Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings have been linked to Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma in a potential trade, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

"NBA folks keep connecting Sacramento to various wings on the market. Kings registered interest in Dorian Finney-Smith before the trade deadline, sources said. Sacramento's been linked to Kyle Kuzma. The Kings were a potential Zach LaVine suitor, but that seems less likely without Alex Caruso."

Kuzma, 28, averaged 22.2 points on 46.3 percent shooting (33.6 percent from three), 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game last year. He is entering the second season of a four-year, $90 million contract signed last offseason.

The Wizards just finished second-last in the NBA standings with a 15-67 record, so everything should be on the table for them to re-tool their roster, even trading away a good and productive player like Kuzma.

Meanwhile, the Kings are looking to engineer a deep playoff run after finally breaking a 16-year streak outside the postseason in 2023. Sacramento nearly got back there in 2024 but fell in a win-and-in play-in tournament game to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Kuzma, a 6'9" forward, has played seven NBA seasons. The ex-University of Utah star began his career with the Los Angeles Lakers before being traded to the Washington Wizards in 2021 in a deal that notably brought Russell Westbrook to L.A.

As for LaVine, he's been connected with the Kings, but there's an issue with his contract.

Per Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Sacramento has to be "incentivized" to land LaVine, who inked a five-year, $215 million extension in 2022, per Spotrac. He has a $48.9 million player option for his 2026-27 campaign.

So landing LaVine would mean making a heavy financial commitment to him for potentially three years. But Slater and Amick did note that the Kings had "some level of interest" in landing LaVine.

Sacramento is clearly looking to make a move. Per Slater and Amick, the Kings nearly landed Bulls guard Alex Caruso before Chicago dealt him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Josh Giddey. The Kings' No. 13 overall pick was the main trade chip.

"The Kings already tried to use it for a significant roster upgrade," Slater and Amick wrote. "They were close to a trade for defensive ace Alex Caruso last week, according to league sources, offering the No. 13 pick to Chicago as the key chip. The Bulls, to the surprise of many within the league, instead opted to send Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey."

That obviously didn't come to fruition, but it's clear the Kings are looking to be active in the trade market, and they'll be a team to watch going forward this offseason.

There is no urgency with De'Aaron Fox's contract situation since he is still signed through the 2025-26 campaign, and the Sacramento Kings guard reportedly plans on taking his time before agreeing to any new deal.

Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Monday that Fox "has decided not to sign an extension this year, in part, because he wants to see how the roster takes shape for the long-haul. Fox, who has two seasons left on his current deal, wants to win at the highest level and could also qualify for a significantly larger max if he makes All-NBA."

Sacramento selected Fox with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft, and he has largely lived up to expectations as a franchise cornerstone.

He made his first All-Star Game in 2022-23 while averaging 25.0 points per game and was even better this past season with per-game averages of 26.6 points, 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds and a league-best 2.0 steals while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from deep.

However, the Kings have also been in the playoffs just one time in his career, as they lost in the first round to the Golden State Warriors in 2023.

That Fox wants to be patient and assess the roster comes as no surprise, as he surely wants to win a title and compete deep in the playoffs at some point. Whether that can happen in Sacramento remains to be seen, but he still has two seasons to decide if the team that drafted him is the best place for him.

Unfortunately for the Kings' front office, that creates some uncertainty as they are building their roster for the future.

A Kings team with Fox leading the way at point guard on a long-term deal is a more attractive one to potential free agents and signals that the front office wants to win in the present rather than focusing on the future. Yet a roster that doesn't have him two seasons from now might be staring at a rebuild.

Sacramento at least has Domantas Sabonis signed through the 2027-28 campaign, so they know they have a frontcourt building block as well.

The Sabonis and Fox pairing is an ideal starting place, but the team will likely need at least another elite piece in the immediate future to compete with the best teams in the Western Conference.

The Sacramento Kings were reportedly "close" to landing former Chicago Bulls shooting guard Alex Caruso in a trade before the Oklahoma City Thunder traded for him, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater and Sam Amick.

According to Slater and Amick, the Kings were willing to give up their No. 13 draft pick for the NBA All-Defensive second-teamer.

"The Kings already tried to use it for a significant roster upgrade," Slater and Amick wrote of Sacramento's draft pick. "They were close to a trade for defensive ace Alex Caruso last week, according to league sources, offering the No. 13 pick to Chicago as the key chip. The Bulls, to the surprise of many within the league, instead opted to send Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey."

Rather than taking the draft capital, the Bulls traded Caruso the Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey.

Adding Caruso would have been a big pickup for the Kings, who seem to be on the brink of becoming a perennial playoff team. Sacramento had a solid offense in 2024 behind De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, but a middle-of-the-pack defense kept it from reaching the postseason. Per NBA.com, the Kings had a 114.4 defensive rating, which ranked 14th in the league. Caruso would have given the team a major defensive boost.

The Thunder already had one of the top defenses in the league with a defensive rating of 111.0, and adding one of the best defensive guards in the NBA will only help them improve as they compete for a title.

There's still hope the Kings can add another piece or two this offseason, whether through the draft or a trade. Slater and Amick reported that Sacramento has hosted a handful of lottery-level players recently, National Player of the Year Zach Edey being one of them.

The 7'4" star center for Purdue could help the Kings get the defensive help they are searching for, though he would need a bit of development to blossom into an elite rim defender.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projects Sacramento to take Indiana center Kel'el Ware with its first-round pick. Wasserman considers Ware to be the No. 20 prospect in this year's draft class.

Ware averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks for the Hoosiers last season, displaying solid potential as a shooter with a 33.9 percent clip from deep.

The Kings still have some questions to answer this offseason—like whether they will keep or trade the No. 13 pick ahead of this week's draft—but Sacramento can take a breath of relief after re-signing shooting guard Malik Monk last week.

Keeping Monk around was a top priority this offseason, and re-signing him early on gives the team a chance to work on other improvements this summer

The Sacramento Kings seem like the "most likely" suitor for Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine, and the team is also "exploring trade opportunities" for wings Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported the latest on Friday.

"LaVine remains merely a backup option for the Sixers, sources said, but not a player whom Philadelphia truly covets with the team's ocean of cap space. If there's any suitor for LaVine that seems most likely at this juncture, it would be the Kings.

"Sacramento remains active in exploring trade opportunities for Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, league sources told Yahoo Sports, with Huerter receiving a healthy amount of external interest.

"The Kings, at this juncture, are still considering trade possibilities for their No. 13 overall pick in Wednesday's draft as well, sources said, with combo guard Malik Monk, a top Sixth Man of the Year candidate, agreeing to stay with Sacramento and his close friend, All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox."

The Bulls and Kings both appear primed to make moves, and it's easy to see why.

Chicago hasn't experienced much success since the end of the Tom Thibodeau era in 2015, making the playoffs just twice and losing in the first round both times. The end of the Bulls' last two seasons resulted in losses in the play-in tournament.

The Bulls have already made one shake-up, dealing guard Alex Caruso for guard Josh Giddey. But more work likely awaits, per Fischer, with an eye on often-rumored trade target LaVine in particular,.

"Chicago continues to project a willingness to shuffle its deck, exploring its options to move up in the draft, sources said, and engaging rival teams on LaVine trade scenarios," Fischer wrote.

The Kings, unfortunately, find themselves in a Western Conference gauntlet where a 46-36 record was only good enough for ninth-place tie. They have a core four to work around in De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and the recently re-signed Malik Monk, but it appears core contributors in Barnes and Huerter are now available.

Ultimately, it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see Chicago and Sacramento make notable moves soon enough as they look to rise out of the middle of the NBA's standings to greater heights.

The Sacramento Kings are reportedly the most likely suitor to trade for Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported LaVine is "merely a backup option" for the Philadelphia 76ers, who are armed with max cap space to find a third star to play with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

LaVine is a natural fit offensively next to Maxey in the backcourt, but the Sixers are expected to prioritize two-way players given the offensive firepower of the Embiid-Maxey duo. While he's not the turnstile he was early in his career, LaVine is still not a quality defender on the perimeter.

The Bulls are expected to explore LaVine's market this summer, but it's unclear how much of a market he will have. LaVine is due $89 million over the next two seasons and has a $49 million player option for 2026-27.

An All-Star in 2021 and 2022, LaVine has missed the team each of the last two seasons and has never been an All-NBA selection. He's coming off an injury-riddled campaign that saw him average just 19.5 points per game, his lowest total since 2017-18.

While that's nothing to sneeze at, 38 players averaged at least 20 points per game last season. It's not exactly a ringing endorsement when a player wouldn't rank in the top 40 among scorers when his top asset is scoring prowess.

Still, the Kings may have some interest in buying low if LaVine can be had for little return. They could offer a package centered around Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes and a couple future draft picks, and it's likely better than anything else the Bulls would be able to get.

Whether Chicago would be willing to accept that type of deal is another question entirely.

Malik Monk played the best basketball of his career in 2023-24 for the Sacramento Kings, and he reportedly isn't going anywhere.

The guard agreed to re-sign with the Kings on a four-year, $78 million deal Friday, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

It doesn't come as a significant surprise that Monk decided to return to the Kings.

After all, he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype in April: "I'm comfortable in Sacramento. I'd love to play here again for sure. I've been here for two years and made friends with everyone, including the training staff and front office. I'd love to be back here."

Even teammate Domantas Sabonis told Scotto: "We better keep him. I think there's no excuse."

Keep him the Kings did, and Monk will look to stay healthy on his new deal.

He suffered a sprained right MCL during a March 29 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, which sidelined him for the rest of the season. Wojnarowski reported the expectation was he would miss four to six weeks, which meant Sacramento needed to advance in the playoffs if he was going to return.

The Kings struggled down the stretch of the regular season without him and fell into the Western Conference play-in tournament.

They lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in that play-in tournament, and he was unable to return from his setback.

It made sense Sacramento was a different team without him, as he finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting while averaging 15.4 points, 5.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep.

Monk's ability to space the floor played perfectly alongside Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox with the former drawing double-teams on the blocks and the latter creating open looks for teammates with his penetration and ability to get out in transition.

Monk also played for the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers earlier in his career, although he never quite lived up to the expectations and pressure surrounding him as the No. 11 overall pick of 2017 NBA draft out of Kentucky during his first four seasons for Charlotte.

While he posted a then-career-best 13.8 points per game in his one season for the Lakers in 2020-21, he seemed to fully turn the corner the past two seasons for the Kings and helped turn them into a Western Conference threat.

At just 26 years old, he also figures to be a key part of their core for the coming years as they look to take the next step from playoff candidate to true contender.

The Sacramento Kings undoubtedly took a step back during the 2023-24 season.

After going 48-34 in the 2022-23 campaign and ending a 16-year playoff drought, the Kings won two fewer games and failed to advance past the play-in tournament this past season.

So changes are coming. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, NBA executives "expect Kevin Huerter to be available again on the trade market this summer along with forward Harrison Barnes as the Kings look to upgrade their roster in the vaunted Western Conference."

Sacramento has a solid top three in De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and up-and-comer Keegan Murray, who is only 23. But getting the right roster balance behind that trio will be paramount this summer.

Malik Monk should be one of the most sought-after role players in free agency this summer, so retaining him may not come cheap for the Kings.

The Kings could look to dump either Huerter or Barnes into a team with cap space to free up room for both Monk and another role player in free agency or combine the two as salary matching ($34.8 million) in the pursuit of a star player on the trade market.

The duo averaged a combined 22.2 points per game last season for the Kings, both largely as starters, but a player like Keon Ellis looked like a better fit at the 2 last season over Huerter, especially defensively, and could take his place in the starting lineup.

The Kings could also use a rim-protecting center. So it wouldn't be shocking to see Barnes and Huerter, or both, on different rosters next season.

The Sacramento Kings and head coach Mike Brown have agreed to a contract extension through the 2026-27 season, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that the deal is worth $30 million. Brown's base salary will be worth $8.5 million annually and he'll have the opportunity to earn $10 million per year with bonuses, Charania added.

Brown has been the head coach of the Kings since the 2022-23 season and was the NBA's Coach of the Year in his first year with Sacramento.

Brown took over as the Kings head coach after a six-year stint as an associate head coach for the Golden State Warriors. Before his time with the Warriors, he was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers twice (2005-2010 and 2013-2014) and the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers (2011-2012).

In his first year with the Kings a season ago, he led the team to its first playoff appearance in 16 years and was just one win away from defeating the Warriors to advance Sacramento to the second round for the first time since 2004.

This season, the Kings finished 46-36 to reach the play-in tournament, beating the Warriors in their first game and losing to the New Orleans Pelicans to end their season.

While Brown and Sacramento fell short of reaching the postseason this year, it's clear the team has made major strides since his hire. Before Brown took over as head coach, the Kings had not won more than 40 games since 2006, and they have reached the 40-win mark in each of his first two seasons.

The Kings still have plenty of work to do to compete for a championship, but keeping Brown around seemed like a necessary step to continue progressing.

Contract negotiations reportedly remain ongoing between the Sacramento Kings and head coach Mike Brown.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Thursday that Sacramento offered Brown a three-year, $21 million contract extension that would run through the 2026-27 campaign. The deal also includes potential bonuses that could increase the value to $27 million.

However, Charania noted Brown is looking for an extension that will pay him approximately $10 million annually, so there is still no agreement to this point.

Earlier this month, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported the expectation was contract discussions between the coach and team would "center around a similar eight-figure threshold" following deals for Monty Williams (Detroit Pistons) and Mike Budenholzer (Phoenix Suns).

Williams received a $70-plus million contract from Detroit, while Budenholzer joined the Suns with a deal that pays him an average annual salary of $10 million.

Brown has a resume to ask for that type of money.

The two-time Coach of the Year has led the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Kings to a combined 441-286 record across 10 different seasons. His first head-coaching position came with Cleveland from 2005-10 during a stint that included a 2007 NBA Finals appearance and a Coach of the Year award in 2008-09.

Those Cavaliers teams featured LeBron James, who was notably no longer on the roster when Brown returned for the 2013-14 campaign.

Sacramento brought him aboard for the 2022-23 season after he was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors for six years and three championships. The Kings quickly found success and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06 in his first season.

That was enough to take home his second Coach of the Year award, although Sacramento lost in the play-in tournament in his follow-up effort in 2023-24.

Still, that represented back-to-back winning seasons for the Kings for the first time since 2006, and giving their head coach a contract extension could allow them to build on their success.

Contract extension talks between the Sacramento Kings and head coach Mike Brown have been tabled, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

That news comes two days after Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that contract extension talks "are expected to center around a similar eight-figure threshold" between Brown and the Kings.

Fischer cited Brown's 2022-23 Coach of the Year win and some market-setting contracts, notably those of the Detroit Pistons' Monty Williams (six years, $78.5 million) and the Phoenix Suns' Mike Budenholzer (five years, $50 million).

Before Brown's arrival in 2022, the Kings had missed the playoffs for 16 straight seasons. In addition, the 2021-22 team went just 30-52.

Under Brown, the 2022-23 Kings went 48-34, good enough for the third seed in the Western Conference and an 18-win improvement. Sacramento pushed the then-defending champion Golden State Warriors to seven games in the first round of the playoffs before falling short to the Dubs.

This past season saw the Kings in a race to make the playoffs. Sacramento did earn a play-in tournament berth after going 46-36 and beat the Warriors in the opening matchup. However, the Kings fell to the New Orleans Pelicans in their win-or-go-home game, ending the season.

Regardless of the result, the Kings have enjoyed their greatest success in two decades, and Brown is clearly a big reason for that. He's certainly deserving of more pay and longer-term security. Right now, though, it's clear Brown and the Kings are at a bit of an impasse.