Sacramento Kings

Free Agency is one of the few topics Kings fans don't claim to have expertise on because for the most part, the Kings have historically not been very active on the Free Agent market. The highest profile signing in Kings history was back in 1998 when the team made Vlade Divac one of the top paid Centers in the NBA (5 years, $40 million). In recent memory the biggest signing the Kings have made was Chuck Hayes in 2011 (4 years, $22 million). Might that reputation change with new ownership? Sacramento is fortunate to not be burdened with overly burdensome contracts. Jason Thompson currently has the longest deal of any King but is very reasonably priced for a big man. Marcus Thornton has the most expensive contract, although that will likely be surpassed by Tyreke Evans if he is re-signed. In terms of cap space, the Kings have $41.3 million committed in salary for 2013-14 if you don't include cap holds. Of Sacramento's Free Agents (Tyreke Evans, Cole Aldrich, James Johnson, Toney Douglas) only Evans really has a solid chance of being retained. The Kings also own the #7 pick, which will add about $2.5 million to Sacramento's salary number. Last year the Salary Cap was set at $58 million. It likely will go up for the first time in a couple years for next season. Let's assume a Salary Cap of $60 million. Without taking Tyreke Evans into consideration, they will have about $16.2 million in cap space. If the Kings were to attempt a big move this offseason, who is out there to spend on? Here are the biggest names: Josh Smith, F, Atlanta Hawks Andre Iguodala*, G/F, Denver Nuggets David West, PF, Indiana Pacers Chris Paul, PG, Los Angeles Clippers Dwight Howard, C, Los Angeles Lakers Brandon Jennings**, PG, Milwaukee Bucks Monta Ellis*, SG, Milwaukee Bucks J.J. Redick, SG, Milwaukee Bucks Kevin Martin, SG, Oklahoma City Thunder Manu Ginobili, SG, San Antonio Spurs Al Jefferson, F/C, Utah Jazz Paul Millsap, PF, Utah Jazz Jeff Teague**, PG, Atlanta Hawks Andrew Bynum, C, Philadelphia 76ers *Iguodala and Ellis must first exercise options before they become Free Agents. It's possible, if unlikely, that they could choose not to exercise those options. ** Jennings and Teague will be Restricted Free Agents There are also some smaller names that could help the Kings fill positions of need: Kyle Korver, G/F, Atlanta Hawks Anthony Morrow, G/F, Dallas Mavericks Corey Brewer, SF, Denver Nuggets Jose Calderon, PG, Detroit Pistons Jarrett Jack, G, Golden St. Warriors Tony Allen, SG, Memphis Grizzlies Mike Dunleavy, SF, Milwaukee Bucks Dorell Wright, SF, Philadelphia 76ers Toney Douglas*, PG, Sacramento Kings Tiago Splitter, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs DeJuan Blair, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs Gary Neal*, SF, San Antonio Spurs * Neal and Douglas can both be Restricted Free Agents There is also another tried and true method of improving the team and that involves trading. The Kings definitely have some assets that can be used to acquire other pieces. I would rank Sacramento's assets in terms of trade value (I am leaving Tyreke Evans off this list due to his current Free Agent status) thus: 1. DeMarcus Cousins 2. The #7 Pick 3. Isaiah Thomas 4. Patrick Patterson 5. Marcus Thornton 6. Jason Thompson 7. Jimmer Fredette 8. The #36 Pick 9. John Salmons 10. Chuck Hayes 11. Travis Outlaw With those pieces the Kings can make a big trade or two, but also a couple of small ones. One example of a small one I could think of is trading the #36 pick to Portland for the rights to International SF Kostas Papanikolaou. There was a report today that Papanikolaou is seeking a trade before coming to the NBA because Portland is already set at SF with Batum and Victor Claver. Papanikolaou plays for Olympiakos, the reigning Euroleague champions. He also shot well over 40% from three in over 50 games last season. The Kings enter a new era with a wealth of options before them. Finding the right one(s)

[Before the 21012-13 NBA season began, before Sactown Royalty became overrun with covering negotiations, I previewed all 30 NBA teams and how I thought their season would go. But as much fun as it is to preview a season, it's also fun to look back and see what actually happened. And since Kings fans were pretty distracted by off-court events, these will also serve as a reintroduction to what we missed while we watched committee meetings.] What I said: The Nets arrive in Brooklyn with incredible buzz, and it seems inconceivable that they will miss the playoffs, especially in the East. But the Nets may not live up to the hype. Even though several Nets players, including Deron, have acknowledged that the team was checked out in the second half of last season, this team was still awful last year. A healthy Lopez should help. A full season of Wallace will help. Joe Johnson will absolutely help. But now the Nets need to deliver. They've created the buzz, built a respectable and exciting roster, and delivered on every promise they made. Now they need to deliver on the court and redefine what it means to be watching Nets Basketball. What happened: The Brooklyn Nets delivered on their preseason promise. We expected them to make the playoffs, but we didn’t exactly expect them to be title contenders. But that isn’t to say there weren’t some disappointments along the way. Gerald Wallace struggled mightily to find his role in the offense, and went through a prolonged period where he admitted he’d entirely lost confidence in his shot. As Wallace’s age is taking its toll on his athleticism, Wallace’s shot becomes more critical than ever. Kris Humphries was also a disappointment. I scoffed when the Nets gave Humphries a 2-year contract worth $12 million per year, but even I didn’t expect Humphries to be as underwhelming as he was. Humphries eventually saw himself become an afterthought on the bench. It’s truly a terrible signing, salvaged only by the fact that Billy King contained himself to a two year contract. The Nets will hope to find a team looking for a large expiring contract sometime next season. The disappointment of Humphries was offset by two other very smart moves the Nets made. Reggie Evans, for all his faults, proved to be a better option in the starting line-up on a far smaller contract. Still, even at his best, Evans is a very limited player and isn’t a long-term solution for the franchise. The Nets also turned some heads this past offseason when they signed the oft-maligned Andray Blatche. Blatche was always a very talented player, but had become a punchline with the Washington Wizards. For the Nets, though, the gamble paid off. Blatche played very well in spurts, and it will be interesting to see what kind of contract he’s earned himself as he enters free agency. It seems like the Nets would like to bring him back if the price is right, but they’ve limited their flexibility entering the offseason. Deron Williams chose to stay, but then failed to look like the franchise star he was supposed to be for much of the season. Whether it was an issue of conditioning, injury, or some combination of the two, Deron did not look like the guy we all expected him to be. Late in the season he finally turned it on and had a brilliant spell for the final month or two. If he can play like that consistently, the Nets will be regular staples in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But perhaps the biggest key to this season’s success was Brook Lopez. Lopez battled injuries most of last season, and spent his time watching the Nets do everything they could to acquire Dwight Howard. When the Nets came down to the wire and risked losing Lopez outright, they bit the bullet, gave up on Dwight, and gave Lopez a monstrous contract that was heavily scrutinized. Lopez showed up as though nothing had happened and had a great season, re-establishing his re

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham “Long live the Sacramento Kings”.  That was the message of yesterday’s massive celebration taking place at Cesar Chavez Park.  Cowbell Kingdom was there and caught up with new Kings owners Mark Mastrov, Paul Jacobs, Phil Oates and Dave “Deuce” Mason of CBS Sports 1140 at yesterday’s event.  Listen down below. Excerpts Mark Mastrov It’s amazing because you look at what we’ve done in the last four months.  I mean Burkle and I started off and then we slowly brought Vivek in quietly and then it evolved into the Jacobs family and Andy Miller and Chris Kelly and Raj (Bhathal) and everybody else.  But when you look at the people around us, it’s an amazing group of brain power with the diversity of experiences that are going to add a tremendous value to this franchise. Paul Jacobs The thing the fans need to know is that they’re the one who kept the team in Sacramento.  The league didn’t want to move the team when they knew that these fans had the passion that they had, the excitement that they had.  Sacramento supported the team and that’s why we’re here.  Sure we’re a new ownership group and we came in and put some money in, but it was really the fans that made the team stay here and that’s what this day is about. Phil Oates As a community, it’s thrilling because we need jobs in this community.  We need this to be a place where people are moving to, not away from.  And I think with this energy of this downtown arena, with the whole great feeling that it brings to this town, knowing that people, tremendous people of power are coming from San Diego and Los Angeles, the Silicon Valley, it means Sacramento is going to live long past me and into the lifetime of my grandson who’s due on Monday and past to his grandson. Deuce Mason This new ownership group is all about the fans…They’re gonna be in Sleep Train for the next three years and they will make the most of it.  They’re gonna do great with what they have.  Then you go to the new arena, it’s going to be even more amazing.  That’s what I’m so excited for.  I have so much belief in this new ownership group.  This isn’t just some “oh we’re doing this for fun”.  They are doing it because they believe in this community. Can’t see the audio player? Listen here. Music Credit: Ronald Jenkees – Guitar Sound Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS.

Nerlens Noel, the big man from Kentucky, was the first off the board this year by a sizeable margin. Still, this is the first year in a while that the first pick on StR's draft board hasn't won by a landslide. When a choice comes up, pick who you'd want the Kings to pick given all the players remaining. Note: THIS IS NOT A MOCK DRAFT. This is draft board, a list with the order of prospects you'd like to see the Kings pick. In other words, if we were the Kings front office, when our pick came up, we'd take the top name left on our board. So pick your choice, not who you think Geoff Petrie GM To Be Named Later or anyone else would choose in a slot. Explain your choice in the comments, and lobby for who should be added to the next pick's choices. This poll ends at 5 AM tomorrow. The next one will be begin shortly thereafter. We will go roughly 20 picks deep. Poll At #2 on the StR Draft Board, I select: Otto Porter Ben McLemore Trey Burke Victor Oladipo Anthony Bennett C.J. McCollum 5 votes | Results

(I am admittedly a little drunk, but I moved to Sacramento when I was six years old, in May of the year 2000. It was a perfect storm of influences that led to me developing a love for the game of basketball that year: newly made friends who liked the sport, a basketball hoop outside of my house, and most importantly, a local team that was really, really fun to watch. If anything sparked my bond with basketball, it was The Team: Vlade and Webber's behind the back passes, Peja's sharpshooting (and his Good Feet commercials!), Bobby Jackson's energy, Scott Pollard's hair (An aside: my family would watch the games together and whenever Bobby Jackson did something, my mom would shout "Bobby Jackson!" My sister, who was two at the time, would raise her fists in the air and shout back: Bobbyyyyy Jackson!" Life is truly a treat.) Not only were they fun to watch, they were really good, and they played the right way. They played with camaraderie and displayed a love for the game that I couldn't help but internalize. The only thing I remember about the 2001-2002 playoffs was Mike Bibby's bloody nose. I was eight years old, and I was visiting my grandparents, who just happened to live in a suburb of LA, and who just happened to be huge Lakers fans. After the game, I screamed and screamed and screamed. "HOW WAS THAT NOT A FOUL! HE GAVE HIM A BLOODY NOSE!" I wouldn't stop yelling and crying, and I told anyone who would listen (read: everyone in the entire house) about how I was going to write to David Stern and tell him about how it was obviously a foul on Kobe. Flash forward to today. After knee injuries, flashes of success, a long, dark seven years of irrelevance, and a gut-wrenching few years of relocation attempts, it feels utterly foreign to be hopeful about the future of the Kings. It feels so foreign to legitimately contemplate going after big free agents, making big trades, spending big money. It feels so foreign, and so...great. Is this what being a fan of a real team feels like? Every time I think about the Kings and Vivek, a huge smile etches itself onto my face. I am a Sacramento Kings fan, and for the first time since those long-ago days of Peja and Webber and Divac I can say that with nothing but positive thoughts. The positivity is infectious; the future is bright. Our team will finally compete again. No more elbows, no more bloody noses, no more Maloofs. We are back, and we are here to stay. (I am admittedly a little drunk, but I moved to Sacramento when I was six years old, in May of the year 2000. It was a perfect storm of influences that led to me developing a love for the game of basketball that year: newly made friends who liked the sport, a basketball hoop outside of my house, and most importantly, a local team that was really, really fun to watch. If anything sparked my bond with basketball, it was The Team: Vlade and Webber's behind the back passes, Peja's sharpshooting (and his Good Feet commercials!), Bobby Jackson's energy, Scott Pollard's hair (An aside: my family would watch the games together and whenever Bobby Jackson did something, my mom would shout "Bobby Jackson!" My sister, who was two at the time, would raise her fists in the air and shout back: Bobbyyyyy Jackson!" Life is truly a treat.) Not only were they fun to watch, they were really good, and they played the right way. They played with camaraderie and displayed a love for the game that I couldn't help but internalize. The only thing I remember about the 2001-2002 playoffs was Mike Bibby's bloody nose. I was eight years old, and I was visiting my grandparents, who just happened to live in a suburb of LA, and who just happened to be huge Lakers fans. After the game, I screamed and screamed and screamed. "HOW WAS THAT NOT A FOUL! HE GAVE HIM A BLOODY NOSE!" I wouldn't stop yelling and crying, and I told anyone who would listen (read: everyone in the entire house) about how I was going to write to David Stern and tell him about how it was o

Image property of @nickmonacelli This afternoon, which grew into this evening, 15,000 plus packed themselves into Cesar Chavez park in Downtown Sacramento to celebrate not only the Sacramento Kings, but their community pride. To call the Long Live the Kings rally anything but a rousing success would be a complete short change. The fans, were amazing. The speakers, were amazing. The hosts, were amazing. The people who scrambled in the past few days to produce the movies, to build the stage, to book the entertainment – everybody who was involved in putting the rally together, was amazing. Tonight, was amazing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend but I did take the time out to unexpectedly cap the night in video form. You’ll have to excuse the sound as there is a slight hiss in the videos (and some syncing issues on the longer videos), but I hope you enjoy. Sacramento Kings honor grassroot leaders, including our own Scott Levin who represented A Royal Pain: Ticha Penicheiro and Ruthie Bolton of Sacramento Monarchs fame speak to Jen and Scott: Top 10 moments of the 2012-13 season (top 9, I missed #10. Oops): Chris Webber tribute: Kings honor former Sacramento Kings dance team members: Quick clip of David Garibaldi completing his Here We Stay(ed) painting: Grant Napear interviews Kings guard Isaiah Thomas: Grant Napear interviews Kings guard Tyreke Evans: Scott Moak interviews former Sacramento King Scott Pollard: Carmichael Dave speaks with Vivek Ranadive: Gary Gerould interviews Chris Webber: Vivek Ranadive and Kevin Johnson are interviewed on ESPN’s Sportscenter: Gary Gerould interviews Mitch Richmond: Anjali Ranadive and Tesla performing Love Song: Mayor Kevin Johnson, Vivek Ranadive speeches: Some pictures from the night:

As the gates opened tonight at the Long Live the Kings rally, Sacramento Mayor and new Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadvive were guests on ESPN’s Sportscenter. Complete with hyper Sacramento King fans behind them, who could be LOUDLY heard chanting a handful of times, Ranadive and Johnson took the anchors questions with ease. Ranadive continued to talk about the Kings becoming a global brand while praising both the city of Sacramento and the fans. “When I think of Sacramento, the hearts of the fans here are so big, that there is no bigger market as far as I’m concerned. Just look at the people behind me. This city is unbelievable. These are the best fans in the world and this as big as it gets. Mayor Johnson also did his best to answer questions, though, at times was drowned out by the screaming fans behind him. The ESPN anchor asked Johnson to relate his experience going from Cleveland to Phoenix to how Ranadive will go from Golden State to Sacramento: Make your second stop, your best and last stop. He learned the ropes in Golden State and he’ll be able to apply them here in Sacramento. This will be his last stop. And I think he’s not only committed to transforming this team, revitalizing this community but creating a global brand for our franchise. You can watch the full video below – my apologies about the poor quality. It was a rushed phone recording, so, don’t hate me too much. Video rights to ABC/ESPN.

Sacramento Kings rally

The Long Live the Kings Rally is tonight at Cesar Chavez Park from 5 - 9 P.M. If you're planning on attending make sure to get there early as there likely will be plenty of traffic and a scramble for parking. This is FREE so definitely try to make it out there if you can. It should be an amazing event, as we'll be introduced to Vivek Ranadivé and several other new members of the team ownership, as well as see some familiar faces in Mitch Richmond, Bobby Jackson, Tyreke Evans, Isaiah Thomas, Scot Pollard and even Chris Webber. The man of the hour, Mayor Kevin Johnson, will also be there. For those who can't attend, this thread is for you. I'm certain that the event will be streamed online somewhere. The rally will be streamed live on Kings.com. For those that are able to attend, I hope to see you there and put some faces to names. Tonight is our chance to really celebrate what we were able to accomplish. This is a once in a lifetime thing. Carmichael Dave said it best earlier today: "A championship only last one year, but what we did lasts forever".

First off let me introduce myself. My name is Phil and i have been a crazily passionate Kings fan since Jason Williams. He was my favorite player as i was only in 5th grade at the time, but i grew to love the Kings and being the loyal fan that i am I have stuck and my blood has bled darker purple and black each year since. I've religiously followed the relocation situation as everyone else has here and finally decided to make an account rather than just read the stuff posted lol Anyway, now that we know that we are here for good, we need to build for the future. To me that starts with solidifying the front office and coaching, something that will greatly benefit our talented but troubled roster. Cousins is our franchise player (to the dismay of some but not myself) Yes he has his issues and outbursts but the good outweighs the bad with him moving forward and a good coach will get the most out of him as will a winning atmosphere. I think we can all agree (well hopefully most of us) that Big Cuz is most effective with a big that can rebound, block shots and work hard on defense, basically do all the things that Cousins doesn't do consistently enough. When Samuel Dalembert was here Cousins was just a rook and when he finally put it together towards the end of the year our front line was a huge issue (literally) for people. As much as i would like to sign Dalembert, he's old and we need someone to put as a frontcourt mate for Demarcus long term sooner rather than later. Enter Gorgui Diengs. His game reminds me of everything that Sammy D does/did in his NBA career. He protects the paint with ridiculous length along with great athleticism for his size and height and anchored the best defense in the nation as well as the defense of the national champions. He hit mid range jumpers at a 50% clip his final year and can pass pretty well from the high post. Zeller would be great if we didn't have a guy who can and will be better than him in Cousins but we need a guy to play defense and get his hands dirty which is what Dieng brings to the table. Enough of my talk, what do you guys think? First off let me introduce myself. My name is Phil and i have been a crazily passionate Kings fan since Jason Williams. He was my favorite player as i was only in 5th grade at the time, but i grew to love the Kings and being the loyal fan that i am I have stuck and my blood has bled darker purple and black each year since. I've religiously followed the relocation situation as everyone else has here and finally decided to make an account rather than just read the stuff posted lol Anyway, now that we know that we are here for good, we need to build for the future. To me that starts with solidifying the front office and coaching, something that will greatly benefit our talented but troubled roster. Cousins is our franchise player (to the dismay of some but not myself) Yes he has his issues and outbursts but the good outweighs the bad with him moving forward and a good coach will get the most out of him as will a winning atmosphere. I think we can all agree (well hopefully most of us) that Big Cuz is most effective with a big that can rebound, block shots and work hard on defense, basically do all the things that Cousins doesn't do consistently enough. When Samuel Dalembert was here Cousins was just a rook and when he finally put it together towards the end of the year our front line was a huge issue (literally) for people. As much as i would like to sign Dalembert, he's old and we need someone to put as a frontcourt mate for Demarcus long term sooner rather than later. Enter Gorgui Diengs. His game reminds me of everything that Sammy D does/did in his NBA career. He protects the paint with ridiculous length along with great athleticism for his size and height and anchored the best defense in the nation as well as the defense of the national champions. He hit mid range jumpers at a 50% clip his final year and can pass pretty well from the high po