Host: Charlie O
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A look back at the home games with Toronto and Phoenix
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A look ahead at a very tough four-game road trip to Minnesota, Toronto, Philly and Brooklyn
Kings Press Row Podcast for 12-13-17: A split at home and back on the road again
Tag: Minnesota Timberwolves
Warriors blow it open in the third quarter to rout the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-101
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, left, drives the ball up court around Draymond Green (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
by Jerry Feitelberg
Oakland — On Wednesday night at Oracle Arena, the Golden State Warriors were without the services of Kevin Durant. Durant suffered a left thigh contusion Monday night on the first play of the game against the Miami Heat. He probably was able to play, but Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr decided to give him the night off and give his deep and talented bench more playing time. The team and the bench rose to the occasion as they were able to take control of the game in the third quarter and won 125-101. The Warriors are now 9-3 for the year. They’ve won five in a row and eight of the last nine.
The first two quarters were very close. The Warriors ended the half with a one-point lead (51-50). The Warriors seemed to be out of sync as they scored just 22 points in the first 12 minutes. Minnesota could not solve the Warrior defense either. They scored 22 in the quarter. The Warriors made several turnovers and seemed to be throwing the ball to the wrong team at times. The second quarter was more of the same. The Warriors committed 13 turnovers in the first half and Minnesota converted them into points. However, the Warriors were able to stay with the Wolves and the second unit (David West, Shaun Livingston, Omri Casspi) played well. Steph Curry started to get it going, and he finished the half with 14 points. Andre Iguodala, starting at forward in place of Durant, knocked down five. Draymond Green had six and Klay Thompson had eight. Taj Gibson led the Wolves with 10.
The Warriors broke it open in the third quarter. They scored 44 points and held Minnesota to 26. They stopped making turnovers and ran the court, found the open man, made three-point shots and shut down the Timberwolves offense. Behind the superb play of JaVale McGee, Iguodala, Thompson, and Curry, the Warriors sent a message that they can play even with Durant on the sideline. They led by 19 at the end of three 95-76 and won 125-101.
Game notes and stats — The Warriors had six players in double figures. Thompson led the Warriors with 28 points. He made six three-point shots. Curry finished with 22 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds. Iguodala finished with 11, West had 10, Casspi knocked down 13, and Nick Young added 12. McGee had three big plays in the third period to help spark Dubs in the third period. Patrick McCaw, Green, and Livingston all made contributions to help the Warriors win their fifth straight game. The Warriors moved the ball well in the second half and finished the night with 37 assists. Steve Kerr was “really pleased with the defense.” All five Timberwolves’ starters were in double figures, but they did not get much help from their bench. They dropped to 7-4 for the season.
The Warriors meet the young Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 5:30 pm. It will be an opportunity for the fans to see the Sixers’ young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Warriors kick it up a notch as they trounce the Timberwolves in Shanghai 142-110
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry gestures during the preseason NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. (AP Photo)
by Jerry Feitelberg
Shanghai, China- The Golden State Warriors won their first game of the preseason as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 142-110. The Timberwolves scored early and often in the first quarter. The Wolves starting quintet of Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, and Taj Gibson torched the Dubs as the raced to an early 16-11 lead. The Wolves kept the pressure on as they could not be stopped by the Warriors defense. They led 35-31 with 1:44 left in the quarter and were able to increase the lead for the first twelve minutes of play to 44-36.
The Dubs kept pace with the Wolves in the second quarter. They were trailing by ten points when Steph Curry came back into the game. The Warriors were able to turn the game around, and they looked like the champions that they are. Steph and Klay led the offensive onslaught as they won the quarter 40-28 and led 76-72 at the half. The Dubs’ defense, fantastic last season, looked like they were back.
In the third quarter, Steph, Klay, and Kevin Durant wowed the 16,007 fans in attendance as they made several three-point shots and dominated play in the period. They outscored the Wolves 38-23 to put the game out of reach. Steph was done for the night, and he watched the game as he was sitting on the floor signing autographs for the fans.
The Warriors started Klay, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, David West, and KD in the fourth quarter. They increased the lead to twenty-six before being replaced by Omri Casspi, Patrick McCaw, and the rookie from the University of Oregon Jordan Bell. In the last six minutes of the game, Bell scored eleven points and blocked two shots. Bell’s play should get him some playing time when the season starts for real on October 17th.
Game Notes and Stats- Before the start of the game, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler each thanked the people of China for the terrific week the players experienced. The crowd enjoyed the show the teams put on, and it appeared the fans were a little bit louder when the Warriors had the ball. There was a stretch in the third quarter when the Dubs made five three-pointers in a row to blow the game wide open. The fans roared every time Steph lined up for a three and went ballistic when he made the shot.
Steph Curry was a man on a mission as he knocked down forty points and made at least six three-point shots. Klay Thompson knocked down twenty-eight, and KD had twenty-two. Draymond Green tallied eleven, and he blocked three shots.
Leading scorers for Minnesota were Andrew Wiggins with nineteen, Towns had sixteen, Jimmy Butler fifteen, Jeff Teague ten, Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad each had eleven. The Timberwolves finished the preseason with a 2-1 record. The next game they play will be the first game of the 2017-2018 season.
The Warriors are 1-2 and meet the Sacramento Kings on Friday, October 13th, at the Oracle Arena at 7:30 pm. This will be the final preseason game for the Dubs. They play the Houston Rockets in Oakland on October 17th.
Warriors lose to the Timberwolves in China 111-97
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, center, reacts during a break at the basketball match of the 2017 NBA Global Games against Minnesota Timberwolves in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
by Jerry Feitelberg
Shenzhen, China – The Golden State Warriors started well against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first of two games in China, The Warriors, who have a fantastic following in China, started well and had the lead after three-quarters of play. Coach Steve Kerr removed his starters in the third quarter, and the T-Wolves bench beat the Warriors bench to win 111-97. Preseason games don’t count, but the players want to do well as some of them are fighting for spots on the roster. The Warriors starters did well. The ran, the moved the ball, and they recorded a lot of assists in the early going. However, they made a lot of mistakes. Steph Curry had five fouls in 24 minutes of play. They were called for traveling violations, and they turned the ball over 19 times.
Coach Steve Kerr had this to say about the team’s performance:” We played well for about a quarter and a half and then started getting careless with the ball.” We got lazy.”
Kevin Durant led the team with twenty points. Curry scored fourteen. Klay Thompson made some shots in the first quarter, too. Rookie Jordan Bell played well, and Omri Casspi looked ready to contribute. Nick Young and Patrick McCaw were on the floor in the fourth quarter when the T-Wolves made their run to win the game.
The Warriors look to be loaded again as they defend their championship beginning on October 17th. The will have to make decisions regarding Damian Jones and Kevon Looney. Jones may make the team, but the same cannot be said for Looney.
The T-Wolves added Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson from the Chicago Bulls where their coach Tom Thibodeau used to work. The Wolves have two terrific players in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins and will be looking to improve as they aim to make the playoffs.
The teams meet Sunday in Shanghai before returning home for the final preseason game. The Warriors’ season starts on October 17th at Oracle Arena against the Houston Rockets.
Warriors buy the number 38 draft pick and select Jordan Bell from Oregon
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The NBA Champion Golden State Warriors entered the 2017 NBA Draft in the same condition they did in 2016. The Warriors had no selection available to them in either round.
So, the Dubs were merely spectators on Thursday night. But wait, there’s more.
Just as they had in 2016 the Warriors reached into their bank, grabbed some cash and declared they wanted to be players in this year’s draft.
GSW found a trading partner in the Bulls
The Chicago Bulls had experienced a disaster on Thursday night that included trading Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves for what most experts believe was way under value. If the rumors are to be believed, Chicago had a much better offer from Boston before the start of the draft.
For some reason, the Bulls did not think they needed the number 38 pick (8th selection in the 2nd round), so they accepted $3.5-million from the Warriors in exchange for the pick. The $3.5-million figure is the maximum amount of money a team can accept for a second-round selection.
The Warriors found their man in Oregon
The Warriors selected 6-foot-9, Junior power forward/center Jordan Bell out the University of Oregon. Bell was definitely a value pick as a number of draft experts had predicted he would be selected late in the first round.
Bell is a defensive player first. He has a nose for the ball and is a strong rebounder. He is also a known as having good instincts as a shot blocker. Bell has the ability to protect the paint and is willing cover any assignment given to him on defense.
Bell is seen a strong player but if he going defend on the front line in “the association” he will need to add some weight.
As with many shot blockers, Bell has tendency to go for the block and end up out of position for the rebound. He will need work on that at the next level.
On offense
Bell runs the floor well and finishes strong at the rim. He is a real threat to score near the basket. Bell also has the ability to score on offensive rebounds. He also moves well without the ball and sets a good screen.
Bell has worked hard and improved as a free throw shooter. He went from a 50-percent FT shooter to shooting 70.5-percent from the line in his junior season.
Bell averaged 10.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocks in 28.7 minutes per game in the 2016-17 season.
Bell will need to work on becoming a scoring threat outside the paint.
Is Bell the next McCaw
The Warriors are hoping that Bell will be this year’s version of Patrick McCaw whom they obtained the same way last season. With the expanded rosters, Bell will be able to spend time at Santa Cruz and in Oakland as he develops his talents.
The Kings hand the T-Wolves a 123-117 loss on the road in Minnesota
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings faced an impossible task on Saturday night in Minneapolis. They had been blown out of the arena in New Orleans on Friday night and then had to make a long flight to the Twin Cities to play the second game of a back-to-back set on the road on Saturday versus the Timeberwolves.
Dealing with losses is something a young team has to do but wait … the Kings did not lose in Minnesota. They beat the Timberwolves 123-117 to up their record to 30-47 on the season which puts them just one game behind the 12th place T-Wolves in the Western Conference standings.
The loss puts Minnesota just one game behind the Kings for the seventh best odds in the NBA Lottery. I hate this time of year where winning can be bad and losing can be good for your team. Somehow that system needs to be tweaked – hello Adam Silver!
This was a game of extremes
The T-Wolves led by 13 after the first 12-minutes. They increased that lead to 16 at one point. The Kings recovered from the big leads and held a 15 point lead of their own at one point.
There were 13 lead changes in this game and it was tied nine times. Both teams fought hard in this contest. The key for Sacramento was outscoring Minnesota 37-28 in the second quarter and 36-26 in the third quarter.
The Kings out-shot the Timberwolves
Sacramento finished with some very strong shooting stats. They shot 56.4-percent (44-for-78) from the floor overall. They were an incredible 11-for-19 (57.9-percent) from downtown.
Minnesota shot 39-for-87 (44.8-percent) from the field and just 36-percent (9-of-25) from behind the 3-point arc. The two teams tied with 48 points each in the paint.
The big difference was the bench scoring
The Kings bench outscored the Minnesota bench 66-26. It is very tough to stop a team who has a second unit that is that on fire.
Ty Lawson led the Kings bench scoring with 21 points. He was 5-for-8 from the floor and an incredible 11-for-14 from the charity stripe. Langston Galloway put up 17 points and hit 3-of-4 3-point shots. Arron Afflalo scored 16 points for the second unit converting 4-of-5 3-point tries.
Buckets and WCS lead the starters
Rookie Buddy Hield tied his season-high points total with 22 against Minnesota. He went 9-for-15 from the floor and hit 4-of-6 from downtown. Hield played just over 34-minutes in the game.
Willie Cauley-Stein posted another double-double scoring 15 points and posting 10 rebounds. He shot 5-for-9 from the floor and hit 5-of-7 free throws. WCS also had three assists and two steals.
Minnesota’s big two did their best to beat the Kings
Andrew Wiggins scored a game-high 32 points. He hit 13-of-20 shots from the floor and sank 4-of-7 3-point attempts. Interestingly, Wiggins converted just 2-of-6 free throws. He also had three assists and one blocked shot.
Karl-Anthony Towns sank 8-of-17 shots from the field for 26 points. He was just 1-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. He excelled from the charity stripe by sinking 9-of-10 from the line. Towns posted a double-double game by hauling in 11 rebounds.
The Kings return to the friendly confines of G1C
Sacramento – who has won two of their last three games – will return to action on Tuesday night when they will host the Dallas Mavericks.
Kings win third game in a row defeating the Timberwolves 109-105
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings won their third consecutive game on Friday night in Minnesota 109-105 as they downed the young and very talented Timberwolves ending their two game winning streak. Both teams fought hard in the game as the lead changed hands 20 times in the contest.
The win was the Kings second in a row on the road as they also won in Utah on Wednesday night. Sacramento’s road record improved to 6-11 and they are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Sacramento’s overall record improved to 13-17 and moved them into sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference by one-half game over Portland. That means if the season ended today, the Kings would be in the NBA Playoffs.
DeMarcus Cousins leads the way for the Kings
Cousins struggled with the Wolves double-teams in the first half scoring just 11 points. The Timberwolves were unable to hold him down in the second half as he put up 22 points working the paint and shooting from long range.
The Kings forward/center was the team’s assists leader with seven dimes. He was very aware of where his teammates were when the Minnesota defense double-teamed him. Cousins also led the team in steals. It was a Cousins steal from Zach Levine with 36-seconds to go in the game that helped to seal the win for the Kings.
The Kings bench produced big results on Friday night
The Kings bench outscored the Timberwolves bench 45-11. Anthony Tolliver scored 17 points hitting 5-of-7 shots from 3-point range. Tolliver played 30 minutes off the bench for Sacramento.
Ty Lawson has really come into his own in the last few games. He seems to have found how use his speed in the offense. Lawson scored 15 points for the second unit shooting 5-for-11 including two 3-point baskets. He also dished out four assists and had two steals.
The Kings team stats were very impressive
Sacramento shot 42-for-80 (52.5-percent) from the field. They hit 15-of-29 (51.7-percent) from 3-point land. From the free throw line, the Kings went 10-for-14 (71.4-percent).
The Kings assists to turnover ratio was better than the goal of 2:1. They had 27 assists and turned the ball over just 11 times that Minnesota converted into just six points. Sacramento had seven steals in the contest.
The Kings were out-rebounded 42-38.
Coach Joerger’s views on the game
- It was a good game, a good win
- The Kings avoided the “track meet” mentality of trying to run with the young Timberwolves
- The executed pretty well
- By winning three in row, the team has earned Christmas Eve and Christmas off
Lavine was a one-man wrecking crew for Minnesota
Guard Zach Lavine tried to win the game single-handedly for the Wolves and he almost succeeded. Lavine scored a career high 40 points. He shot 13-for-21 from the field including seven 3-point buckets. Lavine was also a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. The third-year shooting guard played 39-minutes in the game.
The other Kentucky center had pretty good game as well
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 points for Minnesota. He made it a double-double game by grabbing 13 rebounds. Towns shot 7-for-15 from the floor. He also had five assists.
Minnesota has to work on Christmas Day
The Timberwolves travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on December 25th. That is a tough task for a 9-20 team that is trying to find its footing. Minnesota has all the talent it needs to become a real force in the NBA. Now, it’s a matter of developing the maturity.
The Kings return to action on Monday night
Sacramento has a real chance to make it four wins in a row when they host the 7-22 Philadelphia 76ers at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings need to be very careful with the Sixers. It can be very easy to look past a team that is doing so poorly and wind up losing to that squad. That is what happened last season when the Sixers beat the Kings in Sacramento.
The Warriors win their eleventh in a row, down the Minnesota Timberwolves
By Jerry Feitelberg
Oakland- The Golden State Warriors beat the young and talented Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night at the Oracle Arena by a score of 115-102. The Warriors played the game without Draymond Green and Ian Clark. Green and Clark suffered injuries on the same play Friday night in Los Angeles. Coach Steve Kerr said that when he told Draymond that he would not play, Draymond “did not fight me on it. If someone is banged up, we give him the night off, no matter who he is.” Kerr gave Kevon Looney the first start of his relatively short NBA career. Looney, in a career-high nineteen minutes of play, scored six points, had two assists and three rebounds. Without Green in the lineup, the Dubs had to find a way to defend the Wolves Big Three. Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, and Rookie-of-the-Year Karl-Anthony Towns are all just twenty-one years old, and these three can play basketball. Those three kept the Wolves in the game, but the Warriors prevailed. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson led the Warriors in scoring. Durant was magnificent on defense as he had ten rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots. Steph had eight boards and six assists. Zaza Pachulia, Javon McGee, and David West all made their presence felt in the game.
The Warriors started the game well. They had a 21-13 lead until Minnesota went on a thirteen-three run. The first quarter ended with the Wolves leading 33-30. Karl-Anthony Towns (12), Andrew Wiggins(9), and Zach LaVine(9) scored thirty of the thirty-three Wolves’ points in the quarter. The Wolves were 62.5% from the floor. The Dubs weren’t bad as they shot 60%, but they trailed by three.
The Warriors’ and the Wolves were cold to start the second quarter. The Dubs went four minutes without scoring a point. The Timberwolves weren’t much better. They scored just three to take a 36-30 lead with eight minutes left. The Dubs behind Durant, Curry, Looney, and Pachulia managed to put Golden State in the lead. The Warrior defense shut down the Minnesota offense and the Dubs outscored them 26-25 to take an eight-point lead (56-48) at the half. KD(18), Steph(11), and Klay(11) were the high scorers for Golden State.
The Warriors increased the lead to seventeen at the end of three as Steph continued to make three-point shots. However, Minnesota came to life in the fourth quarter and closed the gap to eight but Steph, Klay, and Durant made clutch baskets when needed and they took down the Timberwolves 115-102.
Game Notes- The Warriors won their eleventh straight game to improve to 15-2. The Wolves fall to 5-11. Steph led the Dubs with 34 to go along with six assists and eight rebounds. Klay Thompson had twenty-three and six boards. Durant had a double-double with 28 points and ten rebounds. Durant had a career-high six blocked shots. The Warriors streak of ten consecutive games with 30 or more assists ended. The Dubs made just twenty-five in the contest. Zach LaVine led the Wolves with 31. Towns had 18 and Wiggins added 18.
The Warriors meet the Atlanta Hawks Monday night at the Oracle Arena at 7:30 pm.
Kings squeak past Timberwolves 106-103
by Charlie O. Mallonee
Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings won their first game in the new Golden 1 Center on Saturday night by squeaking by the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-103.It was literally a last-second victory as the Timberwolves had the chance to tie the game or take the lead with 02.6-seconds left on the clock.
The Kings record improves to 2-1 on the season with the victory. Head coach Dave Joerger said the win has some meaning as the Kings get ready to start a five-game road trip.
“It just means you go on the road trip 2-1. I think there is a nice difference between being 2-1 and 1-2 and how you feel about yourself, knowing you are going to play your next five in all kinds of different states around the union,” said coach Joerger about the upcoming road trip. “I think that’s a better feeling getting on the plane tomorrow.”
The loss leaves the Timberwolves winless on the season. Minnesota lost their season opener in Memphis when they let a 14-point lead slip away late in the game. The Timberwolves let an 18-point lead over the Kings evaporate on Saturday night.
New Minnesota head coach Tom Thibodeau likes his teams talent but feels that something has to happen before they can start winning.
“We have to get a lot tougher. We got to get a lot tougher.”
Minnesota can pass and shoot the ball. The Timberwolves shot 51.4-percent from the floor in the game. They shot over 60-percent in the first quarter. Thibodeau is also correct when he says they are not a very physical team when they need to be.
The Kings started the game slowly shooting under 40-percent for much of the first quarter and allowing Andrew Wiggins to score 13 points. Dave Joerger became so frustrated that he pulled his five starters off the floor with 3:18 to go in the quarter and put in the entire second unit.
The Kings came back to life in the second quarter behind Rudy Gay who scored 12 points and DeMarcus Cousins who put up 11. Matt Barnes came off the bench to make a real difference especially on defense.
The Timberwolves led the Kings 65-54 at halftime.
The third quarter was the difference maker in this game. The Kings came out on fire on both ends of the floor. Sacramento outscored Minnesota 31-12 in the period. The Timberwolves shot only 25-percent from the floor.
Minnesota turned the ball over seven times in the period that resulted in 14 Sacramento points. The Kings had just two turnovers the Timberwolves were unable to turn into any points.
“The 3rd quarter was a problem, big problem. We have to take a look the problems and see where the issues are,” said Tom Thibodeau.
The fourth quarter began with the Kings leading 85-77. Sacramento opened up a 10-point lead then the Timberwolves began to chip away at the that lead. Minnesota went on a 9-0 run and tied the game 100-100 with 3:11 to play.
The Kings went back up by five. After Wiggins hit a free throw and cut the lead to four, the unthinkable happened. DeMarcus Cousins picked up his sixth personal foul with 50.9-seconds left in the game. The Kings had to finish the game with their best player on the bench.
Rookie guard Kris Dunn who was fouled by Cousins missed both of his free throws. Gorgui Dieng grabbed the rebound and Zach LaVine missed a 3-point jump shot. Karl-Anthony Towns got the rebound and converted the lay up to make it a two point game, 105-103.
After winning a jump ball, the Timberwolves were unable to hit a basket. Matt Barnes was fouled going for a rebound with 00.2-seconds left. He hit 1-of-2 free throws to end the game.
The Kings won the game 106-103.
Kings (2-1)
- Cousins was the Kings leading scorer with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
- Rudy Gay had a big night 28 points, 11-for-20 shooting
- Matt Barnes – the impact player of the game off the bench – 12 points including three 3-pointers to go with 9 assists
- Ben McLemore bounced back from his troubles in the Spurs game scoring 13 points and shooting 50-percent from the field
- The Kings improved their shooting by 6-percent over Thursday by shooting 45.9-percent (39-for-85) in the game.
Timberwolves (0-2)
- Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points to lead the Timberwolves scoring attack. He is very difficult to stop when he wants to shoot.
- Guard Zach LaVine had a big night putting up 21 points while shooting 50-percent from the floor
- Karl-Anthony Towns added 15 points but the battle between him and fellow Kentucky Wildcat DeMarcus Cousins was a non-event. They just did not match up much in the game
- PG Ricky Rubio experienced a sprained elbow. Rubio was rumored to be a trade target of the Kings but Minnesota was reluctant to part with him until Kris Dunn is ready
Up Next
The Kings begin a five-game road trip on Monday night in Atlanta. Sacramento will play five games in seven nights all in the Eastern time zone except for the Milwaukee game which is in the Central time zone.
Minnesota heads home to open their home season with the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. The Timberwolves will be looking for redemption after losing to Memphis in their season opener.
Kings: Trade rumors and roster moves
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The NBA preseason came to an end for the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. Now comes the tough job of setting the final roster to begin the regular season. The Kings must be down to 15 players by October 24 and they have 18 players on the roster right now.
To complicate the issue, many teams are evaluating their personnel and are realizing that they do not have the players they need or do not have the players they want to keep for the beginning of the new season. That has caused an uproar of rumors to rise up as “leaks” from reliable sources are reported and repeated about trade deals that teams would like to make or are thinking about making before the start of the season.
The Kings have figured prominently into some of those rumors. If the rumors are to be believed, the Miami Heat are ready to ship point guard Goran Dragic to the Kings in return for Rudy Gay and Darren Collison. Why would the Heat be willing to make this deal? Miami is now in a rebuilding mode after the loss of Dewayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Gay will opt out of his contract at the end of the season and Collison’s contract expires. The money from those contracts plus the money available from Bosh being off the books would give Miami approximately $42-million to spend in 2017-18 season to spend on free agents.
For the Kings, they would receive a high quality player that they would control through the 2018-19 season. Dragic does have a player option in 2019. Dragic would give them a quality point guard to go with Serbian shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic who the Kings anticipate signing before the beginning of the 2017-18 season.
There have also been rumors that a deal with Miami might happen that would send DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay to Miami for Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic. Such a deal cannot happen immediately because Whiteside cannot be traded by league rule until December 15 because he just signed a four-year $98-million contract. The Kings are not going to wait until December to move Gay because his value is falling daily because of his ability to opt out of his contract at the end of the season. That is not to say a Whiteside for Cousins deal could not happen but they will not be tied together with a deal involving Rudy Gay.
On Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported that the Kings are pursuing Minnesota point guard Ricky Rubio. Rubio – who is owed $43-million over the next three years – is expected to become the Timberwolves back up point about 20 games into the season when number five overall draft pick Kris Dunn takes over the point. Then, Rubio is expected to become expendable. The Kings are trying to expedite the process.
Roster Move
The Kings officially announced on Wednesday afternoon that guard/forward Lamar Patterson has been waived. Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Vlade Divac made the announcement.
The Kings claimed Patterson off waivers from the Atlanta Hawks during the off-season. Patterson played his first season in the NBA with the Hawks in 2015-16. He was drafted in 2014 out the University of Pittsburgh by the Detroit Pistons and round up playing the season in Turkey.
The Kings roster is now down to 17 players. They must make another two cuts before October 24 to have their roster at the league mandated 15 players.
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