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The Sacramento Kings have waived guard Trent Lockett, it was announced today by General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.
Lockett appeared in two exhibition games for the Kings, tallying four points (2-3 FG), two rebounds and one assist in five minutes of action off the bench.
The preseason roster now stands at 15.
The Sacramento Kings announced today the team has accepted the resignation of Assistant Coach Brendan Malone, effective immediately. No replacement will be made at this time and moving forward, Chris Jent will assume responsibilities as the lead assistant on Head Coach Michael Malone’s staff.
“As a veteran of 27 seasons in the NBA coaching ranks, Brendan brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to our organization, and we were all fortunate to have had an opportunity to work with him,” said Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. “His departure is not indicative of a loss of passion for the game or his desire to help our franchise succeed, but rather a decision based on factors associated with the rigors of coaching in the NBA.”
“I’m thankful that I had my father on our staff during the summer and throughout training camp as I transitioned into a head coaching role,” said Michael Malone. “He was my father long before we became colleagues, and while I’ll miss his presence on the bench, he will always be an invaluable source of counsel on all matters basketball and otherwise.”
Malone Sr. joined the Kings in June after five seasons with the Orlando Magic under Head Coach Stan Van Gundy. During his tenure in Orlando, the Magic notched four straight seasons of 50 or more wins, three consecutive Southeast Division titles (2007-08 – 2009-10), and a 2009 NBA Finals appearance. Malone also worked under Hall of Famer Chuck Daly and was part of two NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons (1989 and 1990), where he orchestrated defensive sets to thwart Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He spent seven seasons (1988-89 – 1994-95) with the Pistons before becoming the first-ever head coach of the expansion Toronto Raptors.
His coaching career includes three stints with the Knicks as an assistant coach (1986-87 – 1987-88, 1997-98 – 1999-00, and (2003-04). In between his second and third stays in New York, he served as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers for three seasons (2000-01 – 2002-03). In 1996, Malone worked as a consultant for the Seattle Supersonics during their run to the 1996 NBA Finals.
The Sacramento Kings have waived DeQuan Jones and Brandon Heath, it was announced today by General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.
Jones and Heath each appeared in one game for the Kings during preseason action.
The training camp roster now stands at 16.
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The Sacramento Kings need all the help they get. But their situation just got even tougher.
A recent MRI taken at Kaiser Permanente revealed that Kings forward Carl Landry suffered a tear in his left hip flexor muscle (rectus femoris) during a recent training camp practice. Surgery to repair the injury has been scheduled for Tuesday morning and will be performed by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia. Landry is expected to miss approximately three to four months of action.
A six-year NBA veteran in his second stint with the Kings, Landry is averaging 11.9 ppg (.536 FG%, .784 FT%) and 5.3 rpg in 389 career contests.
The Kings are going to struggle this upcoming season. Competing for a spot in the playoffs is not likely. And this just makes things even rougher.
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Scoring around the rim isn’t as simple as telling DeMarcus Cousins to camp out 5 feet away and bully his way to the basket.
For Cousins to work better in the post, the entire offense has to flow, which it did in the Kings’ 104-86 exhibition win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Kings coach Michael Malone would like to play inside-out, with Cousins working as a facilitator for teammates in some halfcourt sets, but said it’s not only Cousins’ responsibility to post up and make something happen.
“We have to do a better job of occupying the defense when he does post up,” Malone said before Cousins collected 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Lakers. “We just can’t sit there.”
Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee
The competition for minutes at point guard is in all likelihood still a two-man race between Isaiah Thomas and Greivis Vasquez.
But Kings coaches and management have remained pleased with the progress of the point guard Sacramento picked in the second round of June’s NBA draft, Ray McCallum.
Coach Michael Malone maintains McCallum is having one of the better showings in training camp, and his teammates have noticed, too.
McCallum had seven points, five assists, two steals and just one turnover in 18 minutes in the Kings’ loss Monday at Golden State in the preseason opener.
Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee
NBA preseason is a time for experimentation. Like college. Only different.
DeMarcus Cousins starting at center was certain. The other four starters for Monday night’s preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena were more of a mystery.
Kings coach Michael Malone started Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton at guard with Jason Thompson and John Salmons at forward.
The only difference from the usual starting lineup in the second half of last season was Thornton in place of former King Tyreke Evans.
Malone reiterated that nothing should be read into Monday’s starting lineup.
“The starting lineup is going to change for all of our seven preseason games,” Malone said.”
Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee
Most teams have pretty clear-cut starters at most spots, but not the Kings, so the regular changes throughout preseason aren’t a surprise.
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The lone front-office holdover from last season is a busy man.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim was an assistant general manager under Geoff Petrie and was retained by new general manager Pete D’Alessandro as director of player personnel.
Abdur-Rahim is also the general manager for the Kings’ D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Abdur-Rahim’s primary focus is on the Kings during training camp, but he is always monitoring players that might fit in with Reno.
“With Reno, we’re always in the process of keeping our eyes open in regard to guys who might fit what we’re doing here (with the Kings),” Abdur-Rahim said. “It’s a different process because we have to let what happens in the NBA training camps materialize first before you can really identify all your guys.”
Now that the Kings run the Bighorns, there is more emphasis on finding young players the Kings can develop in the D-League into contributors in Sacramento in the future.
Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee
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Early in the 2011-12 season, as reporters surrounded Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, laughter broke out among the players.
Chuck Hayes took offense, yelling that the behavior was unacceptable. But as losses piled up over the next two seasons, Hayes blended into the background when teammates laughed afterward. Hayes now says he no longer wants to be a part of a culture that accepts losing.
“That’s exactly what happened,” Hayes said. “I tried to come in and be the vocal leader, but when things went bad, I let that bring me down. I let it bring down my spirit. That was wrong on my part. It’s unfair to my teammates; it’s unfair to the coaching staff. So I just want to sustain that veteran role.”
It was uncertain if Hayes would be back this season, if the Kings could find a taker for the two years and $11.7 million still owed to him after two underwhelming seasons with the team.
Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee
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After a season of career highs, Kings guard Marcus Thornton had plenty of lows last season.
In 2011-12, Thornton averaged a team-high 18.7 points. Last season, as a reserve with inconsistent playing time, he had career lows in minutes (24.0 per game) and scoring average (12.7).
Now he’s looking forward to a fresh start under new coach Michael Malone, who was on New Orleans’ staff when Thornton played there before being traded to the Kings.
“I’m so ready to get out there and prove myself again,” Thornton said. “I’ve been doing that for five years now, and I’m ready to do it again.”
Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee