Sacramento Kings Blog – Page 39 – NBA Blog

Kings sign-and-trade Isaiah Thomas to Suns

The Phoenix Suns completed a sign-and-trade deal with the Sacramento Kings that will send guard Isaiah Thomas to Phoenix in exchange for the rights to forward Alex Oriakhi, the club announced today.

“We welcome Isaiah Thomas,” said President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “His addition to our backcourt makes it one of the deepest and most dynamic in the league. We have enjoyed getting to know him during his visit to Phoenix this week. He will quickly become a fan-favorite.”

“Isaiah is one of the most dynamic scorers and playmakers in the NBA,” said General Manager Ryan McDonough. “I have always admired his competitive spirit and his love for the game. He will be a great fit for our up-tempo attack and he will help solidify what we believe is the best backcourt in the league.”

The 5-9, 185-pound Thomas is a three-year NBA veteran who averaged career-highs of 20.3 points on 45.3 percent shooting, 6.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 72 games with the Kings last season. One of just six players in the NBA to average at least 20 points and six assists in 2013-14, Thomas registered a career-high of 38 points on two occasions this past season. Thomas also recorded his first career triple-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Washington on March 18.

A career 44.7 percent shooter from the floor, including 36.0 percent from three-point range, Thomas is an efficient scorer whose 15.3-point career average has come on 11.6 field goal attempts per game. In Thomas’ two games at US Airways Center last season, the guard from Tacoma, Wash., averaged 26.0 points on 57.6 percent shooting, including a 29-point performance in Phoenix on Dec. 13.

The final selection (60th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft out of the University of Washington, Thomas has posted the fourth highest scoring average of his draft class through three seasons. In 216 career games, all with Sacramento, he has scored in double figures 162 times, including 72 games with 20-plus points and eight games scoring 30-plus points. Thomas has also posted 12 career games with double-digit assists, with each performance also representing a double-double.

A second round pick (57th overall) by the Suns out of the University of Missouri in the 2013 NBA Draft, Oriakhi played internationally and in the NBA D-League this past season. Oriakhi, who had been included on the Suns’ summer league roster, will no longer play with the Suns at NBA Summer League 2014 in Las Vegas.

Isaiah Thomas headed to Suns in sign-and-trade deal

Here’s ESPN.com reporting that a pretty talented guard is finding a new home:

The Sacramento Kings will send restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas to the Phoenix Suns in a sign-and-trade deal after reaching a new four-year, $28 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst.

In return, the Kings will acquire a $7 million trade exception and the rights to forward Alex Oriakhi, the 57th overall pick in 2013.

Yahoo! Sports first reported the deal.

Thomas averaged 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game last season, both career-highs.

Kings sign first round draft pick Nik Stauskas

The Sacramento Kings on Tuesday signed first-round draft pick Nik Stauskas (STOUS-kiss) to a contract, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. Sacramento selected Stauskas out of the University of Michigan with the eighth-overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

As a first round draft pick, Stauskas was guaranteed to receive a contract. This signing is standard and was expected.

An early entry candidate, the 6-6, 205-pound Stauskas earned numerous All-American honors and was named the 2013-14 Big 10 Player of the Year after averaging 17.5 points (.470 FG%, .442 3pt%, .824 FT%), 2.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 35.6 minutes per game in 36 appearances for the Wolverines during his sophomore campaign. In two seasons with Michigan, Stauskas helped the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament title game in 2013 and a Big Ten Championship and an Elite Eight appearance in 2014, finishing with career averages of 14.1 points (.467 FG%, .441 3pt%, .832 FT%), 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 32.9 minutes per game in 75 contests. In the Michigan record books, he is ranked second all-time in career free throw percentage, fifth in three-point field goal percentage, eighth in three-point field goals made (172) and 10th in three-point field goals attempted (390).

New Sacramento Kings arena will have small seating capacity

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings:

The Sacramento Kings are abandoning the arena that has the fewest seats in the NBA. They’re building a new arena … with the fewest seats in the NBA.

The $477 million arena at Downtown Plaza, set to begin construction later this month, will seat just 17,500 fans. That’s fewer than 200 additional seats compared to Sleep Train Arena, which is widely considered outmoded and inadequate for NBA use.

The Kings’ owners say their new building will be more lucrative than Sleep Train through the magic of modern arena design. There will be far more seats in the lower bowl, translating into higher ticket prices. There will be twice as many “premium” seats, including luxury suites and lofts, which will come with VIP perks and be among the most expensive tickets in the house. Those features will more than offset the relatively small total seating capacity, team officials say.

“There will be a massive change in comfort, in amenities, in concessions,” said Kings President Chris Granger, who is overseeing design and construction. “That’s why we’re doing it.”

At 745,000 square feet, including the practice facility, the new arena will be almost 70 percent bigger than Sleep Train.

But why so few seats? The designers are following a less-is-more revolution taking place in sports economics. Spacious arenas with 20,000-plus seats are giving way to cozier buildings that, paradoxically, can generate as much, if not more, profit than the big-box facilities. It’s no coincidence that the newest NBA arena, the 2-year-old Barclays Center in Brooklyn, is currently the league’s smallest with a capacity of 17,732.

Kings waive forward Willie Reed

The Sacramento Kings waived forward Willie Reed, according to Kings General manager Pete D’Alessandro.

The 6-10, 200-pound forward was signed as a free agent by the Kings on March 26, 2014. He did not see action in any regular season games with the Kings. Reed was assigned to the Kings’ D-League affiliate Reno Bighorns and averaged 13.6 points (.649 FG%, .800 FT%), 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2.4 blocks and 25.0 minutes per game in five contests off the bench.

Kings land sharpshooter Nik Stauskas

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings and the 2014 NBA Draft, which took place last night:

After all the speculation the Kings would trade their pick, Sacramento kept it and selected Michigan guard Nik Stauskas at No. 8 in the 2014 NBA draft.

The front office believes the Canadian-born shooter will help fill multiple holes, but most importantly he can shoot from deep.

The Kings made improving their outside shooting a priority, and Stauskas was one of the best available.

When asked if he was the best shooter in the draft, Stauskas said: “Definitely. Without a doubt.”

Stauskas doesn’t want to be known simply as a shooter, but he realizes why the Kings coveted him.

Rudy Gay exercises option to stay with Kings for 2014-15 season

Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay has exercised his contract option for the 2014-15 season, General Manager Pete D’Alessandro announced today.

“We’re thrilled that Rudy will return to Sacramento next season,” said Kings Chairman and Majority Owner Vivek Ranadivé. “He quickly demonstrated consistency both on the court and in the community, and we regard him as a valuable member of our organization moving forward.”

In his eighth NBA season, Gay was acquired by the Kings along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez on December 9, 2013. With the Kings, Gay averaged 20.1 points (.482 FG%, .312 3pt%, .836 FT%), 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.22 steals and 34.4 minutes per game in starting all 55 games he played in. Gay finished the 2013-14 season with averages of 20.0 points (.455 FG%, .330 3pt%, a career-high .822 FT%), 6.0 rebounds, a career-high 2.9 assists, 1.30 steals and 34.7 minutes per game in starting all 73 games he played with Sacramento and Toronto.

Gay is averaging 18.2 points (.451 FG%, .342 3pt%, .784 FT%), 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.35 steals and 35.9 minutes per game in 585 career contests.

Kings extend qualifying offer to Isaiah Thomas

The Sacramento Kings today extended a qualifying offer to Isaiah Thomas, making him a restricted free agent, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

Thomas, a three-year NBA veteran, has accrued averages of 15.3 points (.447 FGs, .360 3FGs, .857 FTs), 2.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.03 steals per game through 216 outings (started 153) with Sacramento after being selected No. 60 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.

In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.

Rudy Gay staying with Kings for 2014-15 season

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

The Kings’ courtship of Rudy Gay did not begin with a meeting in Sacramento earlier this month.

It began in December, when the Kings traded for Gay in a seven-player deal with Toronto and knew he could become a free agent after the 2013-14 season.

The Kings’ effort paid off Sunday, when Gay informed the team he would opt in for the final year of his contract, worth $19.3 million, for next season, league sources confirmed. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized.

Gay had until June 30 to decide whether to return to the Kings or become a free agent. With Gay on board for next season, the team will look to negotiate a contract extension this summer.

Kings open to trading No.8 draft pick

Here’s ESPN.com reporting on the Kings:

The Sacramento Kings are fielding offers from three teams for the No. 8 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, sources with direct knowledge told ESPN on Monday.

Sources said the Kings have two deals that could be done prior to Thursday’s 2 p.m. ET trade deadline to change the draft order and one would be a draft night deal, depending on which players are available when the Kings select.