Matt Barnes was added to the Kings roster to give them some toughness and to take some pressure off All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins. People avoided using the word but the fact is Barnes was brought in to be an “enforcer”. That’s a title the NBA avoids while the NHL has accepted the role and title for years.
Barnes had also played for head coach Dave Joerger in Memphis which set him up to help interpret Joerger’s philosophy and actions to his new teammates. Add in Barnes ability to be a force on offense or defense as needed and it is easy to see why the Kings added him to the roster.
The fact that Barnes is a Sacramento product didn’t hurt his value to the Kings. Local hard-core fans followed Barnes because he was a Del Campo High School player – he was like their own personal connection to “the association”. Now Barnes would become their personal tie to the Kings.
Things started off great. Barnes took on the older brother role for the team. When things were not going well, Barnes would have the press corps come to him to ask questions and get answers. It was all going well until a fateful night in Manhattan when Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins were supposedly involved in a fight inside a trendy nightclub following a Kings loss to the Knicks.
Since that time, Barnes has not been able to be that force in the locker room with the press he once was before the NYC incident. He continued to play at a high level on the court even after having to return to New York to be charged with a misdemeanor.
Now, Cousins is gone and making the playoffs is no longer the number one priority. Remaking the team and culture is the new agenda for the Kings; therefore, Matt “the enforcer” Barnes is no longer needed in Sacramento.
With Kings paying the bulk of his salary, expect a team fighting to make the playoffs or looking to move up in the seeding to “rent” Barnes’ services for the remainder of the season and playoffs.
SACRAMENTO–An NBA organization that was already labeled “unstable” just became more unstable in the minds of owners, managers, coaches, players, agents and fans with the sudden and surprising trade of All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. The trade came on the heels of Vlade Divac – vice president and general manager of the Kings – telling ESPN that his team was about to sign Cousins to a 5-year, $200-million plus deal.
Cousins appeared to be excited about the possibilities of staying in Sacramento long-term. Cousins told ESPN, “I’m very happy. It’s where I want to be. I think we’re on the right path this season. We’re playing the best basketball of the season so far. Our team is extremely confident. We believe we can make this push and make it happen. We’ve been preaching it all year. It’s on us to make it happen.”
At the All-Star Break, the Kings are just 1.5 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot behind the Denver Nuggets. Fans in Sacramento – who have not seen a playoff game in 10 long years – have been be anticipating a first-round match-up between the Kings and the Golden State Warriors. Kings fans hold no illusions about beating the Warriors but what a return to the playoffs that would be for the loyal supporters of the team.
Now, it’s shock and awe time for Sacramento fans once again. Cousins is gone and so are the playoffs. The team now has more shooting guards than any organization can use. Management’s credibility is totally destroyed around “the association”and that credibility was almost no existent before this fiasco. Remember last summer, top rated draft prospects would not even come to Sacramento for workouts.
The Kings need an experienced general manager
The time has come to promote Vlade Divac to president of basketball operations and let him handle things at a 10,000 foot level while he learns the intricacies of running the day to day operations of an NBA team (see the Philadelphia transaction that the Kings came out on the short end of). An experienced GM could also groom Peja Stojakovic in the area of player development. By all reports, the Kings scouting department needs a boost as well.
Divac and Stojakovic are smart guys who have played the game at the highest level. Now, they need to learn how to manage the game at the highest level. It’s like when they were young players. They need guidance.
Sacramento can also help make a social impact in “the association”
Troy Weaver Asst. GM OKC Thunder
While bringing in experienced management to help Divac and Stojakovic, the Kings could also be a part of making a major impact in the NBA. In a June 2016 article in The Undefeated, Marc Spears pointed out that there is “a distressing lack of black leadership in the NBA”. He also reference a 2015 survey that 74.4-percent of the players in “the association” were black while there was one African-American team president, two African-American general managers and one native African general manager among the 30 teams.
A prime time target for the Kings should be Oklahoma City Thunder assistant general manager Troy Weaver. Weaver – who is an African-American – has been interviewed for the top job by several teams but has never received the call. Weaver is known for his strong scouting abilities which the Kings need. As the story goes, he led the charge to take the chance on Russell Westbrook. As an assistant coach at Syracuse he helped to recruit Carmelo Anthony. Weaver has been an assistant coach and recruiter at the college level. He has been a scout and director of player personnel for the Utah Jazz as well working for the Thunder.
An experienced executive like Weaver would have to have real decision making power to lead and set the direction for the Kings. He would also need some time. Unfortunately, the Cousins transaction means a return to a dependence on newly drafted players to make an immediate impact for the team. That usually does not have positive results as rookies have to learn how to play in the league. Time is needed to develop a team while time without wins and trips to the playoffs is the enemy of marketing and ticket sales.
The team has made some solid decisions
Hiring Dave Joerger as head coach has been one of the best decisions the Kings have made in recent memory. After the turbulent rule of George Karl, Joerger has calmed the locker room, won the respect of the players (including the now departed DeMarcus Cousins) and worked hard on developing young talent (see the resurgence of Ben McLemore). Joerger has also been a master at making adjustments as he has lost players to injury. Now, he has to make an adjustment for the loss of an All-Star center and his regular double-double games.
The Kings number one priority must be establishing stability in the basketball operations. They have done a great job of doing that on the business side which is why the team has doubled in value to just over $1-billion. Now they must achieve excellence on the basketball court.
SACRAMENTO–The DeMarcus Cousins era in Sacramento has apparently come to an end. Multiple reports have Cousins going to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for shooting guard Buddy – “the Nutcracker”- Hield, guard (and former King) Tyreke Evans, shooting guard Langston Galloway plus a future first-round and second-round draft pick.
Buddy Hield goes to the hoop
“The Woj” of The Vertical was the first to send the rumors of the possible trade up the wires earlier on Sunday. Most of the reaction to the rumor was negative based on Vlade Divac’s statements to ESPN last week on the Kings intentions to sign Cousins to a long-term extension and the fact that Sacramento is still in contention for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
As the day progressed and the All-Star Game got underway, the rumors of a Cousins trade continued to heat up. Where it had just been New Orleans as a possible destination, there then became rumors that other teams were vying for Cousins. As time passed, the story began “to grow legs”.
Tyreke Evans is coming back to Sacramento
Adding fuel to the fire was the limited amount of playing time that Cousins saw in the All-Star Game. Cousins played just two minutes and scored three points.
It would appear that the Kings have moved into a rebuilding mode. If they hold unto the number 10 or better lottery draft pick, the Kings will retain that selection rather than having to send that pick to the Chicago Bulls. The upcoming draft has been deemed one of the most star-studded in years. The trade would indicate that the Kings want to participate in the draft process.
Do not forget that Sacramento hedged their bets by sending Marquese Chriss to Phoenix for the rights to shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic who is currently playing in Turkey. He is seen as a potential impact player in the NBA.
Bogdan Bogdanovic will be a King next season
This certainly marks a major change in philosophy for the Kings. Up until now, it has been “all Boogie – all the time”. Now, it’s a clean slate. What kind of team do the Kings want to build? Vivek Ranadive was a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors and loves their style of play. Who doesn’t love the Warriors style?
All change is crisis. So, the Kings are in the middle of another major crisis. They have to justify to their long-suffering fans why they did an about-face and dropped out of the playoff race while jettisoning their only legitimate All-Star player.
I would not want to be an account representative having to call season ticket holders for renewal orders on Monday. When those current season ticket holders ask what are the Kings plans for the future, the answer at this point is probably an honest … I’m not sure.
There is one constant that has not changed. The Sacramento Kings are never boring. They are never easy to understand, but they are never, never boring.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) argues with a referee after a technical foul against the Sacramento Kings in the first half of an NBA game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. Green would be ejected for a second technical foul. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By: Eric He
The Sacramento Kings entered halftime ahead 50-47 on the Warriors. By the time the third quarter ended, they were trailing 89-65,“It was a terrible first half for us all the way around and it obviously didn’t help that we were coming out without Draymond,” said Stephen Curry who scored 13 points and was doubled teamed at times to help control is point total.
The Kings were blitzed by the NBA’s best team on the road on Wednesday night in a 109-86 defeat. The Warriors outscored the Kings 42-15 in the third, where Klay Thompson scored ten of his game-high 35 points.“But we didn’t want to go into the break with anything but a win and we needed to find energy and respond.” said Curry
Sacramento was led by Matt Barnes’ 15 points, but the Kings only got 13 points from DeMarcus Cousins. Five players did finish in double figures, though, as the Kings actually started strong in the first half.
They hung tight after the Warriors jumped out to a 21-12 lead, coming back to take an advantage into halftime.
But bolstered by an ejection to Draymond Green — who became upset after a foul call — the Warriors stormed back for an easy win. The Warriors Patrick McCaw filled the bill although scoring only four points he was crucial on defense said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, “McCaw was amazing,” said coach Steve Kerr. “He had a ton of deflections, he was all over the place and just seemed to be in the middle of every play defensively. Even if his offensive numbers don’t show it, he had a huge impact on that game.”
“We knew it would happen,” Cousins told reporters. “It was all downhill from there. We just don’t respond well to that, that last hit.”
The Kings entered the game winners of four straight, but ran into a Warriors squad that was just too much to handle.
They hit the All-Star break with a 24-33 record, on the outskirts of the Western Conference playoff picture behind the Nuggets. They will face Denver in their first game back from the break at home on the 23rd.
Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins, right, drives past Los Angeles Lakers’ Larry Nance Jr. during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Los Angeles. The Kings won 97-96. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
By: Eric He
LOS ANGELES–Lou Williams missed a game-winning shot at the buzzer as the Kings held off the Lakers for a slim one-point win on the road on Tuesday, 97-96.
DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 40 points and he scored the Kings’ last 10 points to seal the win for Sacramento. The Kings blew a 13-point fourth quarter llead, but were resilient and bounced back despite the Lakers tying the game several times.
Williams had hit two three-pointers late to even the score, the latter with 30 seconds left to tie the game at 96-96. A free throw by Cousins gave the Kings a one-point lead, and Williams’ missed shot at the buzzer ended the contest.
The Kings led 43-41 at halftime, and gained separation in the second half, though the Lakers made a comeback.
Besides Cousins’ 40, Darren Collison and Ben McLemore both contributed 13 points.
“This was actually a big win for us, believe it or not” Collison said. “We didn’t lose focus. Normally in the past we will lose focus and we won’t come out with that same urgency that we did after we win a few games.”
The Lakers gave into the fact it was a hard effort but time ran out and the Lakers Julius Randle who scored 11 and said they had their chances and cut it real close but just couldn’t seal the deal, “We gave ourselves a chance,” said Randle, who also collected seven rebounds. “The second unit did a good job of coming back, making a run in the end. We had a chance, but it just didn’t go our way.”
The Kings have now won four in a row going into Wednesday night’s tilt against the Warriors at Oracle Arena.
Portland Trail Blazers center Mason Plumlee (24) dunks in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams, right, in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
The Sacramento Kings are currently tied for ninth in the Western Conference standings which puts them one position out of the playoffs. Their tied with Portland, they are two games behind Denver whose in the eighth position and final playoff position right now. All three of those teams are 5-5 in their last ten games. Denver is on a one game winning streak where they just demolished Golden State on Monday night. Good gosh 24 three pointers in that game for Denver I didn’t know they were capable of that.
Golden State didn’t know that Denver was capable of that. Portland has lost two games in a row and Sacramento has won three games in a row and have the Lakers next. Denver and Portland just made a trade generally when you’ve got two teams that are this close together and fighting for a playoff birth the last thing your going to do is make a trade and they made a trade of centers. So the Nuggets get Mason Plumlee from the Portland Trailblazers whose been averaging 11 points per game and is a pretty good ball player the Nuggets also picked up a second round pick. Portland gets back from the Nuggets Jusuf Nurkic who is a center averaging seven points per game five rebounds per game they get a first round pick a pick that originally belonged to Memphis.
Boogie and the Brow look for the rebound Photo: NBAE
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings were in a must win situation on Sunday night when they hosted the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans are also a “Tier 3” team that is trying to break free of the NBA Draft Lottery and make it into the first-round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs.
The Kings entered the game with a predicted 69-percent chance of winning the contest with the Pelicans. The Kings had won three of their five previous games. Sacramento is still in the hunt for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The men in white and purple had a lot on the line.
The Kings (22-32) did not disappoint their fans as they downed the Pelicans (21-34) 105-99. Sacramento repeated their familiar pattern where they under-performed in the first half and excelled in the second half. The Kings have been victorious in four of their last six games.
Where the Kings stand in the Playoff Race
The Kings are currently in 10th place 1.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers stand in between the two teams one game behind the Nuggets and one-half game ahead of the Kings. All three teams are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
It was another battle of Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday night
The premiere match up of the night was at center which featured two former Kentucky Wildcats – DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis. Davis – “the Brow” is an All-Star starter for the Western Conference and Cousins – “Boogie” is a Western Conference All-Star reserve.
Davis scored a game-high 32 points and made it double-double by adding 10 rebounds. He shot an impressive 11-for-24 from the floor and went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line in his 40-minutes on the floor.
Cousins led the Kings scoring attack with 28 points and also recorded a double-double by hauling in 14 rebounds. He dished out seven assists. Cousins shot 7-for-14 from the field and went 14-for-16 from the charity stripe.
Stars of the game
Kings
Collison drives past Solomon Hill Photo: NBAE
Darren Collison gets the star for Sacramento. When the Kings needed someone to step up, Collison was the man. He finished with 20 points (7-for-16 shooting including 2 3-point baskets), eight assists, six rebounds and three steals. Collison again played big minutes playing just under 41-minutes in the game.
Pelicans
The star has to go to “the Brow”. The fact is without the presence of Davis and his finesse on the floor the Pelicans are never really in this game. New Orleans is very much like Sacramento. Take their former Kentucky big man out of the lineup and they are a team that is in deep, deep trouble.
Looking into the book
Kings
Matt Barnes was important on offense when needed him and then on defense when the situation called for it. Barnes finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists. He also hit 2-of-6 3-point tries.
Ben McLemore had an 11 point game with nine of those points coming off three 3-point baskets. He hit on 3-of-5 tries from long range.
Arron Afflalo put up 10 points, had two assists and one steal
Anthony Tolliver struggled a bit shooting as he scored nine points on nine shots. All of his points came off 3-point buckets.
Willie Cauley-Stein – the other big man from Kentucky – scored eight points in 17-minutes on the floor. Cauley-Stein did a pretty good job defending Davis which is no easy task.
As a team: the Kings shot 44.9-percent; they went 11-for-31 (35.5-percent) for 3-pointers; they converted 24-of-27 from the free throw line; they out-rebounded the Pels 46-36; Sacramento had 23 assists and made 20 turnovers giving up 16 points to New Orleans.
Pelicans
Jrue Holiday had another solid game posting a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists
Dante Cunningham scored 14 points hitting on 4-0f-7 from long range. Do not leave that man open in 3-point land.
Solomon Hill went 3-for-5 from the field (all 3-point attempts) and scored nine points
As a team: the Pels shot 41.5-percent; they went 13-for-31 (41.9-percent) from downtown; NOP had 23 assists and 18 turnovers that resulted in 15 Sacramento points.
Now that’s hitting below the below the belt
The Pelicans’ Buddy Hield was ejected from the game with 2:55 remaining to play in the second quarter after he literally hit DeMarcus Cousins below the below the belt. Cousins had already been assessed a technical foul and any retaliation by Cousins could well have resulted in his ejection. The Kings big man kept his cool. The officials in New Jersey reviewed the play and Hield’s actions were ruled a Flagrant 2 foul which resulted in an automatic ejection.
Who knows how the game would have turned out had Hield still been on the floor in the fourth quarter?
Night of Technical Fouls
Cousins looks to drive the paint Photo: NBAE
The officiating crew felt free to pass out “tech fouls” in the game on Sunday night. They issued three:
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry picked up the first “tech” just 2:11 into the game when he let the officials know he felt DeMarcus Cousins should have been called for a foul on a play that resulted in two points for Sacramento.
Cousins picked up his 17th technical foul of the season with 1:06 to go in the first quarter when he tangled up with Donatas Motiejunas under the Pelicans basket. The play was reviewed to see if it was a flagrant foul which it was ruled not to be. If Cousins is assessed tech foul number 18, he will be suspended for another game under NBA rules since he is over the 16-tech foul limit.
New Orleans was charged with a technical for a 3-second defensive violation in the first quarter.
In this writers opinion, the Gentry call was a quick trigger and the Cousins “tech” is a candidate to be rescinded. Also, the NBA needs to review the use of “the Tech” and decide what its purpose really is in the structure of the game. “The Association” also needs to grasp that fans do not come to an arena to watch refs call tech fouls.
Up next
The Kings will play the first of their two road games in the month of February on Tuesday in Los Angeles when they face the Lakers. This is another must win game for the Kings. The Lakers are a lower level “Tier 3” team that Kings have to beat if they are to jump into the eighth and final playoff slot.
The Pelicans travel to the Valley of the Sun to face the Suns on Monday night.
Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins, right, hugs teammate Darren Collison after the Kings came from 22 points down to beat the Atlanta Hawks 108-107 in an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
By Tony Renteria
SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings (21-32) coming off a big win against the Boston Celtics hosted the visiting Atlanta Hawks (31-22) tonight in the capital city with a sold out crowd. The Kings have been looking to fight up to the eighth spot to make the playoff this season and tonight’s 108-107 thrilling win has helped the home towns team cause.
The Kings have be on the upside of the power curve the last month and tonight’s win against a quality opponent is the a good sign that that rate will continue. The Kings have been under some pressure to part ways with All Star Center DeMarcus Cousins either for his off court actions or to start the rebuilding process with a new squad.
Cousins still continues to deliver in the paint and on the stat line as he added 22 points and eleven rounds. He was aided by Ben McLemore who had a great game for the young player who is still trying to find his feet in the NBA season grind.
The Hawks who fell on the third game of this west coast swing after a hard fought vicoty on Wednesday in the Mile High City against the Nuggets were led by Tim Hardaway JR who scored 28 points on the road and was helped by Paul Millsap who scored 25 of his own in the losing battle.
The Hawks continue the West Coast swing by heading up north to Portland on Monday to face the Trailblazers while the Kings host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, left, goes to the basket against Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
The recent trade rumor involving Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins Kings team president Vlade Divak came out this last week talking to ESPN and it was disappointing because a lot of the local media guys have been waiting for some statements and the Kings would have been better served releasing a statement like this to one of the local outlets first. I would have preferred it to be Sports Radio Service but the guy who would have deserved it first in my opinion would be Jason Jones who is the one writer who works for the Sac Bee who travels to every game.
Jones would have been the most appropriate writer to have given this story to first. But Divak in the interview flat out said, “we are not trading Cousins, stop it, get over it, leave it alone were not trading Cousins” now that does that mean their not trading Cousins ever? That’s not what Divak said “were not trading Cousins now and were trying to sign him to an extension.” People have to got to get a grip that’s what the Kings are doing.
SACRAMENTO–Talk about avoiding embarassment. Kings’ GM Vlade Divac reiterated on Monday that the team will not trade leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins prior to the upcoming trade deadline. Then coach Dave Joerger explained that the team is working through Cousins’ issues regarding technical fouls that left him unavailable on Wednesday after picking up an NBA-leading 16th technical in Monday’s sleepy loss to the Bulls. The Kings however turned things around wining their second game in three games beating the Boston Celtics Wednesday night at Golden One Arena 108-92.
Without Cousins, Rudy Gay, Omri Casspi and Garrett Temple–the latter trio all injured–the Kings undertook the task of taking down the red-hot Celtics and returning prince Isaiah Thomas, the former King who was deemed a poor fit offensively along side Cousins and Gay. That belief prompted the team to trade Thomas in the fall of 2014, only to see the vest pocket guard return on Wednesday as an All-Star averaging a gaudy 29.9 points per game.
For an organization known for dysfunction, impetious decisions and losing seasons, this wasn’t the ideal setup for a critical win to breathe life into the Kings’ diminishing playoff aspirations. But win they did, pulling away from the Celtics in the second half despite having just seven available players.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
Sports Radio Service 