings did not go off script on Thursday in the 2018 NBA Draft. When it was time for them to make the number two overall selection in the draft, the Kings wasted no time taking power forward Marvin Bagley III, a freshman from Duke. At 6-foot-11 and 234 pounds, Bagley is the prototype of the new big man in the NBA.
Bagley was a 2017-18 consensus First Team All-American. He was named NABC National Freshman of the Year and NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year. Bagley was named to the All-ACC Academic Team.
“I’m just too excited right now,” Bagley said after being selected by the Kings. “I can’t even describe the feeling I’m feeling right now. A lot of emotions running through me, seeing my family out there, happy for me, and friends that came. This has been great.”
“I’m super excited to get started with this franchise and keep it going and keep building,” said the newest member of the Sacramento Kings.
— Sports Radio Service (@SportsRadioSrvc) June 22, 2018
Bagley by the numbers in 2017-18
Played 33 games
Averaged 33.9 minutes per game
Averaged 21.0 points per game
61.4 field goal shooting percentage (hitting 270-of-440 attempts)
39.7 percent 3-point shooter (23-for-58)
62.7 free throw shooting percentage (131-of-209)
11.1 rebounds per game
1.5 assists per game, 0.8 steals per game, 0.9 blocks per game
More on Bagley III
Playing with intensity Photo: @DukeMBB
Bagley is one of three players in ACC history to lead the league in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. The other two players were Clemson’s Horace Grant and Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan (that’s not bad company).
Second player in ACC history to be named both ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
Set the Duke record for points, scoring average, rebounds, rebounding average, double-doubles, 30-point games and 20/10 games.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Runs the floor well, which leads to easy baskets
Good finisher in a crowd and can elevate for lobs (that should make D’Aaron Fox happy)
Finishes strong around the basket and possesses a soft touch
Can play facing the basket and has a nice shooting range
Weaknesses
He is not a great defender — has a tendency to be a “ball watcher”
Bagley is lefthand dominate and almost always finishes on his left. That will have to change at the next level.
He has a flat jumper and hits only 39.7-percent from 3-point range.
Bagley is just a 62.7-percent free throw shooter (a potential “hack-a-player” candidate)
Who does Bagley compare to?
The experts say Bagley III is very comparable to Amar’e Stoudemire. He can run the floor, do damage at the basket and struggles on defense.
Stoudemire is still playing in Israel Photo: @Amareisrael
Kings Second-Round Pick: So long!
The Kings drafted Duke guard Gary Trent Jr. with the number 37 overall pick in the draft and within five minutes traded him to Portland for two future second-round draft selections.
The 2018 NBA Draft was held on Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. As usual, the draft changes the lives of many college and maybe even high school basketball players each year. That’s almost certain unless if the young prospect turns out to be a draft bust, which is something that nobody wants, but is an inevitable situation in life.
Anywho, the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings were on the board, so let’s see who these two Bay Area teams selected using their respective picks.
First Round Kings The Kings had the second overall pick and they used it on Marvin Bagley III, a power forward who grew up in Tempe, Az., and played college basketball at Duke for just one season from 2017-18. In 2018, he was a Consensus First-Team All-American, First-Team All-ACC, and ACC Player of the Year. He also won the Pete Newell Big Man Award. In 2017, he was named to the First-Team All-USA TODAY.
Side Note: Bagley III was selected behind his former high school teammate, Deandre Ayton (center; power forward), in the draft.
Warriors The Warriors selected Jacob Evans (shooting guard) with the 28th overall pick. He played college basketball at the University of Cincinnati from 2015 to 2018. He finished his college career with 1,233 career points. He was also named to the First-Team All-AAC.
— Cincinnati Men’s Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) June 22, 2018
Side Note: Evans declared for the 2018 NBA Draft, but didn’t hire an agent to help him out.
Second Round Kings It was a Blue Devil kind of night of the Kings, who selected Gary Trent Jr. (shooting guard) with the 37th overall pick. Like Bagley, Trent Jr. played college basketball at Duke for just one season from 2017-18. In 2017, he was selected as a McDonald’s All-American and played in the Jordan Brand Classic. In 2015, he was the FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship MVP.
Side Note: Gary Trent Jr. is the son of retired pro basketball player Gary Trent, who played in the NBA from 1995-2004, Greece’s Panellinios B.C. from 2004-05 and 2006-07, and Italy’s UniCusano Roma in 2005.
Notes Warriors’ JaVale McGee will be at Levi’s Bay Area store on Friday from 12-1 pm on behalf of his Juglife Water Foundation and ahead of the Water For Life Charity Softball Game.
#1 The Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo launched the Cubs into a five-run 11th inning that put the Cubs in first place.
#2 The Arizona Diamondbacks, who struggled to hold onto first place, scored nine unanswered runs after a hit by pitch.
#3 The Seattle Mariners’ Nelson Cruz hit two home runs and Wade LeBlanc went five solid innings in the M’s win over the Los Angles Angels 5-3 Monday night.
#4 The Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts is back from the DL and pitcher Steven Wright, who continued his scoreless pitching streak at 22 2/3, as the Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles 2-0.
#5 Finally, in basketball, the Golden State Warriors are hosting the World Championship parade in downtown Oakland.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the MLB Hispanic Heritage Museum, the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
As basketball fans wait for the Friday night tipoff for Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors fans got some good news as All-Star forward Kevin Durant confirmed in an interview with Rachel Nichols of ESPN that he’ll re-sign with Oakland this summer.
Right now, Durant is wrapping up his first year of a two-year, $51 million contract with the Warriors that includes an opt-out clause for the 2018-19 NBA season.
Durant told ESPN, “I’m planning on staying with the Warriors, and we’ll figure the rest out.”
Durant accepted $10 million less than what he could’ve earned in a maximum salary during the 2017-18 NBA season. There weren’t any incentives for Durant to take a reduction in pay, but he took it anyways.
Durant has been the difference maker on the Warriors. Well, at least in Game 3 anyway. In case you missed it, the 29-year-old recorded 43 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. 12 of those 43 points came from three-pointers from 30-plus feet.
Even LeBron James had something good to say about Durant’s stellar performance on Wednesday night.
James told ESPN, “Kevin Durant is one of the best players I’ve ever played against, that this league has ever seen.”
Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman are expected to go over the possible contract scenarios at the end of the Warriors’ postseason run.
Sports Radio Service 