Category: Sacramento Kings Blog

Kings blog – Sacramento Kings basektball blog

Sacramento Kings sign rookie Keegan Murray

The Sacramento Kings have signed rookie forward Keegan Murray, according to General Manager Monte McNair.

“Keegan is an incredibly versatile, well-rounded player with a high basketball IQ,” said McNair. “He will be a tremendous asset to our team and we are excited to welcome him to the Kings family.”

The fourth overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft garnered averages of 23.5 points (.554 FG%, .398 3PT%, .747 FT%), 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 31.9 minutes per game in 35 games (all starts) during his sophomore season at Iowa (2021-22). Murray led the Hawkeyes to a NCAA Tournament appearance, while earning All-Big Ten first-team honors (2021-22).

A 6-8, 215-pound forward, Murray earned consensus All-American first-team honors (2021-22), Karl Malone Power Forward of the year (2021-22), Finalist for the 2021-22 Wooden award and Naismith Trophy, and was the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2022).

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native set the Big Ten Tournament scoring record with 103 points in four games and was the second player in Division I history to amass at least 800 points, 60 blocks and 60 three-pointers in a season.

Sacramento Kings sign Neemias Queta and rookie Keon Ellis to two-way contracts

The Sacramento Kings have signed center Neemias Queta and rookie guard Keon Ellis to two-way contracts, according to General Manager Monte McNair.

During his rookie season, Queta appeared in 14 games with Sacramento as a Two-Way player, averaging 3.2 points (.447 FG%, .647 FT%), 2.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.1 steals and 8.6 minutes per game.

Undrafted out of the University of Alabama, Ellis appeared in 33 games (all starts), averaging 12.1 points (.439 FG%, .366 3pt%, .881 FT%), 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.9 steals and 30.9 minutes per game during his senior season (2021-22).

The 6-6, 175-pound guard earned All-SEC Defensive Team accolades (2021-22), led the SEC, and ranked 24th nationally in free throw percentage (.881) in 2021-22, finished fifth in the SEC in steals (1.94), eighth in three-pointers made per game (2.03) and 14th in rebounding (6.1) in 2021-22. Prior to Alabama, Ellis played two seasons at Florida Southwestern State College (2018-20) and was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association All-American Second Team in 2019-20.

With 4th pick in 2022 NBA draft, Kings selected Keegan Murray

The Sacramento Kings last night selected Keegan Murray from Iowa with the fourth overall pick in NBA Draft 2022, according to General Manager Monte McNair.

Murray joins the Kings after averaging 23.5 points (.554 FG%, .398 3PT%, .747 FT%), 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 31.9 minutes per game in 35 games (all starts) during his sophomore season at Iowa (2021-22). Murray led the Hawkeyes to a NCAA Tournament appearance, while earning All-Big Ten first-team honors (2021-22).

When the season concluded, Murray ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (23.5) and first in total points (822) and field goals made (307).

A 6-8, 215-pound forward, Murray earned consensus All-American first-team honors (2021-22), Karl Malone Power Forward of the year (2021-22), Finalist for the 2021-22 Wooden award and Naismith Trophy, and was the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2022). The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native set the Big Ten Tournament scoring record with 103 points in four games and was the second player in Division I history to amass at least 800 points, 60 blocks and 60 three-pointers in a season.

Kings trade 49th pick in 2022 NBA Draft to Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired the 49th pick in tonight’s NBA Draft from the Sacramento Kings (from Chicago via Memphis) in exchange for cash considerations and the draft rights to Aleksandar Vezenkov, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. The Cavaliers now have picks 14, 39, 49 and 56 in the draft.

Vezenkov (6-9, 225) was acquired on January 14, 2021 from the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-team trade that brought Jarrett Allen to Cleveland. He was drafted 57th overall by Brooklyn in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Mike Brown introduced as new Sacramento Kings head coach

Via ESPN.com:

A day removed from the Golden State Warriors’ championship parade in San Francisco, Mike Brown appeared 90 miles up Interstate 80 on Tuesday, reporting for duty as the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings.

“I hope I don’t get in trouble for saying this,” Brown said as he sat next to Kings general manager and president of basketball operations Monte McNair during his introductory news conference. “I really couldn’t turn up like I wanted to because of this doggone press conference today.”

Although his celebration was subdued after his third title in his six years as a Golden State assistant, Brown said he was ecstatic to discuss his fourth head-coaching opportunity after two stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and a spell with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“The potential here, I truly believe the potential is off the charts,” he said. “It gets me excited thinking about it. … The players here, I’m excited about.

“There’s just a lot of opportunity here for this place to explode, and I want to be a part of it.”

Via the Sacramento Bee:

Eleven different head coaches have walked through the doors in Sacramento since the team’s last playoff appearance. On Tuesday afternoon at Golden 1 Center, the Kings formally introduced their next coach in Mike Brown.

The Kings hope Brown will break the spell of bad coaching hires and help return the team to the playoffs.

Brown, 52, was hired in May but wasn’t introduced until nearly a month and a half later. The reason is Brown was finishing his role as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant on a Golden State Warriors team that beat the Boston Celtics in six games to win the NBA Finals.

Prior to Brown spending six seasons in Golden State, he had stops as a head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. In eight seasons as a head coach, Brown compiled a 347-216 (.616) record with six playoff appearances.

The latest on Sacramento Kings NBA draft workouts

Here’s the Sacramento Bee with the latest on Kings draft workouts:

The Kings have been tightlipped about their preparation for the NBA draft over the past couple of weeks, but one of the players they are evaluating has revealed he is coming to Sacramento for a pre-draft workout.

Dyson Daniels, a projected top-10 pick in the June 23 draft, shared his itinerary Friday following a workout with the Indiana Pacers. Daniels told the Indianapolis Star’s James Boyd he will visit the Kings and Washington Wizards in the days to come after participating in previous workouts with the Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Pacers. A league source confirmed Daniels is expected to make a stop in Sacramento.

Sacramento Kings hire Mike Brown as new head coach

The Sacramento Kings today named Mike Brown as the team’s new head coach.

“Mike has consistently demonstrated his ability to lead winning teams throughout his long and successful coaching career,” said Sacramento Kings General Manager Monte McNair. “He has worked with some of the best players in the NBA and is one of the league’s premier defensive minds. I am excited to bring his extensive experience to Sacramento.”

Per the Sacramento Bee, the “Kings made the formal announcement after reaching an agreement on a four-year deal with Brown on Sunday. Brown is in his sixth season as associate head coach of the Warriors, where he serves as Steve Kerr’s top assistant. Brown will remain with the Warriors through the end of their playoff run, sources told The Sacramento Bee. The Kings will schedule an introductory news conference for Brown after the Warriors conclude their season.”

Brown joins the Kings from the Golden State Warriors, where he is currently in his sixth season as an assistant coach. He helped guide the team to back-to-back titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Prior to the Warriors, Brown held head coaching duties with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10, 2013-14) and Los Angeles Lakers (2011-12). Brown’s teams qualified for the playoffs in six of his seven full seasons as a head coach, advancing past the first round in each appearance.

More from The Bee: “The Kings hired Brown from a candidate pool that included Brooklyn Nets coaching consultant Steve Clifford; New Orleans Pelicans coaching advisor Mike D’Antoni; Milwaukee Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee; ESPN analyst Mark Jackson; and Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy. Brown, Jackson and Clifford came to Sacrament to interview for the job last week after being selected as finalists.”

In 2007, Brown led the Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance and was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2008-09 after guiding the Cavaliers to a franchise-record 66 wins. Cleveland won at least 50 games in four of Brown’s first five seasons with the club, including back-to-back 60-win campaigns in 2008-09 (66) and 2009-10 (61). During the 2011-2012 lockout-shortened season, Brown led the Lakers to a Pacific Division title and a 41-25 (.621) record. He owns a career head coaching record of 347-216 (.616) over eight seasons, which ranks as the ninth-best winning percentage in NBA history among coaches who have registered at least 500 games at the helm.

Prior to joining the Cavaliers in 2005, Brown was associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers for two seasons (2003-05) after spending three years as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs (2001-03), where he also captured an NBA title. Brown began his career with the Denver Nuggets in 1992, spending five seasons as a video coordinator and scout before serving as an assistant under Bernie Bickerstaff in Washington beginning in 1997.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Brown is a graduate of the University of San Diego, where he played collegiately for two seasons after spending two years at Mesa Community College.

Brown was the head coach of the Nigeria men’s national basketball team during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, held in August 2021.

Kings part ways with interim head coach Alvin Gentry

Today, Sacramento Kings General Manager Monte McNair announced that Alvin Gentry has been relieved of his duties as interim head coach of the team.

“The entire Kings organization is grateful for the leadership of Alvin Gentry, who stepped up when he got the call mid-season,” said McNair. “We appreciate his leadership on and off the court.”

Per the Sacramento Bee, “Gentry, 67, has 34 years of NBA coaching experience, including 18 seasons as a head coach with the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Kings. He came to Sacramento to join former coach Luke Walton’s staff as associate head coach in October 2020. He was appointed as interim head coach in November when Walton was fired after the Kings went 6-11 to start the season.”

Sacramento Kings fans bid goodbye to Arco Arena

Arco Arena, the former home of the Sacramento Kings, is no longer in use as a venue, and will soon only exist as a memory. For Kings fans, those memories are fond. Via the Sacramento Bee:

It wasn’t a wake Saturday afternoon as much as it was a celebration of life for an old building.

Hundreds of Kings fans stopped by Arco Arena for one final peek as the venerable venue will soon be demolished to make way for a teaching hospital. If Kings fans know three things especially well, it’s this: They know how to cheer, they know how to tolerate heartache and they know how to say farewell…

The Arco parking lot was reflective of lack of usage: weeds sprouting everywhere. The Kings logos have long since been pulled off, but the shadow of them remains permanent on the walls. Arco was built for $40 million in 1988 and closed for basketball business in 2016. During its run, Arco aged quickly, but fans didn’t notice or they simply did not care. Their focus was on the product in front of them, and for all of the Kings misery, there were those eight magical playoff seasons in succession, from 1999-2006. The Kings haven’t fielded a winner or a playoff team since.

To stir up some additional memories of some really fun Kings history, hit the Bee link above.