Sacramento Kings Blog – Page 38 – NBA Blog

NBA career of Mitch Richmond takes him into Hall of Fame

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on former NBA shooting guard Mitch Richmond, who will soon be immortalized in the Basketball Hall of Fame:

Mitch Richmond and his Run TMC teammates, Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway, made plenty of highlights during their two seasons together with the Warriors.

But it was Richmond’s seven seasons with the Kings – after the Warriors broke up Run TMC by trading the shooting guard out of Kansas State for the draft rights to Billy Owens – that made him a Hall of Famer.

That deal, on Nov. 1, 1991, sent Richmond from a two-time playoff team to the lowly Kings, who were coming off a 25-57 season, but it also gave Sacramento its first bona fide star player.

“I would drive back to Oakland (where he still lived), knowing we weren’t that good. … So when I was on the court, that was kind of my peace, playing,” Richmond said. “But when I was off the court, all those thoughts (of winning) came back, especially driving back to Golden State every time. At that time … Golden State was the headline.”

Richmond, who averaged 23.3 points for the Kings, will inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday in Springfield, Mass., the first Kings player of the Sacramento era so honored.

Knicks trade Wayne Ellington, Jeremy Tyler to Kings for Quincy Acy, Travis Outlaw

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has acquired forwards Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guard Wayne Ellington and forward Jeremy Tyler. In addition, the Knicks have reduced the protection on the 2016 second-round draft selection acquired by Sacramento, via Portland.

According to the New York Daily News, “Ellington, slated to make $2.77 million this season, was acquired in the June deal from Dallas − along with Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin, Samuel Dalembert and two second-round picks − in exchange for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton. The 6-10 Tyler, whose $948,000 option had yet to be exercised, averaged 9.7 minutes over 41 appearances for the Knicks last season.”

Acy, 6-7, 225-pounds, holds career averages of 3.1 points, on 50.0-percent shooting, 3.2 rebounds and 12.9 minutes over 92 games in two seasons with Toronto and Sacramento. This past season, he averaged 2.7 points and 3.4 rebounds over 13.4 minutes in 63 games for the Raptors and Kings. The Tyler, TX native played collegiately for four seasons at Baylor University, and was originally selected by the Raptors in the second round (37th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft.

Outlaw, 6-9, 210-pounds, holds career averages of 8.5 points, on 42.3-percent shooting, and 3.2 rebounds in 622 games (98 starts) over 11 seasons with Portland, L.A. Clippers, New Jersey and Sacramento. This past season for the Kings, he averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds over 16.9 minutes in 63 games. The Starksville, MS native was originally selected in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft directly out of Starkville HS.

Ellington, 6-4, 200-pounds, holds career averages of 6.4 points and 17.9 minutes in 312 games over five NBA seasons with Minnesota, Memphis, Cleveland and Dallas. He was originally acquired by the Knicks in a multiple-player deal with the Mavericks on Jun. 25, 2014.

Tyler, 6-10, 250-pounds, has averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds over 9.9 minutes in 104 career games with Golden State, Atlanta and New York. The San Diego, CA-native, posted averages 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds over 9.7 minutes in 41 games for the Knicks this past season after signing as a free agent on Dec. 31, 2013.

Video: Mitch Richmond NBA career highlights

Enjoy these video highlights from the NBA career of guard Mitch Richmond, who will soon be inducted in the Hall of Fame:

Kings sign Eric Moreland

The Sacramento Kings have signed Eric Moreland to a contract, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

The 6-10, 218-pound forward-center averaged 3.5 points (.444 FG%, .500 FT%), 8.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, a team-high 2.7 blocks and 19.2 minutes per game in six games off the bench for the Kings Samsung NBA Summer League 2014 Championship squad. Moreland led all players in Las Vegas with 16 blocks and his blocks per game average was the highest among all players seeing action in at least four games.

According to the Sacramento Bee, “the Kings have been fans of Moreland’s game for a while. He was a part of the first pre-draft workout in June and a player the Kings wanted to monitor after the draft process. The Kings are looking for more athleticism along the frontline to help improve their defense and rim protection. If Moreland sticks and makes the regular-season roster, he could eventually help in that area.”

A two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention, Moreland finished his career at Oregon State in 2013-14 as the Beavers’ all-time leader in blocked shots (184) and blocks per game (2.07 bpg).

DeMarcus Cousins has opportunity to reach worldwide stage

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings’ young, super-talented big dude DeMarcus Cousins:

On this warm, wet afternoon in the desert, DeMarcus Cousins sprinted toward the most significant few weeks of his professional career and, perhaps, of his young life.

The choice is his. The global stage awaits. The question hovers.

Is he ready to take his show on the road – to accompany the 2014 U.S. men’s national team to the FIBA World Cup next month in Spain – or will he let this gold medal opportunity slip through his undeniably capable fingers?

Cousins, who turns 24 on Aug. 13, has been here before. Sort of. This is his third appearance at the Team USA training camp, but his first as a contender for a roster spot. In previous summers, he was invited to scrimmage his NBA elders and prep the big boys for the upcoming world tournament and Olympics. Now, he has a chance to prove he’s all grown up, that his 6-foot-11, 270-pound frame can anchor a squad depleted the previous 48 hours by the withdrawals of power forwards Kevin Love and Blake Griffin.

“We have to have active bigs,” Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the opening practice. “Our main guy is Anthony Davis. Then we have to see who else fits in, but also how they fit in with the other guys. (Cousins) has continued to get into better shape. We love the fact he’s committed. He’s trying like crazy. He’s come (to the training session) multiple times. That level of commitment is not just to be admired, it needs to be talked about.”

Kings extend deadline on Quincy Acy option

Here’s the Sacramento Bee with an update on the Kings:

The Kings reached an agreement with third-year forward Quincy Acy and his agent to extend the deadline to guarantee his salary for next season until Aug. 15.

The deadline had been Saturday and without the extension the Kings were considering declining the option. The agreement allows the Kings to explore ways to shed salary and still retain Acy, who would be due $915,243 next season. His salary would put the Kings about $2 million from the luxury-tax line of $76.829 million.

Kings hope to change style of play

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings:

Even before the end of last season, Kings coach Michael Malone spoke often about changing the team’s style of play.

Malone wanted the Kings to play smarter and faster, move the ball and commit more to defense. That’s how the San Antonio Spurs won the 2014 NBA championship.

Through free agency (point guard Darren Collison) and the draft (shooting guard Nik Stauskas), the Kings believe they have taken steps toward those changes while counting on growth and maturity from returning players.

Some of the returnees are being drilled in the new strategy during the NBA Summer League. Saturday, the Kings won their fourth in a row, beating the Chicago Bulls 80-61 at the Thomas & Mack Center to reach the semifinals.

Kings happy to land Darren Collison

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on teh Kings, who recently signed guard Darren Collison:

The Kings officially signed Collison to a three-year, $16 million contract Saturday to take over as the team’s starting point guard on the same day their trade of Isaiah Thomas to Phoenix became official.

Thomas is a more accomplished offensive player, but the Kings believe Collison’s speed and athleticism will allow the team to defend fullcourt more and get out in transition more on offense.

“Darren had a real appeal in terms of pace of play, his speed and his ability to increase our pace of play,” said Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro. “It’s what we talked about as a staff as a goal in the offseason, just to try to be a team that gets up and down the floor a little more quickly.”

The Kings ranked 14th in the NBA in pace at 96.75 possessions per 48 minutes last season. They were tied for 20th in offensive rating at 102.9. Offensive rating is the number of points scored per 100 possessions.

Kings hire Tyrone Corbin as assistant coach

The Sacramento Kings today hired Tyrone Corbin as an assistant coach on Head Coach Michael Malone’s staff, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

Corbin enjoyed two successful stints with the Kings in 1995-96 and 1999-00, teaming with current assistant coach Corliss Williamson during both seasons and played under Kings Assistant General Manager Mike Bratz, who served as an assistant coach during the 1995-96 season.

Before joining the Kings, Corbin served as head coach of the Utah Jazz for four seasons, compiling a 112-146 (.434) record. Named head coach on February 10, 2011 following Jerry Sloan’s resignation, Corbin guided the Jazz to a winning record in two of his three full seasons at the helm and a playoff appearance in 2011. Prior to his promotion to head coach, Corbin was an assistant coach for the Jazz under Sloan from 2004-2011. Corbin joined the Jazz after spending the 2003-04 season as manager of player development for the New York Knicks and two seasons as a player mentor for the North Charleston Lowgators of the NBA D-League.

A native of Columbia, S.C., Corbin played for nine NBA teams during a 16-year NBA career (1985-2001), averaging 9.2 points (.456 FG%, .299 3pt%, .791 FT%), 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 26.0 minutes per game in 1,065 career games, 458 of which he started. Originally drafted by San Antonio in the second round (35th pick overall) of the 1985 NBA Draft out of DePaul University, his career included stops with the Spurs, Cleveland, Phoenix, Minnesota, Utah, Atlanta, Sacramento, Miami and Toronto.

Kings sign Darren Collison

The Sacramento Kings today signed free agent point guard Darren Collison to a multi-year contract, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

“Adding Darren provides veteran leadership in our backcourt,” said D’Alessandro. “His speed and quickness will undoubtedly increase our pace and he plays sound defense every night. We’re excited to have him join the team.”

Collison is entering his sixth NBA campaign after playing last season for the Los Angeles Clippers, where he averaged 11.4 points (.467 FG%, .376 3pt%, .857 FT%), 2.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 25.9 minutes per game in 80 games (started 35). He posted 13.3 points and 6.5 assists per contest during an 18-game stretch spelling an injured Chris Paul, helping the Clippers to a 12-6 mark during that span.

Originally selected by New Orleans with the 21st pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Collison has played five seasons with New Orleans (2009-10), Indiana (2010-11 – 2011-12), Dallas (2012-13) and Los Angeles. For his career, he is averaging 11.9 points (.464 FG%, .365 3pt%, .861 FT%), 2.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 28.7 minutes per game in 376 career contests.