Category: Sacramento Kings

Are the Kings looking to hire a new head of basketball operations?

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–Just when you thought things were settling down into an end of the season routine, bam! – here comes another rumor out of right field that Kings managing owner Vivek  Ranadive  may be looking to hire someone to head up the basketball operations department. That person would supervise Vlade Divac and the rest of the operations staff according to the rumor mill.

The executive the Kings are targeting may be as much of a surprise as the fact they are looking for additional front office help. The rumors say the Kings are pursuing former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie.

Hinkie has been out of the league for almost a year since the Colangelo’s (Jerry and Bryan)    took over the Philadelphia operation. Hinkie  is known as “the process” for his plans he put together to rebuild the 76ers especially by “tanking”.

Hinkie drafted Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Jahlil Okafor. He also put together a deal with the Sacramento Kings that netted the Sixers Nik Stauskas plus the right to swap first-round picks in 2016 and 2017. The trade also results in Philadelphia receiving the Kings 2019 first-round draft pick. The Kings basically received salary cap relief and the rights to two little known Euro League players.

There have been persistent rumblings that minority owners have been putting pressure on Ranadive to bring in someone with more experience to run the basketball operations. The Kings have been very successful on the business and marketing side under the leadership of Chris Granger. The minority owners are looking for the kind of expertise that Granger brings on the business side to be put in place on the basketball operations side.

Does this story have legs? Six months ago, I would have said no but now I have to say maybe. The team who was never going to trade DeMarcus Cousins did move him and that makes everything fair game in this reporter’s opinion.

As of today, the Kings will two lottery picks in the 2017 NBA Draft. Those picks could determine the success or failure of the team for seasons to come. Having all the experience and expertise in the front office as possible at this critical time for the organization would be a major plus for the Kings.

Sacramento Kings Sunday game wrap: Clips Paul misses jump shot at buzzer gets Kings razor thin win 98-97 at Staples

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Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) reacts with teammate guard Buddy Hield, right, after scoring the go-ahead basket with 1.8 seconds left in an NBA basketball game while Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul look on, Sunday, March 26, 2017, in Los Angeles. The Kings won 98-97. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

By: Jessica Kwong

LOS ANGELES – The struggling Sacramento Kings entered the fourth quarter with a 11-point deficit against the playoffs-bound Los Angeles Clippers. So when 1.8 seconds remained in the game Sunday afternoon and Chris Paul missed a jump shot, handing the Kings a 98-97 victory, Staples Center was shocked.

Sacramento chipped away at the Clippers lead to 97-96 and with 4.9 seconds left, Kings guard Ben McLemore missed a running lay-up. But Kings forward Willie Cauley-Stein got the rebound and scored a put-back lay-up to put his team up by 1 point with only a few seconds to go.

“I just remember taking off and seeing Ben had a lay-up and the only thing I’m thinking is, ‘If this ball comes off, I’ve just got to grab it and put it up,’” Cauley-Stein said of the last Kings possession. “And it just came right to my hands.”

The victory was a bright spot in the Kings’ (28-45) season that’s now focused on developing the young players and anticipating a high draft pick. It hurt the Clippers (44-31), who are chasing the Utah Jazz in hopes of taking fourth place in the Western Conference.

“It’s a bad loss, probably the worst one in the regular season in my career,” said the Clippers’ star point guard Paul. “It’s tough. That was a bad one. That was a bad loss.”

The Kings held their own in the first half.

Though Los Angeles took the lead early on, Tyreke Evans hit a three-pointer that gave Sacramento a 18-17 lead near the end of the first quarter. DeAndre Jordan’s slam dunk to put the Clippers up 20-17 with just under 3 minutes left in the quarter, but Darren Collison answered back with a triple to bring the Kings within 24-22. Then Kings center George Papagiannis made a three-foot lay-up to tie the game at 24 at the end of the first quarter.

Sacramento held on in the second quarter and quickly scored to take a 29-24 lead in the first minute-and-a-half. Clippers forward Anthony Tolliver scored two three-pointers, the second putting his team up 40-33 with less than five minutes in the quarter. But Los Angeles caught up and Paul passed the ball to Jordan for a slam dunk that gave them a 44-42 lead at the half.

The game started getting away from the Kings in the third quarter. A few minutes in, Jordan made a running lay-up and the Clippers took a 54-44 lead. That grew to as much as 17 points when Clippers guard Jamal Crawford scored a triple with 2 minutes and a half remaining.

But Sacramento kept at it. Guards Langston Galloway and Buddy Hield hit some big shots and the Kings cut the Clippers’ lead to 11 points at the end of the quarter.

“It felt like we couldn’t score a basket in the third quarter, but we didn’t put our heads down,” Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger said. “We kept saying we were two baskets down from being 10 down or nine.”

The fourth quarter was looking even worse for the Kings, who trailed by as many as 18 points a few times. Hield, Galloway and Cauley-Stein made several shots to bring the Kings back within single digits and the latter’s lay-up and the Clippers meltdown gave Sacramento the win.

“We didn’t lose hope. You talk about when LG (Langston Galloway), Buddy, Ben, Willie, they didn’t lose hope, not one bit,” Collison said. “They kept pulling and pulling and pulling and eventually got some big threes.”

Collision said beating his former team was “fun.”

“It’s all competition and the Clippers are considered one of the best teams in the NBA,” he said. “Anytime you get to play one of the best teams in the NBA, we definitely want to perform at a high level.”

The Kings return to the Golden 1 Center to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kings go to Golden State University on Friday night losing to Warriors 114-100

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gswtoppix

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings educational tour continued on Friday as they traveled to the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors for the final time this season. The Kings had a chance to split the season series at 2-2 with a victory. The Warriors won the game 114-100 and win the season series three games to one.

The Kings did not go with an all youngster starting lineup

Dave Joerger was not of a mind to just let his team be steamrolled for the sake of learning and falling back in the draft lottery standings. Joerger went with Afflalo, Koufos, Cauley-Stein, Hield and Lawson to open the game.

Sacramento did hold out Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans and Anthony Tolliver for “rest”. The bottom line on those decisions are designed to get the less experienced players more time on the court. With the playoffs out of reach, getting  playing time for younger players in order to evaluate their talent and value to the organization is the priority.

Buddy Hield led the way again for the Kings

gsw hield vs curry
Hield works against Curry Photo: NBAE

Hield had another big night for Sacramento as he finished the game as their leading scorer with 22 points. He shot 7-for-14 (50-percent) overall from the floor and hit 4-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. The rookie out of Oklahoma was perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. He played 33-minutes versus the Warriors.

Hield grabbed eight rebounds, dished out seven assists and had two steals in the game. He continues to show marked improvement in handling the basketball in traffic and passing the ball when open shots are not available.

WCS was efficient on offense

Sacramento Kings v Golden State Warriors
Willie Cauley-Stein works against Curry Photo: NBAE

Cauley-Stein scored 12 points as the starting center playing 27-minutes against Golden State rather than his usual 30-plus minutes of “PT” we have been seeing from him in recent games. He hit 5-of-6 shots from the floor and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. He also recorded four rebounds, two assists and one steal.

That other kid from Kentucky played 27-minutes as well

Rookie Skal Labissiere did not start the game but did play substantial minutes. Labissiere finished with a double-double scoring 10 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. He also distributed eight assists.

Labissiere just keeps doing things that amaze and prove that he deserves to be in a Kings uniform and on the floor playing in NBA games. The future is bright for this rookie and the fans in Sacramento.

“Papa G” spent some valuable time in class

Sacramento Kings v Golden State Warriors
Papa G tries to stop Curry Photo: NBAE

Kings rookie center Georgios Papagiannis received 26-minutes of classroom time on the floor versus the Warriors on Friday night. The big man had times when he looked confident and time when he looked lost. Just what you would expect from a 19-year rookie facing the best team in the NBA.

Papagiannis finished with seven points shooting 3-for-6 from the field and hitting 1-of-1 from the free throw line. He also posted four rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.

Other Kings contributors

Ty Lawson scored 20 points hitting 8-of-9 from the floor. Ben McLemore scored 11, Langston Galloway 8 (they need to find this guy more shots), Garrett Temple 5, Arron Afflalo 3 and Kosta Koufos 2 points.

Sacramento team numbers

The Kings shot an impressive 48.2-percent (40-for-83) from the floor. They had a better 3-point shooting percentage – 47.6-percent – than the Warriors. Both teams sank 10 3-point shots.

Two stats that killed the Kings:

  • Turnovers: Kings 21 that resulted in 36 GSW points; GSW 13 that created seven Kings points
  • Assists: Kings 27 ; Golden State 37 … let that sink in

Streaks

  • Kings: have lost four-in-a-row and are 2-8 in their last 10
  • Warriors: have won six-in-a-row and are 7-3 in their last 10

Up next for SAC

The Kings are back in action on Sunday at 12:30 PM PDT when they will face the LA Clippers at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings Wednesday game wrap: Kings can’t catch up in the end continue free fall in loss to Bucks 116-98

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sacbee.com photo: Kings guard Darren Collison (7) drives to the basket as Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) defends Wednesday night at Golden One Center. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com

By London Marq

SACRAMENTO–The Kings season is all but over when you look at the standings. Since the trade of Demarcus Cousins, Sacramento has been in a free fall, winning only two of their last 13 games that free fall continued Wednesday night in a 116-98 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Golden One Center. In their 36th home game this season, the Sacramento Kings (27-43) host the Milwaukee Bucks (35-35). The upside is all of the young talent the team has acquired over the past two seasons is playing valuable minutes. With the likes of Skal Labissiere and others, the future looks bright for the Kings.

The great Pat Summit once said “you can’t win a game in the first half, but you can lose one.” Through two quarters Milwaukee shot 61% from the floor totaling 69 points, including 12 points off of seven turnovers. The Bucks also capitalized from deep, hitting nine of 18 three pointers. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a monster half against the Kings on both ends of the floor, with 22 points and eight defensive rebounds in the first half alone he finished the game with 32 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The Kings were able score 50 points in those two quarters but their defensive deficiencies were too much to overcome.

As usual, the Kings played efficiently on offense, and dreadfully on defense. After giving up 44 points in the second quarter, they were in a hole too big to get out of. The Kings closed the gap to 11 with 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter but failed to capitalize on the momentum they had gained.

Bucks def. Kings 116-98

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings prepare to host Milwaukee Wednesday; Kings taking a look at draft picks this week

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) reaches for the ball held by Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Saturday, March 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Charlie O on the Sacramento Kings podcast:

1) The Sacramento Kings have a busy week ahead of them.

2) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is saying something has to be done about resting star players- what do you think the league will do?

3) Who are this weeks projected draft picks for Sacramento?

Join Charlie O each week for the Kings podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings host Milwaukee Wednesday night look to draft picks this week

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On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

1) The Sacramento Kings have a busy week ahead of them tell us what is on tap

2) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is saying something has to be done about resting star players- what do you think the league will do?

3) Who are this weeks projected draft picks for Sacramento?
Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Spurs take the Kings to school as they break a two game losing streak

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Sacramento Kings v San Antonio Spurs

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Coach Gregg Popovich is notorious for resting players whenever he decides it is necessary. He does not care what the league, broadcast executives or fans have to say about the practice. A team in the Kings situation is praying that “Pop” will rest a few stars against them.

Unfortunately for the Kings, San Antonio had lost two games in row coming into Sunday’s game, and there was no chance that the Spurs were going to rest anyone unless they had opened up an unbeatable lead. All the Kings could do was suck it up, give it their all and hope to keep the game close to have a chance at the end.

Sacramento came out of the gate starting quickly – something they have not always done this season – and put up 27 points in the first quarter. The Kings held a six point lead after the first 12-minutes.

Coach Pop got his team’s attention in the second quarter and they outscored the Kings 37-22 in the second 12-minutes. The Spurs took a 58-49 lead to the locker room at halftime and they would never look back after that.

The Spurs did not let up after halftime as they put up 41 points to the Kings 25 in the third quarter. After 36 minutes, it was a chance for the Spurs to rest the starters and for the Kings to go to school against a championship team.

Ultimately the Spurs (53-16) won the game 118-102 to drop the Kings record to 27-43 and to 1-2 on this three-game road trip.

Buddy Hield got back on track

Hield did not have the game he wanted to have in OKC on Saturday. On Sunday in the Alamo City, Hield put up 18 points. He shot 8-for-14 from the floor and went hit 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line. Hield also grabbed five rebounds, dished out five assists and made one steal. He played 32-minutes in his start versus the Spurs.

Look out here come those Kentucky guys

Willie Cauley-Stein got the start at forward and took advantage of that opportunity. He scored 18 points to tie Buddy Hield for the team high. WCS also pulled down four rebounds, distributed five assists and had a blocked shot. He shot 5-for-11 from the field and converted 8-of-11 from the free throw line.

Skal Labissiere did not start but he added 14 points. The rookie big man hit 7-of-9 from the floor to go with seven rebounds. Labissiere did all of that in just 23-minutes on the floor.

Papa G grabbed some serious rebounds

Georgios Papagiannis spent 24-minutes in the game versus the Spurs. The big rookie scored just six points going 2-for-7 from the field, but he grabbed 10 rebounds – including four offensive rebounds – in the contest. “Papa G” is getting the opportunity to learn on the job against some of the best players in the NBA.

Temple played well against Kawhi Leonard

Garrett Temple played tough on defense helping to hold Leonard to just 12 points in the game. At the same time, Temple scored 15 points hitting 3-0f-3 from 3-point land. Temple continues to be a solid leader for the Kings.

Kings had some solid team numbers

Sacramento shot a respectable 49.4-percent (41-for-83) from the floor. They shot 7-for-10 (70-percent) from beyond the 3-point line. The Kings had a very acceptable 29 assists to 11 turnovers posting for the game.

Why did the Spurs win

San Antonio scored more points in the paint, had more second chance points and had more fast break points than the Kings. That pretty much guarantees a win for your opposition. In this case, it did.

Up next

The Kings are off until Wednesday when they will host the Milwaukee Bucks at the Golden 1 Center. The Bucks are battling to hold on for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference of the NBA.

 

Kentucky Wildcats players dominate the Kings-Suns game – SAC wins 107-101

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Los Angeles Kings v Phoenix Suns
Chriss and Labissiere go at it in Kings-Suns game Photo NBAE

An NBA game was played on Wednesday night in Phoenix and a Kentucky men’s basketball scrimmage broke out. The Kings featured their Wildcats – Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere. The Suns put the spotlight on their former Kentucky players Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis. Phoenix gave former Wildcat Eric Bledsoe the night off even though he dressed for the game.

The future of these two franchises has been tied together since draft night in June of 2016. Phoenix and Sacramento agreed to a draft night trade that may effect the direction of the two organizations for years to come.

The Kings used their lottery pick to select Marquese Chriss out of the University of Washington and then sent him to Phoenix. In exchange, the Suns sent the Kings two first-round picks and the rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic.

With those draft picks, the Kings selected center Georgios Papagiannis out of Greece and forward Skal Labissiere out of Kentucky. Sacramento knew that Papagiannis was going to be a development project and figured Labissiere would be as well. “Papa G” is developing while Skal is growing by leaps and bounds in every game he plays in for the Kings.

The Suns have also been pleased with the growth of Chriss. He has looked like a 19-year old rookie at times, but Chriss has also had moments of brilliance during the season. Phoenix has every reason to be excited about having him on their roster.

On Wednesday, the game belonged to the Kings and their young big men. Sacramento downed the Suns 107-101 in the “Valley of the Sun” winning their second consecutive game. The Kings were led by the incredible play of rookie forward Skal Labissiere who scored a game-high 32 points and made it a double-double by adding 11 rebounds. He shot a very respectable 11-for-15 from the floor including a 3-point basket.

Fellow Kentucky alum Willie Cauley-Stein came up big again for the Kings versus the Suns as well. He posted a double-double game with 14 points and 11 rebounds. WCS also had five assists, four steals and four blocks.

Rookie shooting guard Buddy Hield had a quiet night as he spent much of his playing time playing defense against the very tough Devin Booker. Booker scored 19 points but he had to take 26 shots to make those points. Hield and Garrett Temple defended Booker well in the game.

Other Kings who contributed: Afflalo 14 points, Koufos 13 points/six rebounds, Ty Lawson 11 points/six assists, Garrett Temple eight points and Langston Galloway played again putting up eight points.

TJ Warren led the Suns scoring attack with 24 points. Booker had 19. Chriss had a big night putting up 17 which is just over twice his season average. Alan Williams had a double-double game with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Tyler Ulis also had a double-double with 13 points and 13 assists.

The Kings are off until Saturday when they will face the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Joerger says discussion wasn’t on the 8 game loss streak but how well the team was playing

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Sacramento Kings forward Anthony Tolliver, left, shoots over Orlando Magic guard Mario Hezonja during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 13, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. The Kings won 120-115. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

The Sacramento Kings had a tremendous losing streak of eight games up until Monday March 18th and it’s not that they hadn’t played well because they had played well on some of those games. The tendency was for the Kings to get out, get leads then lose those leads down in San Antonio which they had a 20 point plus lead and watch that bleed away in the fourth quarter. The Kings are somewhat demoralized it was interesting on Saturday against Denver after the game as head coach Dave Joerger said that everyone seems to be worried about the losing streak “except me and the team.”

The media is talking about it, some of the fans are talking about it and he kind of spoke out against the media on this and said, “that’s because the media is talking about it” every coach is going to give you the red hot poker once in awhile if your in the media, Joerger said “were not talking about it, were talking about how well were playing and how well were learning” and he wasn’t saying how well they didn’t want to win.

Charlie O does the Sacramento Kings podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Sacramento Kings Monday game wrap: Kings use 3-ball to snap skid 120-115 over Orlando

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Sacramento Kings forward Anthony Tolliver, left, goes to the basket against Orlando Magic center Bismack Biyombo during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 13, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. The Kings won 120-115. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

By Jeremy Harness

SACRAMENTO – There is a new kind of feel to this Kings team these days, and that was on full display Monday night.

The Kings have not been a very good 3-point-shooting team, but they found the long ball to be quite an effective weapon for them, making 16 of their 30 shots from 3-point territory, which is good for 53 percent and propelled them to a 120-115 win over the Orlando Magic in front a fully-energized crowd at the Golden 1 Center.

Sacramento also shot 54 percent from the field overall, often finding easy layups and, in Willie Cauley-Stein’s case, going to a jump hook in the lane from about 10 feet out.

That victory could not have come at a much better time, as it broke a debilitating eight-game losing skid.

The Kings rested four of their regulars in Kosta Koufos, Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo and Tyreke Evans on Monday, and not having to worry about being subbed out seemed to really help guys like Willie Cauley-Stein and Darren Collison.

With Koufos out of the lineup, Cauley-Stein settled in and found the aforementioned short jump hook to be a great shot for him, using that to the tune of 18 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go along with seven rebounds.

Collison certainly benefited without having to look over his shoulder, Collison showed his entire skill set against the Magic. He scored 19 points and also handed out a season-high 13 assists and only turned the ball over three times, and he was especially big down the stretch.

His four-point play gave the Kings a 75-73 lead with about 5:30 left in the third quarter, a lead that Sacramento would never relinquish.

He also had a big hand in the Kings keeping that lead. After Orlando erased a one-time 10-point lead to tie the game with 4:50 remaining, he came back down the floor and fed Cauley-Stein for an alley oop to give the lead right back to Sacramento.

Collison was also a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, including key free throws in the final minute when Orlando was forced to play the foul game.

Anthony Tolliver also came up huge down the stretch for the Kings, hitting a gigantic 3-pointer with 43.3 seconds left to give the Kings a 116-112 lead, en route to a 19-point, six-board night. He was particularly feeling himself from behind the 3-point line on Monday, making five of his seven 3-pointers.

The Kings entered Monday’s game with an eight-game losing skid, and they fought back gallantly at the end of the first half to tie the game at 58-58 at the break.

Center Nikola Vucevic scored a game-high 23 points for the Magic, including knocking down all three of his 3-point attempts, giving the true definition of a stretch-five. Even Fournier chipped in with 21 points and nailed a series of corner 3-pointers to help erase Sacramento’s double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

The game was not really secured until the Kings were able to locate Fournier and make sure that he did not get a decent look at long range in the final minute.

If they didn’t out-shoot Orlando, the other stats, which did not favor the Kings, would have made it a difficult game for Sacramento to win. The Kings were out-rebounded 44-40 and turned the ball over twice more. However, the Kings converted Orlando’s 13 turnovers into 18 points while the Magic only got 10 points out of Sacramento’s 15 miscues.