JaVale McGee is signing with the Sacramento Kings, according to reports from Chris Haynes and Shams Charania. McGee was waived by the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, and rumors quickly circulated that the Kings were interested. Now, it seems that interest is mutual and the Kings will have another big man in their camp battle.
Free agent center JaVale McGee will sign with the Sacramento Kings, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport. pic.twitter.com/yxI1wj9xFH
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 31, 2023
Three-time NBA champion JaVale McGee is signing with the Sacramento Kings, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/hWp1zEbCfS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 31, 2023
The Kings current training camp battle will see McGee, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, and Neemias Queta fighting for the 2nd and 3rd string center spots behind Domantas Sabonis. Given McGee’s playoff experience and rim protection ability, I’d give him good odds of earning one of those positions.
JaVale has prior history with Kings head coach Mike Brown, having played under Brown for two seasons with the Golden State Warriors. McGee will turn 36 this year, and certainly has his limitations, but he fits the mold of what the Kings have been targeting with free agent centers this offseason.
In a fun full-circle moment, JaVale’s mother is Pam McGee, who was the first ever draft pick by the Sacramento Monarchs, with the 2nd overall pick in the 1997 WNBA draft.
Welcome to the Kings, JaVale!
JaVale was “ball boy” for a while as well, I believe.
He does have some skills- blocks shots, is big (that’s a skill) and despite his Shacin a fool mistakes, for the most part, he could help. He is a change of pace from DS.
I see him as situational- DS goes out- Kings need rim protection, he comes in. DS goes out, Kings need points and small ball, Trey Lyles goes in. Lots of versatility.
The most unhappy people around? Nerlens, Q and the duds who need him more than the Kings do.
My prediction- Q to Stockton and Nerlens to the waiver wire.
This is not a jump around move but it means that the Kings are players in the NBA destination market.
Should be a good camp! No one’s promised a slot, and they might even eat Len’s salary if two of the others outplay him.
For the record, I like Alex Len, but if you can do better…
I agree. Len proved himself useful in the playoffs as has McGee in years past. Noel and Queta have a chance to prove themselves better than each other and a 36 year old journeyman. May the best two win!
This will be fun to follow- may the best men win! My best guess is that Len & McGee are the two that we keep.
My ranking, in terms of skill, defense, and value to the team is 1) McGee 2) Noel 3) Queta 4) Len (he is about as slow as Queta, but Queta can develop and is a “potential”role player). Regardless of the money, Len needs to show some shooting from 10-12 feet and a soft touch around the basket in order to stay on the team. The top 3 players are huge lob threats and have the potential for more steals and blocks than Len, who is bit slower off his feet. Len was a gut reaction signing from my perspective because he is loyal and ready when needed, but based on his contract, there should have been some “non-guaranteed” clauses. Queta has some potential, Noel can move laterally well (dunk, steal, and block shots), and McGee rebounds and blocks shots the best.
I think you’re right. McGee is probably well suited for the role and Len has the experience with the team already.
This is excellent news. Minor signing in the whole scheme of things but McGee fits the exact mold of what the team needed on paper. Veteran backup big with playoff experience who can score within the flow, rebounds and block shots.
Again, on paper… this appears to be a big win for the roster, our GM and Mike Brown who 100% played a massive role in this newest addition to the team.
at this point, JaVale is the best of the lot.
Len is different than JaVale so there is value in that.
Nerlens is a poor man’s JaVale- so he is out.
Q can be sent to Stockton.
Monte and Brown do like their big men as was said a few days ago.
What I find interesting is that Dallas waived McGee in favor of Holmes, who couldn’t get off the bench behind Len.
Is McGee really better than anyone else or have the deck chairs just been rearranged.
Maybe Dallas sees Dereck Lively as their future center and McGee replacement because he is really the only projected rim protector for the Mavs.
McGee was a disaster for Dallas. They were so much worse with him on the floor that they are now paying him to go away. He’s also 36. The way I see it, Len, Noel, McGee, and Neemias are all fringe NBA players at this point. Each have something to give a little hope. Len- familiarity, size, spot production. Noel- Defense. McGee- Veteran presence, spot production, rim protection. Neemias- Size, upside. If any of these guys are playing more than 10-12 minutes there is a problem. They all are going to be asked to provide rim protection and not let the game get away from them while Domas sits. If they are required to do anything more than that, the team is in trouble. I actually am still hopeful that Neemias can outshine all of them and be the number 2. His playmaking, rebounding, size, rim protection, and rim running have all shown promise. At 24, there is reason to hope he can become a legit NBA player, whereas the other guys are pretty much either in their prime or on the down-slope of their careers.
Agreed, the best outcome would be for Queta to become a solid rotation player, given his potential. I’d hate to lose him for that reason, but bottom line is that you want the best two guys backing Sabonis, and the fact is that Sacramento shouldn’t keep Q with the big club if he can’t be effective in a limited role.
JaVale did poorly in Dallas.
They played Powell and sometimes small ball Klieber. Drafted Lively
Traded for Holmes- was this a trade simply to get the draft pick? But Holmes may be a better fit there They do not ask their centers to do much except rebound for Luka and flat earth.
In a sense, a change of deck chairs but the new ones for each are better fits.
I think the differences are not that great. And I actually have McGee as the worst of the lot. He hasn’t contributed meaningful basketball in about 3 years at least. Veteran presence and a bench coach are about all I can see him contributing. I’d give Lyles, Len, Noel, Neemias minutes ahead of him. You could argue that McGee is better than Neemias, but at this point you either have to play him or cut him. No sense keeping him to warm the bench if he can’t develop into a contributing NBA center.
some debate about “best of the lot”- all have similarities but real differences. JaVale got a guaranteed deal which means he is more likely to “stand out”
Q has all the skills but slow reaction time. They cannot keep all 4.
Perhaps Q can be stashed for one more year? Len seemed likely to stick due to size and familiarity, but he may be the one gone. Although contract wise, I would not like to be Nerlens.
Oh wow, I didn’t know that about McGee’s mother and her connection to the Monarchs. What a nice full-circle moment.
Welcome to Sac, JaVale!
His mother Pam was a monarch and he was a “ball boy”.
OT: Looks like Harry Giles is getting his shot back in the NBA.
Please Harry, do hurt ’em!
good for Hary and good for the Eastern conference
Glad to see actual NBA players being brought in. No more G league players as the only solution available.
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