Dillon Brooks goes wild in Rockets win over Kings

Per the Sacramento Bee:

Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks threw up three fingers and stared down the Sacramento bench after hitting a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against the Kings. Brooks blew the Kings a kiss moments later after burying another long ball to seal Sacramento’s fate.

Brooks had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Rockets to a 107-89 victory over the Kings before a sellout crowd of 18,055 at Toyota Center in Houston. Brooks made 9 of 14 from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range, both coming during a decisive stretch late in the fourth quarter.

“(Brooks) got in a rhythm,” Kings guard Davion Mitchell said. “He had a really good game. He hits shots. He got comfortable. He’s a basketball player. We’re all competitive and he hit shots. He’s going to talk trash. If he wasn’t hitting shots, he wouldn’t be doing the same thing, so it’s OK. We’ll live with the results and we’ll see them again.”

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Kings forward Trey Lyles out with calf injury

Sacramento Kings forward Trey Lyles injured his left calf during warmups of the Kings preseason game vs. the Golden State Warriors on October 18.

Multiple imaging studies confirmed Lyles suffered a left calf strain. Lyles continues to progress through return to play protocol.

Lyles will not travel to Houston with the team and he will be ruled out for the next two games.

Clippers trade Filip Petrusev to Kings for Luka Mitrovic

The Sacramento Kings have acquired forward Filip Petrušev and cash considerations in a trade with the L.A. Clippers for the draft rights to forward Luka Mitrović.

Drafted in the second round (20th pick, 50th overall) by the Philadelphia 76ers, Petrušev played two seasons for the Gonzaga Bulldogs from 2018-20, averaging 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. The Serbian native then spent three seasons in Europe, averaging 12.8 points, 1.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game.

Kings exercise contract options on Keegan Murray, Chris Duarte and Davion Mitchell

The Sacramento Kings yesterday exercised the third-year option on Keegan Murray and fourth-year options on Chris Duarte and Davion Mitchell, according to Kings General Manager Monte McNair.

The Kings acquired Duarte in July from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2030 second-round pick. Originally selected as the 13th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Duarte averaged 10.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in two seasons with the Pacers.

Mitchell averaged 8.5 points and 3.2 assists shooting 42.9% from the field in his first two seasons in Sacramento. Selected by the Kings with the ninth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Mitchell was named to the 2021-22 NBA Rising Stars team.

Selected fourth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, Murray played 80 games (78 starts) during his rookie season with the Kings, averaging 12.2 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists through 29.8 minutes. Murray became the NBA’s All-Time Rookie 3-Point Leader with 206 3-pointers made.

Kings convert Jordan Ford deal to a two-way contract

The Sacramento Kings have converted guard Jordan Ford’s deal to a two-way contract.

Last season, Ford averaged 14.7 points (50.1 FG%, 40.4 3pt%, 80.6 FT%), 2.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 32 games (all starts) for the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate. A member of Sacramento’s 2023 Summer League roster, Ford posted averages of 16.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.0 steals in four games (all starts) for the Kings at the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas.

A graduate of Folsom High School, Ford played collegiately at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., where he finished with the second-most career points in program history (1,929).

Kings sign Jordan Ford, waive Nerlens Noel and Neemias Queta

The Sacramento Kings have signed guard Jordan Ford.

Also, Nerlens Noel and Neemias Queta have been waived.

Last season, Ford averaged 14.7 points (50.1 FG%, 40.4 3pt%, 80.6 FT%), 2.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 32 games (all starts) for the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate. A member of Sacramento’s 2023 Summer League roster, Ford posted averages of 16.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.0 steals in four games (all starts) for the Kings at the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas.

In his first two seasons with the Kings, Queta appeared in 20 games for Sacramento. He played in 43 regular season games during the 2022-23 season for the Stockton Kings, averaging 17.7 points (68.5 FG%), 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

Last season, Queta led the G League in field goal percentage and ranked fourth in blocks per game on his way to earning All-NBA G League and All-Defensive G League honors. He also finished as the runner up for the NBA G League Most Valuable Player award. Queta was originally selected by the Kings with the 39th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Utah State.

Noel holds career averages of 7.1 points (54.6 FG%), 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in 467 career games (223 starts).

The Kings roster now stands at 17 players.

Kings sign Nerlens Noel

The Sacramento Kings yesterday signed center Nerlens Noel.

A 10-year veteran, Noel has posted averages of 7.1 points (54.6 FG%), 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in 467 career games (223 starts). Among active players, he ranks ninth in blocks per contest and has been in the Top 20 among annual blocks leaders four times, including most recently ranking third (2.2) during the 2020-21 season.

Originally selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft out of Kentucky, Noel received All-Rookie First Team honors after averaging 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.9 blocks per game in 75 games (71 starts) for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Sacramento Kings sign 2022-23 EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov

The Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, July 20 signed forward Sasha Vezenkov.

Vezenkov was named the 2022-23 EuroLeague MVP after he averaged 17.6 points (55.3 FG%, 38.3 3pt%, 84.0 FT%), 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in 40 games (39 starts) for Olympiacos. He also received the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy and was selected to the All-EuroLeague First Team for a second consecutive season.

During the 2022-23 season, Vezenkov competed in the Greek Basket League for Olympiacos, posting averages of 16.7 points (58.0 FG%, 39.4 3pt%, 80.3 FT%), 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest. For his performance, Vezenkov was chosen as the league’s Most Valuable Player for the second season in a row and helped lead his team to win the Greek League Championship.

A native of Bulgaria, Vezenkov began his career in the Greek Basket League with Aris Basketball Club, spending four seasons with the team from 2011-15. He joined FC Barcelona for the next three years (2015-18) before joining Olympiacos prior to the 2018-19 season.

Vezenkov was originally selected with the 57th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets. Sacramento acquired his draft rights in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2022 NBA Draft.

Kings re-sign Trey Lyles

The Sacramento Kings on Friday, July 7 re-signed Trey Lyles.

Since joining the Kings in February 2022, Lyles, 27, has appeared in 98 games (20 starts) and averaged 8.3 points (46.8 FG%, 36.3 3PT%, 82.7 FT%), 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 18.3 minutes per game. During the 2022-23 season, Lyles recorded 562 total points, which were the second most points scored off the bench for the Kings.

Originally selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft out of Kentucky, Lyles has appeared in 523 games (126 starts) in his career.

Pacers trade Chris Duarte to Kings

The Sacramento Kings yesterday acquired guard Chris Duarte in a trade with the Indiana Pacers for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2030 second-round pick.

During the 2022-23 season, Duarte averaged 7.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 46 games (12 starts) for the Pacers. He was selected to participate in the 2022 NBA Rising Stars Challenge and went on to be named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team after posting averages of 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per contest in 55 games (39 starts) in 2021-22.

Duarte appeared in 101 games (51 starts) for the Pacers, averaging 10.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He was selected 13th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Oregon after receiving Pac-12 Player of the Year honors for his performance during the 2020-21 season.