Sacramento Kings Blog – Page 46 – NBA Blog

John Salmons surprised to be back with Kings

Veteran swingman John Salmons figured he was expendable.

The Kings hadn’t used their amnesty waiver provision on him, so it seemed logical that his $7.6 million salary might be used to free salary cap space for this season.

“A little bit,” said Salmons, when asked if he was surprised to still be with the Kings. “A little bit. I can’t lie about that. But I’m good with being here, but I am a little surprised.”

The Kings had been trying to upgrade the small forward position where Salmons, 33, finished last season as the starter.

The Kings traded for Luc Mbah a Moute but decided to keep Salmons, too.

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

DeMarcus Cousins and Kings make long-term commitment

It’s not easy earning DeMarcus Cousins’ trust. By nature, he’s skeptical of new people and situations.

So over the summer, new Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive and his front office and coaching staff began connecting with Cousins, their talented but sometimes ornery center who they expected to be the centerpiece of the team’s rebuilding project.

During that process, Cousins found Ranadive to be a man of his word, and Cousins convinced the Kings’ management team he was committed to the franchise and wanted to become a leader.

The sides liked each other enough to agree on a four-year contract extension worth $62 million that will be finalized in time for today’s 10 a.m. news conference.

“What I’ve learned about (Ranadive) so far is he has a strong passion, and when he puts his mind to something he wants to get it done,” Cousins said. “That alone makes me very confident with him being our leader. I’m excited about this group, I’m extremely confident with them, and I think we’re going to do a lot of things.”

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Kings, DeMarcus Cousins agree to contract extension

The Kings have reached an agreement on a contract extension with center DeMarcus Cousins for four years worth approximately $62 million, league sources confirmed Thursday night.

The most Cousins was eligible for under the collective bargaining agreement was five years and $80 million. The contract takes effect for the 2014-15 season.

The deadline for first-round draft picks from 2010 to agree to contract extensions is Oct. 31. If the Kings had not reached an agreement, they could not have signed Cousins until after this season.

Reported by Jason Jones and Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee

DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings agree to contract extension

DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings agrees to contract extension

The Kings have reached an agreement on a contract extension with center DeMarcus Cousins for four years worth approximately $62 million.

The most Cousins was eligible for under the collective bargaining agreement was five years and $80 million.

The contract takes effect for the 2014-15 season.

The deadline for first-round draft picks from 2010 to agree to contract extensions is Oct. 31. If the Kings had not reached an agreement, they could not sign Cousins until an agreement until after this season.

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Cousins deal will include no early termination option, which could’ve been possible after the third year of the deal, a source said.

After resisting the idea of giving Cousins a max deal without conditions in the contract, the Kings finally relented and gave the talented, but tempermental young center the offer he and his agent, Dan Fegan, had sought in negotiations.

Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

Shaq happy to mentor DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins

Still developing, in multiple ways

O’Neal, formally introduced Tuesday as a new minority owner of the Kings, said he’ll be available to help Cousins reach his potential on the court and transform the Kings back to the franchise that challenged his Lakers teams for championships.

It’s monitoring Cousins’ development as a player that O’Neal will concentrate on most.

“I understand everything that (Cousins is) going through,” O’Neal said Tuesday. “We have similar backgrounds. I understand everything he’s going through, and I speak his language. That’s why my conversation with him is going to be easy.”

Critics chided O’Neal for making movies and rap albums while his teams weren’t winning titles. O’Neal said it was a conversation with Lakers and Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson that changed his direction and led him to championships.

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

New Sacramento NBA arena may have interesting twist

The Sacramento Kings introduced their new celebrity part-owner Tuesday and pulled back the curtain on an “indoor-outdoor” concept they’re planning for the team’s new downtown arena.

At a news conference dominated by new partner Shaquille O’Neal, majority owner Vivek Ranadive dropped tantalizing hints about the design of the $448 million arena that’s supposed to open at Sacramento’s Downtown Plaza in 2016. While declining to release details, he said fans would be able to see certain events from outside the building.

Ranadive and O’Neal’s sometimes comical news conference kicked off a day’s worth of developments surrounding the Kings. Hours later, the City Council agreed to let the Kings accelerate repayment of their $62 million debt to the city by imposing a 5 percent surcharge on tickets at Sleep Train Arena, where the Kings now play. The council also OK’d a deal that would let the team reimburse the city for certain pre-development costs at the new building.

Reported by Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee

Shaq joins Sacramento Kings ownership group

Shaquille O’Neal

Wealthy, retired players like to buy stuff

Shaquille O’Neal will be introduced as the newest member of the Sacramento Kings ownership group Tuesday morning at the Kings practice facility.

O’Neal, the four-time NBA Champion and 2000 league MVP, is best known for tormenting the Kings during his run of dominance with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The future Hall of Famer retired prior to the 2011-12 season and has worked as an analyst for TNT the last two seasons. He met with majority owner Vivek Ranadive in June and offered to tutor DeMarcus Cousins, who he believes has the talent to be the best center in basketball.

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Blog)

During the height of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal fueled the rivalry with the Kings with his play on the court and his personality off of it.

O’Neal handed Sacramento its biggest blow by rallying the Lakers from a 3-2 deficit to win the 2002 Western Conference finals, which is still a sore spot for Kings fans. The 7-foot-1 center even labeled the franchise the “Sacramento Queens” and accused fan favorite Vlade Divac — whom he referred to as “she” at one point during the series — of flopping.

Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Sacramento Kings to impose Sleep Train arena ticket surcharge

The price of admission to Sleep Train Arena has just gone up 5 percent.

As part of a complex deal between the city and the Sacramento Kings for a new downtown arena, the team this month added a 5percent fee on tickets to all arena events. The funds will be used to speed up payoff of a $74million loan the city issued to the Kings in 1997 to help previous team owners refinance arena debt. The Kings still owe the city $62million, after making a $2million July payment, City Treasurer Russ Fehr said.

The fee is expected to be in effect for upcoming events, including a Josh Grobin concert in two weeks, Disney on Ice and Kings pre-season and regular season games.

The surcharge is part of a series of expected agreements between the team and city as part of a joint plan to build a $448million arena at Downtown Plaza.

Reported by Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee

Effort to build new Sacramento NBA arena still faces roadblocks

A fresh fight broke out Wednesday over the proposed public subsidy for Sacramento’s new NBA arena, this time over an allegation that opponents of the subsidy are illegally using voter-registration information for commercial purposes.

In a complaint to the California secretary of state’s elections fraud unit, the pro-arena group DowntownArena.org accused its opponents of using voter lists to pitch the services of a for-profit energy company. “Voter registration information shall not be used for any commercial purpose,” reads the letter from DowntownArena.org.

But John Hyde, a spokesman for the anti-subsidy group STOP, for Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork, called the charge “absolutely false.”

The exchange was the latest flare-up between DowntownArena and STOP, which is working on a ballot initiative to force a public vote on the city’s proposed $258 million subsidy for the arena. Last month, DowntownArena filed a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission that resulted in the dramatic disclosure that a portion of the signature-gathering effort was secretly financed by Chris Hansen, the investor who tried to buy the Kings earlier this year and move them to Seattle.

Reported by Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings hire Robert Schaefer as Director of Athletic Performance

The Sacramento Kings today announced Robert “Chip” Schaefer as Director of Athletic Performance, according to General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

A veteran in the athletic training and sports performance field with more than 25 seasons of basketball experience to his credit, Schaefer’s career includes contributions to 11 NBA Championship teams.

Prior to joining the Kings, Schaefer served the last two years as Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Performance at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His change to the collegiate ranks followed 12 seasons (1999 – 2011) with the Los Angeles Lakers organization working as Director of Athletic Performance, where he was part of five title teams after helping Chicago win six championships during his eight seasons as head trainer for the Bulls (1990 – 1998).

In addition to his NBA experience, Schaefer was on-staff at the renowned Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, where he worked with many of the nation’s elite professional and amateur athletes. He also served as head athletic trainer at Pete Newell’s Big Man Camps after a three-season stint as head trainer at Loyola Marymount University (1987-1990).

Schaefer’s role with Sacramento includes design and implementation of all strength and conditioning programs aimed at maximizing core strength, explosiveness, speed and endurance. He will also assist Director of Sports Medicine Pete Youngman and Head Athletic Trainer Manny Romero with injury prevention and health maintenance.

Schaefer is a member of the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) and a certified strength and conditioning specialist. He is also recognized by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) as a specialist in performance enhancement, corrective exercise and fitness nutrition.

A native of Deerfield, Ill., Schaefer received his B.A. in physical education and sports medicine from the University of Utah in 1983. He later earned his master’s degree in counseling from Loyola Marymount. During the interim, he acted as head trainer for the U.S. Men’s Ski Team from 1984-86.