Sacramento Kings Blog – Page 98 – NBA Blog

Kings trade Mike Bibby to Hawks

The Sacramento Kings today acquired forwards Shelden Williams and Lorenzen Wright, guards Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue and a 2008 second round draft pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for veteran guard Mike Bibby, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. In a related move, the Kings requested waivers on forward Justin Williams and guard Dahntay Jones.

“Today we acquired Shelden Wiliams, Lorenzen Wright, Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue,” explained Petrie. “We’re excited about adding another young frontcourt player who was the fifth pick of the 2006 draft in Williams, along with some experienced veterans to the team. We’re looking forward to seeing how they integrate in with the rest of our roster.

“I want to thank Mike for his terrific all around play. He’s had a great run here as a King and has participated in and contributed to some great moments on the court and I wish him all the best.”

Full release on the trade is here.

Report: Hawks may get Mike Bibby

The Sacramento Bee (Martin McNeal) reports: The Kings have reached an agreement in principle to send veteran guard Mike Bibby to the Atlanta Hawks for guards Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue and forwards Lorenzen Wright and Shelden Williams, sources told The Bee on Saturday. The deal is contingent upon league approval that could come as early as today. According to sources who did not want to be identified because of ongoing trade discussions, there is a 1 p.m. conference call scheduled between the two teams and league officials.

Discuss this on the InsideHoops basketball message board.

Rockets-Kings team connections

Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman stands as the winningest coach in Kings history, recording a 395-229 (.633) mark in eight seasons (1998-2006) as head coach of Sacramento.

Elston Turner also spent six seasons as an assistant coach on Adelman’s staff in Sacramento.

T.R. Dunn joined the Rockets coaching staff after three campaigns as an assistant coach for the Kings.

Rockets Assistant Coach R.J. Adelman served five years as a scout for Sacramento, including the final three seasons as assistant video coordinator.

Houston forward Chuck Hayes, who was born in San Leandro, California, attended Modesto Christian High School.

In his solo season with the Kings (2005-06), Rockets guard/forward Bonzi Wells averaged 13.6 points, 2.8 assists and a career-high 7.7 rebounds in 52 games (41 starts).

Maloof Companies previously owned the Rockets from 1979-82.

Kings President John Thomas is a former Senior Executive Vice President with the Rockets.

Sacramento forward Kenny Thomas was drafted by Houston in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft, playing the next three-and-a-half seasons with the Rockets.

Players of week: Brad Miller, Hedo Turkoglu

The Orlando Magic’s Hedo Turkoglu and the Sacramento Kings’ Brad Miller today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan 28 through Sunday, Feb. 3.

Turkoglu, who earned his second consecutive Player of the Week honor, guided Orlando to a 3-0 week, posting averages of 24.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Turkoglu recorded a season-high-tying eight assists on Feb. 2 in a 121-115 win at Indiana and led or tied in assists in all three of Orlando’s games last week. The Magic sit atop the Southeast Division with a 31-18 record.

Miller, who posted point-rebound double-doubles in each of Sacramento’s three games last week, helped the Kings to a 3-0 record. Miller set a career high with 21 rebounds on Jan. 30 against Charlotte, 18 of which came on the defensive end, setting a Sacramento single-game record. Miller recorded two 20-point, 20-rebound games, joining Chris Webber as the only players in Kings history to record multiple 20-point, 20-rebound efforts. Webber accomplished the feat five times.

Would Mikki Moore Have Helped Knicks?

Mikki Moore, the Sacramento Kings’ back-up center, knows all about persistence. He is in his 10th NBA season, and with his ninth different team. Job security was never something he took for granted. Last season, with the NJ Nets, he averaged a career-high 9.8 ppg and 5.1 rebounds, and became the only undrafted player since 1976 to lead the league in field goal percentage.

Over the years, he has gotten to know Isiah Thomas, the Knicks’ coach.

“Me and Isiah, and Joe Dumars, have been talking for years. My first team was Detroit. He has been wanting me on his squad for a long time, ‘cause he respects my hard work, and how I play –old school. No lay-ups. Foul, if you have to, but not to end someone’s career. That’s how I was raised –on old school basketball. And he likes that.”

Imagine that. A big man who defends the paint.

“Me and him see eye to eye on a lot of things. I’ve told him, “Keep your head right. Don’t let this crowd get you out of your element. All this picketing, and all that stuff -you turn these boys around, [the fans will] be kissing your butt by the end of the season. He already knows that. That’s just how it is.

“You have hard times, and you struggle. Just keep on trying hard. Don’t look at what happened yesterday. Think about tomorrow.”

Perhaps, had Thomas made a play for Moore during the off-season, he would’ve had more tomorrows to pursue his vision of a championship.

Theus Still A King On The Court

The Sacramento Kings, minus the injured Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ron Artest, Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin, beat the Knicks 107-97 at MSG on Wednesday [January 2]. The win boosted the Kings’ record to 12-18.

“[During the interview with the Maloofs], I had told them,” said Reggie Theus, their first year coach, “that I will coach this team hard, and I wouldn’t play guys if they didn’t deserve to be on the floor. I let them know that before they gave me the job ‘cause I needed to know where my support was coming from. We needed to change the culture around here.”

Theus, who averaged 18.5 points and 6.3 assists over 13 seasons, also weighed in with this summation of the Knicks. “I didn’t see any quit in them. But, I didn’t see any effort to take it to the next level. I didn’t see anyone out there [on their side] that was trying to make a difference.”

So, how much of that is Isiah Thomas’ fault?

“The coach is not on the floor. That is the players’ fault. I know Isiah is telling them the right things. There is a lot of talent over there. But, this league coddles the players way too much. Players have to take responsibility, and be accountable for [their play] on the floor. That’s the way it should be.

“The blame has to be spread out. I’ve been on losing teams. I know what it’s like. I’ve never had a coach tell me not to do certain things. In a lot of cases [when I played], it was talent-based. We weren’t very good. But, the Knicks are a lot better than that. The coach has to take the hit; we all understand that. But, the accountability still needs to fall on the players’ shoulders.”

Knicks hold Salmons to 32/11/6/6 yet still lose to Kings

The Knicks continued their losing ways Wednesday night in New York, losing to the injury-riddled Sacramento Kings 107-97. The final score is deceptive. This game wasn’t close at all and for all intents and purposes was really a 20-point Kings win.

In addition to Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin being out the Kings were also without Ron Artest, who had right elbow surgery today. But Brad Miller, John Salmons and Francisco Garcia played like stars.

Miller put up 26 points and 16 rebounds. Garcia shot badly but earned plenty of free throws to make up for it, getting 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Salmons was king of the court, shooting 13-of-18 for 32 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals.

For the Knicks, Eddy Curry found offense, shooting 10-of-17 (and just 4-of-11 free throws) for 24 points, most of which came in the first half. But he grabbed just 3 rebounds and was totally destroyed when attempting to play defense.

Stephon Marbury returned for the Knicks, coming off the bench to play reasonably well, getting 16 points and 4 assists.

Nate Robinson got 19 points on just 11 shots.

Jamal Crawford was awful, as was Quentin Richardson. And Zach Randolph had one of his worst games of the season and was ejected after throwing his headband in disgust.

The Knicks committed 21 turnovers and 32 fouls.

Part-owner of Kings arrested

The AP reports: A part-owner of the NBA Sacramento Kings was arrested on a domestic violence charge, but his attorney said Friday there was no physical contact or abuse and no violence. Robert Hernreich, of Edwards, faces two counts of second-degree criminal trespass, harassment and domestic violence, all misdemeanors, the Eagle County sheriff’s office said in a statement. The charges stem from an incident Thursday night. Eagle County sheriff’s did not release additional details or immediately return messages left by The Associated Press.

Kings sign Dahntay Jones, waive Darryl Watkins

The Sacramento Kings today signed guard/forward Dahntay Jones to a contract and requested waivers on center Darryl Watkins, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

Jones, a first round selection (20th overall) by the Boston Celtics in the 2003 NBA Draft, has spent all four of his NBA seasons playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. He has amassed career averages of 5.1 points (.442 FGs, .330 3FGs, .722 FTs), 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game through 221 outings. His best year, statistically, was last season when he averaged 7.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game for the Grizzlies.

Watkins, who currently is in his rookie season out of Syracuse, has played in nine games this year for the Kings, averaging 1.3 points (.333 FGs, .400 FTs) and 1.3 rebounds per game.

Ben Udrih puts name on map

SI.com’s Ian Thompson reports: Beno Udrih (Sacramento Kings) has gone from a 5.2-point scorer over three in-and-out years with San Antonio to a 14.3-point starter in his brief time with the Kings. The 25-year-old point guard has added 4.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in his 35.2 minutes as the Kings have gone 6-5 since his Nov. 10 debut (though the return of Ron Artest from a season-opening suspension of seven games has a lot to do with it, too). While sidelined with a broken finger in the preseason, Udrih was traded by San Antonio and waived by Minnesota before arriving in Sacramento for the minimum $826,046 as a replacement for Mike Bibby, who underwent preseason thumb surgery. The 6-3 Udrih showed he had recovered from the loss of Gregg Popovich’s confidence in him by haunting San Antonio with a career-high 27 points in a 112-99 Kings’ win last week. If Udrih keeps this up, he’ll make it easier for the Kings to eventually trade Bibby and further hasten their rebuilding.