The Sacramento Kings held their next-to-last pre-draft workout on Sunday at their practice facility next to Sleep Train Arena. The Kings final pre-draft workout will be held on Monday morning.
The Kings evaluated four players on Sunday – Long Beach point guard Mike Caffey, Wisconsin small forward Sam Deckker, Wisconsin power forward Duje Dukan and Arizona small forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Draft express.com has Deckker being the 16th overall pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night. Draft Express has Hollins-Jefferson projected as the 22nd selection in the draft.
The Kings are looking at Dekker and Hollins-Jefferson in case they make deal for their sixth pick and receive multiple picks later in the first round.
For Hollins-Jefferson, this was his 11th workout for an NBA team. Dekker stated this workout was his ninth audition of the pre-draft season.
The Kings are looking for diamonds in the rough in Dukan and Caffey. Do not forget, the Kings own the Reno franchise in the NBA D-League. If the Kings see a player who is not NBA ready but has some potential, they will invest in some player development for that individual.
The Kings will evaluate four more players on Monday – Colorado point guard Askia Booker, Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky, Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell and St. Mary’s power forward/center Brad Waldow.
Sports Radio Service will be at the Kings’ practice facility on Thursday night for the 2015 NBA Draft.
Multiple sources are reporting that Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro is leaving the organization for a position with the Denver Nuggets. The story was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
D’Alessandro came to the Kings from the Nuggets organization where he was an assistant general manager.
D’Alessandro’s role with the Kings had been greatly diminished with the installation of Vlade Divac as vice-president of franchise and basketball operations following the debacle that ensued after the firing of Michael Malone as head coach of the Kings early in the 2014-15 season.
When Chris Mullin left for St. John’s University, many felt that D’Alessandro’s days with the Kings were numbered. Mullin and D’Alessandro shared much of the same philosophy on how the Kings should be configured and are friends from their days at St. John’s. When the team floundered after Malone’s firing, Mullin and D’Alessandro appeared to lose the ear of Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive.
D’Alessandro was praised for the trade that brought Rudy Gay to the Kings from the Toronto Raptors. He was highly criticized for the trade of restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas to Phoenix
The Kings received a $7-million trade exception and the rights to Alex Oriakhi in exchange for Thomas in the sign-and-trade deal with the Suns. Oriakhi has yet to play in the NBA. The Suns received a first-round draft pick for Thomas when they traded him to Boston at the 2015 trade deadline.
According to the Denver Post, D’Alessandro’s duties may include some work for the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL as well. Both the Nuggets and Avalanche are owned by Stan Kroenke.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Ryan West assistant scouting director of the Lakers and Travis Schlenk assistant general manager of the Golden State Warriors are being considered for the general manager’s position. It is believed that the Kings desire someone with personnel and operations experience to assist Divac who is new to his position.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, a major change could be coming very soon in the front office of the Sacramento Kings. Wojnarowski cites sources who claim Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro will be a candidate for the Athletic Director’s job at St. John’s University. D’Alessandro is an alumnus of St. John’s.
Multiple news outlets in New York City are reporting that current St. John’s Athletic Director Chris Monasch will be fired or will resign from the position. Monasch has been the AD since 2005 and has been credited with returning the school back to athletic prominence in the redesigned Big East Conference.
Monasch was responsible for bringing another former Kings employee – Chris Mullin – back to St. John’s to become the head men’s basketball coach. It had been rumored that Monasch favored extending the contract of former head coach Steve Lavin, but he was overruled by St.John’s President Conrado “Bobby” Gempesaw.
The sudden vacancy has led to immediate speculation that D’Alessandro might be reunited with his good friend Mullin at the university.
D’Alessandro – the Kings General Manger – has been relegated to a lesser position in the organization since former player Vlade Divac was appointed Vice-President of Basketball and Franchise Operations. D’Alessandro retained the title of General Manager,but he clearly reports to Divac.
With Divac being new to the job, D’Alessandro’s experience with the salary cap and analytics would be of great help to the new VP as he settles into the job. The problem for D’Alessandro is easy to discern. Who wants to be the guy that has to train the new boss?
It should come as no surprise that D’Alessandro is looking to go elsewhere. If he should go to St.John’s, the Kings can spin the story as D’Alessandro returns to his beloved university.
The question becomes if D’Alessandro leaves, who steps in to assist Divac as he gets his feet on the ground in his new position? What about Geoff Petrie?
Divac knows Petrie. Petrie was the architect of the great teams that Divac was a part of in the early 2000’s. Unfortunately, Petrie was caught up in the craziness that was “Maloof era” as it came to an end. Petrie did not become a poor judge of basketball talent. He became a general manager without the money and resources needed to build a competitive team.
Petrie would become a trusted consultant (think Jerry West and the Golden State Warriors) not a disgruntled employee who has been demoted in a very public fashion. Kings fans know and trust Petrie as a “basketball man”.Divac would have a mentor who is not looking to take over his job.
The problem with this scenario is that it makes too much sense. Kings managing owner Vivek Ranadive likes the new, cutting edge version of everything including his basketball team. New is good but experience is better when it comes to the NBA. It could be NBA version 3.1 instead of 3.0. Let the former great player and new executive work and learn under the tutelage of an experience executive that Divac knows and can trust.
Whatever happens next will be interesting. The front office of the Kings may not be very stable at the moment, but it is never boring.
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was named to the All-NBA Second Team today. The Kings All-Star center becomes just the fourth player in the Sacramento-era to earn All-NBA honors. Cousins joins Chris Weber, Mitch Richmond and Peja Stojakovic as Sacramento players to be named to All-NBA players.
The 2014-15 All-NBA Second Team includes Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Portland Trail Blazers forward-center LaMarcus Aldridge, Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, Chicago Bulls center Pau Gasol and Cousins.
Cousins averaged 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.53 steals, 1.75 blocks and 34.1 minutes per game last season. He was limited to just 59 games mostly due to an early season bout with viral meningitis. His averages in points, rebounds, assists and blocks were new career-highs.
Among Cousins season accomplishments were finishing tied for third with 47 double-doubles. He was first in fouls drawn with 8.8 per game. Cousins ranked fifth in scoring and third in rebounding for the year.
Cousins received 18 first-place votes from the voting media.
Willie Cauley-Stein of Kentucky. Photo: KYKENAL.com
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings will have the sixth selection in the 2015 NBA Draft on June 25th. The Kings did not improve their position in the lottery, but more importantly, they did not lose a position as the New York Knicks did on Tuesday evening.
The Kings must now decide whether to keep the pick or trade it for experienced players.
Vlade Divac – Vice-President of Basketball & Franchise Operations – told the SacramentoBee:
“We have some options,” Divac said. “I think this class of rookies are very strong. We should be able to get someone who can help us next year.”
That could mean trading the pick. The Kings are intent on improving as fast as possible, raising the possibility of a deal for immediate help.
“I think we should be very open,” Divac said. “Our goal is we want to improve next year. We want to be much, much better.”
Scott Howard-Copper of NBA.com sees the Kings drafting center Willie Cauley-Stein, 7-0/245, of Kentucky:
He is an ideal fit next to DeMarcus Cousins as a big who will win games without needing shots. Questions about his passion for the game will not go away, to the point that WCS himself is mentioning the criticism without being asked, but the speciallevel of defense and athleticism could also push him into the top five. “I actually think that Cauley-Stein is a little underrated,” one executive said. “I think people have focused so much on his lack of offensive skill that they’re not looking at just how good a defender he is.” He will head into the draft with preparation unmatched from the college game: three seasons of experience in pressure situations, three seasons against top competition and, best of all, three seasons of Kentucky practices filled with future NBA players.
CBS Sports and Bleacher Report agree with Howard-Cooper. They both see the Kings taking the talented Cauley-Stein who has been compared to Tyson Chandler.
USA Today thinks the Kings will select Emmanuel Mudiay, PG/G who skipped college to go pro in China:
Have seen some “Mudiay to the Lakers” tweets, which is crazy, given the potential to add Rondo, the rookie year of Clarkson, and the fact that even in a wing league, explosive guards are more easily found than true post players. Mudiay would be a terrific fit for the Kings, who could bring him along slowly in year one, backing up Darren Colllison. How about a trio of Mudiay/Gay/Cousins?
NBA Draft Room says Mudiay is faster than Tyreke Evans.
I believe the Kings would love to see the very talented Mudiay fall to number six, but most experts see him being taken by the Knicks at number four if they do not deal the pick away for veterans.
NBA Draft Room believes the Kings will go with Kristaps Porzingis PF 7-1 of Latvia who is playing professionally in Spain. They see Prozingis as:
A long and skilled 7-footer with intriguing upside. A very fluid and mobile big man with high skill level. Shoots the ball with nice form with range out to 3. Has great length and suprising coordination.
Lacks power and strength. Will have to make an adjustment to the American game.
NBA Draft Room compares Porzingis’ game to that of former NBA great, Rick Smits.
Porzingis would be the answer to the Kings wish for a “stretch four forward”. Drafting the Latvian would allow the Kings to keep Rudy Gay at small forward.
Assuming the Kings retain the pick, the question becomes do they draft for need or do they take the best available athlete?
Drafting for need is always a very dicey proposition. If you pick and miss with the selection, a team can be saddled with a Jimmer Fredette type situation where you have a great young man that does not help your team on the floor one bit.
If you draft the best available athlete, a team has a valuable asset that can be traded for proven, veteran players who can fill needs that exist on the roster. The Kings must come away with value from this draft. They cannot shoot and miss.
The 2015 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, June 25th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Sports Radio Service will provide coverage live from the Kings’ Sacramento draft headquarters.
In what could be considered a small moral victory, the Sacramento Kings handed the Los Angeles Lakers one final loss to close out their disastrous 2015 season, beating the downtrodden team by a score of 122-99 on Wednesday’s season finale.
Although the Kings have had their fair share of injury troubles, which have held starters DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay out of action during the season’s final few games, the Lakers were only able to suit up eight players for Wednesday nights finale during a season which furthered the once prosperous franchise’s fall from grace.
The Kings pounced on the makeshift Los Angeles lineup, jumping out to an early lead by the end of the first quarter, and never looking back, as they continued to make short work of the Lakers defense throughout the entire game.
The Kings finished with seven players in double figures, including all five starters.Ben McLemore led the team with 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting, followed by Ray McCallum who dished in 19 points on 7-of-14 from the field. Derrick Williams and Ryan Hollins provided some spark off the bench, finishing the game in double figures as well. Sacramento’s offense was efficient throughout the entire game, as the squad finished the contest with a 54.8 shooting percentage from the field, and an impressive 47.1 percentage from beyond the arc as they converted 8-of-17 three point attempts.
The loss put an even bigger stain on a wasted Lakers season, as the 21-61 season record gave Los Angeles their worst record in franchise history, good for second worst in the Western Conference behind the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves. The Kings, however, finished the season with a modest two game winning streak while surpassing last year’s win total by one.
The Kings are setup for improving on their fourth place finish in the Pacific Division as new head coach George Karl will be at the helm of the team for his first full season next year. The Kings finished with an 11-19 record under Karl, although they were without Cousins and Gay for the end of the season.
The Sacramento Kings will travel to Mexico City next December to play the Boston Celtics as part of the NBA Global Games 2015. The December 3rd game will be a regular season contest and the Kings will be the home team. The game will be played in the Mexico City Arena.
The Global Games are a part of the NBA marketing initiative to take “the Association” to basketball fans around the world. The Kings played preseason games in China in 2014 as a part of the Global Games.
“We’re honored to participate in the NBA’s Global Games,” said Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadive. “The ultimate power of sports is the ability to connect people across geographic, economic and cultural lines. As part of our NBA 3.0 philosophy, we look forward to connecting with fans in Mexico City and sharing our experience through social media and digital platforms with fans around the world.”
The teams will also be involved in a number of off court activities that will include community programs and interactive fan events.
“International competition provides an opportunity for our players and staff to grow closer together while experiencing basketball in a foreign setting,” said Kings Head Coach George Karl. “We’re all excited about the trip to Mexico City and look forward to entertaining many great NBA fans in Latin America.”
While it is clear why the NBA wants to market itself around the world, it is not clear how this game benefits the fans in Sacramento. Rather than 41 home games in 2015-16, there will be only 40 home dates. Since Sacramento will be the home team, local fans will not have the opportunity to see the Boston Celtics and local favorite Isaiah Thomas next season.
The local fans need to be compensated for the loss of a home game so the NBA can further its Global Marketing plan. How should they be compensated is open to question. What do you think? What would make you – the fans – feel better about the loss of a home game for the “good” of the league? Maybe a viewing party and fiesta at Sleep Train Arena the night of the game would help make up for the loss of the home contest.
Let us know what you think. Post your ideas below.
In a fight for the eight and final spot in the Western Conference, the Russell Wilson led Oklahoma City took down the depleted Sacramento Kings with a 116-103 final to keep their playoff dreams alive.
With both Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka still ailing, it was up to Westbrook to lead the Thunder’s charge. The dynamic young point guard didn’t disappoint, dropping 27 points while dishing 10 assists against a Sacramento team still missing both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay.
But Westbrook wasn’t alone in his charge, as a slew of supporting characters on the Oklahoma City roster helped him out with a balanced scoring attack. Alongside Westbrook, fellow starters Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters finished with over 20 points on the night, while Anthony Morrow provided 19 off the bench.
But despite what the final 13 point deficit might suggest, the Kings did not make it easy for the Thunder to grasp the victory. After being up as many as 13 points in the first half, the Kings battled back to head into the final frame with just a six point deficit. However, the Thunder would not relinquish their grip on the lead, and would outscore Sacramento by seven points in the fourth to hold on for the win.
Like the Thunder, the Kings scoring attack was fairly balanced, with Ben McLemore leading the team with 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He was followed by Omri Casspi, Ray McCallum and Derrick Williams, all of whom finished with 15 points or more on the night.
The Kings have now lost 7 of their last 8 games while clearly missing their top two scorers in Gay and Cousins. They still have three games left in order to finish the season on a high note by concluding their road trip at Denver before heading home to face the Lakers for their final home game of the season on Monday. They will then travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers yet again to play their season finale on April 15.
The injury ridden Sacramento Kings could not stave off a late scoring run by the Jazz on Wednesday night, as Utah went on to clinch the season series with a 103-91 win at home.
Sacramento was without two of their top scorers in the lineup on Wednesday, as DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Darren Collison were all held out of action with their respective injuries. Omri Caspri led the Kings makeshift starting lineup with 16 points, while Jason Thomas followed with a double-double on 12 points and 11 boards.
Despite their lack of starting depth, the Kings headed into the locker room at halftime with a six point lead over the Jazz, who struggled to get on the board early. But the Jazz would come out stronger in the third, outscoring Sacramento by 8 in the quarter to regain control of the game.
The two teams traded buckets early in the fourth before the Jazz would go on a 15-0 run with a little over 9 minutes left in the game to secure the victory, and the season series, against Sacramento. The Kings were brought down by poor perimeter defense in the second half, allowing the Jazz to dump in 10 three-pointers in their comeback effort.
Rodney Hood led Utah with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Derrick Favors followed him with a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. Utah finished with six players in double figures.
Despite the Kings being poised to end the season on a sour note after losing six of their last seven games, fans of the team were treated to a historic moment with just under 20 seconds to go in the game as Sim Bhullar, the 7’5 giant recently acquired by Sacramento, became the first person of Indian decent to score in the NBA after dumping in a nifty jump hook in the middle of the post. He finished the game with just those two points.
The Kings will travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on Friday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Sacramento Kings 101 to 95 on Friday night in Sacramento. The game had playoff implications for the Pelicans who came into the contest just one and a half games behind Oklahoma City for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Pelicans knew early in the game that Oklahoma City had lost to Memphis. The win cut the Thunder’s lead to just one-half game in the race for the playoffs.
The loss negated another incredible triple-double performance by the Kings DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins finished with 24 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists. Cousins had a triple-double on Tuesday night in Houston.
The Pelicans led the Kings 56-42 at halftime and had led Sacramento by 14 points several times in the half. New Orleans increased their lead to 18 points with 6:21 to go in the third quarter. Just when it looked like all was lost, the Kings came back to life.
Sacramento went on a 16-0 run and cut the New Orleans lead to just two points with 1:27 remaining in the quarter. The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins’ eight points, seven rebounds and four assists. Ray McCallum scored 10 points connecting on four of seven shots from the floor including two 3-pointers. Sacramento trailed New Orleans by just three points, 74-71 after three quarters.
In the final period, the Pelicans twice opened up a 10 point lead. The Kings continued to chip away at that lead and closed it to a two point game on a Omri Casspi slam dunk off a feed from Cousins with 4:17 to go in the game.
New Orleans went up by seven points but the Kings cut the lead to three (96-93) off a Derek Williams dunk with an assist from Cousins with 1:27 remaining. The Pelicans outscored the Kings 5-2 down the stretch and won the game 101-95.
The Kings shot 47.4-percent (37 for 78) from the field. They hit six of 17 (35.3-percent) 3-point attempts. One of Sacramento’s downfalls in the game was its free throw shooting. The Kings were just 15 for 25 (60.0-percent) from the stripe which is well below their season average of 77.5-percent per game.
“I think every game I see, I see progress,” said Kings Head Coach George Karl. “Tonight, because of how we played defensively, we had every opportunity, even after a rough start. We gave up the three-ball in the start, but then we were better defensively. In the fourth quarter, we missed open shots. Those could’ve gone in and gotten us over the hump. I thought New Orleans showed desperation. The have to win some games on the road and they knew that this was one of those games that they had to go and get if they wanted to get ahead of Oklahoma City.”
Sacramento recorded 21 assists and had just 10 turnovers (13 points) for a very respectable 2:1 ratio. The Kings were outrebounded 50-38.
Omri Casspi put up 17 points with a seven for nine shooting night. Ben McLemore also had a 17 point game. Ray McCallum finished with 14 points while Derrick Williams added 10 points in the game.
Sacramento allowed allowed New Orleans to shoot 48.3-percent (14 for 29) from beyond the 3-point arc. Most of the 3-point damage came in the first half.
The Pelicans were led in scoring by Eric Gordon’s 21 points. Gordon hit six field goals, four of which were 3-pointers. Former King Tyreke Evans just missed a triple-double putting up 19 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. Anthony Davis finished with 20 points.
The Kings will return to action on Sunday when they will host the Utah Jazz.
The Pelicans will play the Trail Blazers in Portland on Saturday night.
Live to India
The Kings – Pelicans game was broadcast live to India in hopes that the first player of Indian descent to be included on a NBA roster – Sim Bhullar – might make an appearance in the contest. Because the game was so close up to the end, Bhullar did not play.
The game tipped off at 7:40 AM on Saturday morning in Mumbai.
