LAS VEGAS– The people at the NBA who make the schedule for its annual Summer League don’t do anything by accident. For the second year in a row, the featured game on the first day of action pitted this year’s top two draft picks against one another. So Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings was meant to be an awkward, bittersweet affair. In the middle of it all was Mike Malone. Fired in the middle of last
It would be fitting if the man who helped lead the Sacramento Kings during their most prosperous years could help guide them back after a decade of mediocre irrelevance. You may recognize Vlade Divac’s smooth European voice from your Waze navigation system, but most know Divac— aside from being traded for Kobe Bryant— for being the center of the turn-of-the-millenium Kings team that nearly reached the NBA Finals and turned Arco Arena into the loudest building in sports. With a new arena
After the Washington Wizards ended a season-high five-game losing streak Saturday with a 37-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Marcin Gortat wasn’t quite ready to declare that their earth was back on its axis. “At the end of the day, it was Brooklyn, so we can’t get really excited,” he said. There’s nothing like perspective. And Gortat is right: One win against a plodding, tired team is nothing to get excited about. What the Wizards should be is concerned. Prior to the win
At this time last year, the vibe surrounding the Sacramento Kings was overly positive. The Sacramento community had just found out that Vivek Ranadive was purchasing the team with intent to keep it in Sacramento, essentially saving the franchise from moving to Seattle. This all happened in the span of a couple of months, and when the fight to keep the team was finally won, basketball decisions had to be made. The ownership group, front office and coaching staff were assembled
Friday was a big day for the Sacramento Kings. As many prepared for the 2014 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction, including 14-year veteran Mitch Richmond who played seven seasons with in Sactown, Kings forward Rudy Guy was accepting an invitation to join Team USA in Chicago. Should he make the final cut, Gay would help to fill the huge void now felt with the recent losses of Paul George (injury) and Kevin Durant (withdrawal). Gay was a member of the 2010
With the lottery over and the Sacramento Kings picking eighth in June’s draft, now the real hard work begins for Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro and his staff. D’Alessandro and the Kings are one of the more open-minded, data driven front offices in the league, and the team appears willing to explore all possible options and avenues with their first-round selection. “Now you could start making all the calls to your counterparts and say, ‘How flexible are you with your pick?’ Are
When the deadline for contract extensions came and went Thursday night, point guards Eric Bledsoe and Greivis Vasquez didn’t get paid. But don’t shed any tears for them. Because when the summer rolls around, they will get their money. And it might be GMs Ryan McDonough of Phoenix and Pete D’Alessandro of Sacramento who are crying. As reluctant as McDonough and D’Alessandro may have been to pony up for point guards with plenty to prove, they should have done so. Both GMs are
For the first time in what feels like forever, there is legitimate optimism and unabated excitement over this season’s Sacramento Kings. For one, they stayed. I wish I were more excited about the basketball moves that the Kings made over the offseason, but make no mistake about it; Sacramento had a better offseason than any other NBA city. It wasn’t easy. A lot of very smart people put a lot of time and energy (and funds) into keeping this team out of