Category: Sacramento Kings Blog

Here’s the Sacramento Bee with a report on the ongoing quest for a new Sacramento NBA arena:

The Sacramento City Council’s historic vote on the new downtown arena for the Kings won’t take place May 13, after all.

Unable to complete the fine points of the development agreement in time, Sacramento officials Saturday postponed indefinitely the vote on the Downtown Plaza project and the city’s proposed $255 million subsidy.

Nonetheless, officials said they remained confident the deal is moving forward, the delay will be brief and the project’s October 2016 scheduled opening isn’t in peril.

“The definitive agreements are in the last stages of completion and will be finalized soon,” the city said in its announcement.

The Sacramento Kings today recalled forward Willie Reed from the Kings D-League affiliate Reno Bighorns, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

The Bighorns’ season came to a close Sunday night with a 115-93 playoff loss to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Reed averaged 9.5 points (.643 FG%, 1-2 FT), 8.5 rebounds, 2.00 blocks and 25.0 minutes per game in two postseason contests for Reno.

Reed, a 6-10, 220-pound forward, 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 games off the bench for the Bighorns this season. He scored in double-figures in all five appearances and recorded two double-doubles.

Earlier this season, Reed played for the NBA D-League Springfield Armor and averaged 14.8 points (.590 FG%, .612 FT%), 10.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.6 blocks per game in 31.8 minutes per game in 44 games, of which he started 33.

Reed previously played with Sacramento during the 2012 preseason when he averaged 0.8 points (1-3 FG, 1-2 FT), 1.0 rebounds, and 2.8 minutes per game in four preseason contests before being waived. He went on to play in his first stint for the Springfield Armor, earning Honorable Mention All-Development League Team honors after averaging 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game before joining the Memphis Grizzlies for the remainder of the season.

Watch video highlights of former NBA guard Mitch Richmond, who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and an early April 1 joke:

DeMarcus Cousins created a stir on the Internet on Sunday night.

And he had fun doing so.

Pictures surfaced of Cousins’ first “album” under the name Boogie Smooth titled “Misunderstood,” with the first single being a rhythm and blues groove titled “Emotional” featuring Chance The Rapper.

Cousins even asked via Twitter on Monday if he could be any worse than Shaquille O’Neal or Chris Webber, who also dabbled in music during their careers.

But Boogie Smooth’s career is all in fun. Cousins, who is friends with rap stars Drake and Rick Ross, is not about to become a part-time R&B crooner.

Cousins laughed when asked about the musical project, as did his teammates. Coach Michael Malone even found the musical venture comical.

Here’s NBA.com reporting on the Sacramento Kings and Rudy Gay:

He says he has not made a decision on the $19.3 million on the table or whether he wants to remain with the Kings at any price. He has so not made a decision, Rudy Gay insists, that he is asked to list a couple factors that will go into the final call and responds, “I don’t know.”

It is long after another loss at Sleep Train Arena, this time to the Knicks, in a near-empty locker room after most teammates have left. Gay is sitting in front of his stall, showered and changed and contemplating the unexpected search for career stability.

Memphis for 6 ½ seasons, and then suddenly Toronto and Sacramento in a little more than 10 months, and the career intersection over whether to stay in the current contract with $19.3 million on the books for 2014-15 or declare himself a free agent is approaching. In that setting, feeling so undefined about the future is actually understandable.

“What does my gut tell me?” Gay says of the looming decision and possibly decisions, plural. “I don’t know. My gut tells me different things every day.”

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings, who likely face difficult economic decisions in the near future:

It was a bold move that signified the Kings would no longer see “cash considerations” as a primary asset gained through trades.

In December, new Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro, with the blessing of principal owner Vivek Ranadive, acquired three players from Toronto, with the headliner being forward Rudy Gay and the approximately $37 million he could earn over two seasons.

The deal made Isaiah Thomas a starter, and he’s flourished as a scoring point guard. With center DeMarcus Cousins, Thomas and Gay, the Kings have the only trio of players averaging 20 or more points on the same team.

This summer, the Kings will see how much it costs to keep a trio like that together.

Cousins will be entering the first year of a four-year, $62 million contract. Gay has a $19.3 million player option for next season. He could opt out and become a free agent, forcing the Kings to pay a bigger salary to retain him.

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on Kings center DeMarcus Cousins:

In terms of maturity, Nov. 9, 2012 was one of the low points during DeMarcus Cousins’ NBA career.

Following a loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Cousins left the Kings locker room to confront former Spur and current television analyst Sean Elliott over comments he deemed as critical.

The NBA deemed that confrontation threatening and hostile and suspended Cousins for two games.

When the Spurs were in Sacramento this past Friday, Cousins approached Elliott before the game and apologized.

“What happened between me and Sean the other day was just me being man enough to admit that I was wrong,” Cousins said. “I wasn’t expecting it to get out. I was hoping it was going to be something between me and him.”