Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings failed to advanced past the Play-In Tournament this season after reaching the playoffs in the 2022-23 campaign, and it's possible that could impact the future of head coach Mike Brown, with the 2024-25 season the final one on his current contract.

According to James Ham of The Kings Beat, "The failure to repeat the success of the previous year hasn't sat well with ownership, according to sources."

Moving on from Brown would undoubtedly be harsh. He helped end a 16-year playoff drought and has gone 94-70 in his two years as Sacramento's head coach.

He also is under contract for one more season before a mutual option in the 2025-26 campaign. So the Kings, essentially, have three options:

• Fire Brown this offseason and move the organization in a new direction after this past season's step back.
• Give Brown one more year to turn things around before either signing him to an extension or picking up his mutual option.
• Sign him to an extension this offseason.

Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported in late April that Brown "desires a longer-term commitment at his market rate, per league sources, and brings a substantial body of work to the table. The Kings have grown in legitimacy since his arrival, both as a basketball and business entity. But a nuanced negotiation awaits."

Given the going market rate, such an extension would likely hit double-digit millions per year. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports added on May 15 that "Brown's talks are expected to center around a similar eight-figure threshold" to the $10 million average annual salary the Phoenix Suns gave Mike Budenholzer this offseason.

But are the Kings willing to make that sort of financial commitment after this past season?

Slater and Amick reported that "team sources say Brown will definitely return for next season," so the question likely becomes whether controlling governor Vivek Ranadivé signs Brown to an extension or lets him play out the next year on his contract before making a decision.

The latter choice threatens to become a distraction, with Brown essentially heading into a lame duck year. It would be a major storyline, no doubt. But if Ranadivé has doubts about Brown's ability to turn the proverbial ship around, it might also be the more prudent move given how pricey an extension would have to be.

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown is reportedly in line for quite the payday.

According to a Wednesday report from Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, contract extension discussions between Brown and the Kings "are expected to center around a similar eight-figure threshold" after Monty Williams' deal with the Detroit Pistons and Mike Budenholzer's deal with the Phoenix Suns.

Williams ended up with a $70-plus million contract from Detroit, while Budenholzer will make $10 million in annual average salary from the Suns.

That Brown would receive such a deal doesn't come as much of a surprise considering he is a two-time Coach of the Year with an NBA Finals appearance on his resume.

His first head-coaching position came with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he coached a team with LeBron James for five seasons from 2005 to 2010. Cleveland went to the postseason in each of those five seasons and reached the 2007 NBA Finals, where it lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

Brown won the Coach of the Year award in 2008-09 when the Cavaliers reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

He also coached the Cavaliers in 2013-14 after a brief stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sacramento hired him ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, and he led the team to its first playoff appearance since the 2005-06 season. While the Kings lost in the first round in a hard-fought seven-game series against the Golden State Warriors, the future looked bright with players such as De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

The Kings took something of a step back this past season, but they still went 46-36 and reached the play-in tournament.

Keeping Brown on a long-term extension would offer some continuity to the franchise as it looks to establish itself as a consistent winner in the Western Conference. It just might cost the front office a notable contract.

The Sacramento Kings' season came to an end on Friday night, losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA play-in tournament by the final score of 105-98.

After defeating the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday and earning a chance to potentially secure the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, the Kings were unable to overcome a Pelicans team that was missing superstar Zion Williamson.

Sacramento's star duo performed admirably, as De'Aaron Fox led all scorers with 35 points while Domantas Sabonis recorded 23 points and 14 rebounds to go along with seven assists. However, the two combined to commit nine turnovers.

The absences of shooting guards Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk were evident as the Kings hit just 27 percent of their attempts from behind the arc as a team. They also missed seven free throws, shooting just 15-22 from the charity stripe. Despite finishing with an impressive 46-36 record, Sacramento's season is officially over before the playoffs have begun.

NBA fans trolled the Kings following their loss to a short-handed Pelicans team:

After a heartbreaking Game 7 defeat against the Golden State Warriors during the first round of the 2023 playoffs, Sacramento's season ended in another must-win contest on Friday.

The Sacramento Kings are still alive.

Led by huge performances from Keegan Murray (32 points, nine rebounds, 8-of-13 from three) and De'Aaron Fox (24 points, six assists), the Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 118-94 in Play-In Tournament action on Tuesday night.

The Kings will now face the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Golden State's season is over, and it ended with a whimper.

Stephen Curry put up 22 points but turned the ball over six times. His longtime running mate, Klay Thompson, had perhaps the worst game of his career, finishing 0-of-10 from the field without a single point. It was the rotten cherry on top of what has been a pretty tough season for Thompson, and all before he hits free agency this summer.

For the Warriors, it felt like the potential end of an era. For the Kings, however, the 2023-24 season still has at least one more story to tell.

And it was largely due to Murray and Fox, who were the toast of social media after the contest:

This was a complete team effort, with Domantas Sabonis offering a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double and all five starters scoring at least 15 points.

This was a pretty simple result to break down.

The Kings hit perimeter shots at an impressive clip (18-of-39 from deep, 46.2 percent); the Warriors did not (10-of-32 from three, 31.3 percent). The Kings took care of the ball (eight turnovers); the Warriors did not (16 turnovers).

And Sacramento's best players stepped up. Curry and Thompson did not, at least by the lofty standards they've set over the course of their careers.

Sacramento still has to get past New Orleans, and all that earns them is a tough first-round matchup with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. But hope remains alive in Sacramento, and if Murray and Fox keep playing like they did on Tuesday, the Kings will be a tough out.

Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk will still be supporting his former Kentucky head coach, John Calipari, despite him leaving for Arkansas.

Arkansas basketball plays its home games at Bud Walton Arena, and that's where Monk, who was born and raised in Arkansas before leaving his home state to join UK in 2016, will be finding himself to catch games in the future.

Monk played one season for Coach Cal before leaving school and joining the Charlotte Hornets as the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He's found great success as an NBA reserve, notably averaging a career-high 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game this year as the Kings' sixth man.

It's no surprise that Monk will be supporting his former coach even though he's leaving for another school. Many of Calipari's ex-players, some of whom are now starring in the NBA, saluted the coach en route to his exit to Arkansas.

One of those players is four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves:

Calipari leaves Kentucky after 15 seasons. His teams went 410-122 and made four Final Fours, including two national title game appearances and one championship in 2012.

At UK, Calipari also helped develop a host of NBA talents, including 35 first-rounders and three players chosen first overall in John Wall, Towns and Anthony Davis, the latter of whom led the 2012 Wildcats to the national title. He also coached No. 1 overall pick Derrick Rose, who played under Calipari at Memphis before heading to the NBA draft in 2008.

Sacramento Kings guard and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk is expected to miss four-to-six weeks after suffering a sprained right MCL, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Monk suffered the injury while defending Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić as he drove to the hoop during the Kings' 107-103 home loss on Friday.

The news is a serious setback for the 42-31 Kings, who sit eighth in the Western Conference. Monk has been sensational in the sixth-man role and is arguably the top reserve in the league, averaging 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game.

The injury occurred roughly a minute and a half after Monk entered the game in the first quarter. Without him, all the starters played heavy minutes, with all of them suiting up for 35 or more. Starting guard Keon Ellis, who typically sits some time for Monk, ended up playing 38 minutes, for example.

The four-to-six week timeline unfortunately creates the possibility that Monk misses the remainder of the season. At this time, Monk is looking at a return anywhere from late April to mid-May.

As of now, the Kings would be in the play-in tournament, which runs from April 16-19. The first round starts April 20, and the second round would begin anywhere from May 4-7.

Based on the timeline of the playoff schedule, at best, Monk could return sometime during the first round. At worst, a second-round return seems likely. Of course, the Kings have to keep winning just for Monk to come back this year.

Sacramento already got dealt a bad blow when Kevin Huerter was lost for the season after suffering a dislocated left shoulder and torn labrum following a collision with the Memphis Grizzlies' Desmond Bane on March 18.

In the meantime, the Kings could turn toward Davion Mitchell and Chris Duarte to soak up more minutes. Kessler Edwards, who played 11 second-half minutes, should be an option as well.

The Sacramento Kings reportedly want Jerami Grant ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline, but the Portland Trail Blazers have not been interested in making such a move.

Kings insider James Ham reported Portland has consistently turned Sacramento's "overtures" away to this point. Ham also suggested the Kings' potential interest in Kyle Kuzma of the Washington Wizards "might just be the rumor mill attaching a player to a team that has shown interest in the past."

Sacramento is looking for length and athleticism in the frontcourt, which is something Grant would provide.

Yet he is also in the first year of a five-year contract extension, so there is no urgency from the Trail Blazers' perspective when it comes to a trade. While they aren't contenders at this point, they very well may be during the course of that deal.

And if they aren't, they can always trade him to a contender in future years.

Sacramento is 29-21 and in seventh place in the Western Conference. While that puts it in position to make the play-in tournament, it is just a half-game behind the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans with plenty of opportunity to make a move up the standings.

Adding someone like Grant, who is averaging 21.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game this season, would help it do just that.

Still, trading for Grant will be costly given his contract situation, and the Kings apparently haven't offered the right trade package yet.

Domantas Sabonis continued his recent stretch of exceptional performances against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, as the Sacramento Kings won 133-122.

Sabonis dropped 26 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists while shooting 9-14 from the field. The 27-year-old dominated a Pacers frontcourt that was missing Myles Turner, routinely finding open shooters whenever he saw extra defensive attention.

He has now recorded a double-double in each of his past 30 appearances, setting a new single-season franchise record.

Sabonis faced off against the team that he developed into an All-Star with, as he was traded from Indiana to Sacramento in Feb. 2022 for a package that featured Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton has blossomed into a star in his own right, although he came off the bench on Friday as he continues to play on a minutes restriction due to a hamstring issue.

In 22 minutes as a reserve, he scored 14 points on 60 percent shooting. However, he recorded just one assist compared to five turnovers despite entering the game averaging a league-leading 12.3 assists each night.

Fans were impressed with Sabonis' strong play against his former team.

The Kings have continued to exceed expectations on their seven-game road stretch, winning four of their first five contests on the trip. Sacramento moved to 28-19 on the season after the victory, gaining a bit of separation over the Phoenix Suns for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.