Multiple reports confirm that the Sacramento Kings have waived third year guard Isaiah Stevens, who was on a two-way contract. Stevens joined the team last season and played just three games with the Kings, but did play 20 games with Stockton where he averaged 15.1 points, 8.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 34.1 minutes per game. Stevens was also on the team’s Summer League squad but saw significantly less playing time with the additions of Darius Acuff Jr., Emanuel Sharp and new two-way guard Adam Flagler.
Teams are allowed three two-way contracts that do not count against the salary cap. Two-Way players can spend up to 50 games with the main squad before having to be converted to a regular roster spot. The Kings have had a couple of two-way success stories in recent years: Keon Ellis (since traded to Cleveland and now on the Brooklyn Nets) and last year’s undrafted center Dylan Cardwell. The Kings also promoted Daeqwon Plowden from a two-way player to a real NBA contract for this upcoming season after he averaged 10.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.7 steals in 26.4 minutes a game over 32 games last season.
After waiving Stevens, the Kings now have one two-way spot left and two regular roster spots left. It’s unclear if they have someone specific in mind with their final two-way slot or if they are simply wanting to keep it open for future flexibility. If there was anyone that stood out from Summer League for this final two-way spot, it was probably undrafted LSU forward Marquel Sutton who showed off some nice athleticism and a decent shot in both the California Classic and Las Vegas.
I agree with giving Sutton a look on a two-way. Flagler could be waived too IMO after the summer league showing. Keep the other spots open for a bit to see who gets cut around the league.
As I mentioned in the past thread, I’d just be fine with giving Sutton an Exhibit 10 camp invite. See if he for real in the preseason. If so, then give him the 2-way. No need to rush it.
As to roster spots, they are already into the tax at $203M and are around $5M below the 1st apron with one roster spot still needing to be filled. My guess is they haven’t officially stretched DDR’s $10M because they are still gonna try and get below the tax before the season starts via a trade or two.
Here are two trades that might be in the works.
Trade #1: Trade Monk and the last 2 seconds to the Bucks for Caris Lavert and Kasparas Jakucionis. Lavert’s contract is expiring(14.8 mil). Jakucionis is the reason for the trade. He would be an exceptional backup for Datius Acff. At 20 years old is a really good playmaker but also shoots the three ball over 43%. A good defenders at 6’5″ and a 6′ 11″ wingspan. Doesn’t get rattled. With his offense and shooting the 3 at a high clip can also play shooting guard. This is a long term cheap fit. He would be a King for years.
Trade #2: Trade Monk and a future first to the Pacers for T L McConnell and Jarance Walker. T J would be a really good fit to backup Acuff and Walker IMO would be a fantastic power forward for the Kings. He checks almost all of the boxes the Kings need at that position. This trade would IMO be a little harder to accomplish as T J is a fan favorite and a ad favorite but IMO can get done. That’s why a future first.
Bucks should just keep Kasparas. Probably better than Monk and is way cheaper. Levert is expiring anyways, so just get through the season and retain the cap relief.
The Bucks have Rollins, Burries and even Hero to play point guard. They really don’t need Jakucionis more than Monk would fill their need as a great player off the bench. They don’t need Lavert so we get his expiring contract. The Bucks also get 2 seconds which because of their trades need more draft capital. I say its a win win for both teams.
Kasparas can play either guard role. Monk’s contract is not good, and I don’t think they want that.
I checked on some others observations and most say Monk would really help the Bucks to move forward and they also say he would be a great fit. They do need a good 3 point shooter off the bench.
I don’t think Monk qualifies as a good 3pt shooter. His career average is 35%. League average is around 36%. When you factor in those league averages take into consideration defensive first players and big men, that actually makes Monk, who is a guard, not a good 3pt shooter.
Last time I looked it was over 38% and Monk is a far better player than Lavert.
His career percentage is 35.5%.
Yep. Monk’s biggest issue with threes is a lack of consistency, even year over year there’s no trend you can look to and say you confidently know how he’ll shoot the next year. He shot 39.5% from 3 last year, but 32.5% the year before. He’s right around 35% overall in his four years in Sacramento. When he catches fire, he’s lights-out and fun as hell to watch, but we’ve also seen plenty of the games where he keeps chucking trying to find a shot he just doesn’t have that night.
I don’t think the Kings give up a first unless there some fringe-All Star coming back. I think pick swaps will be something they dangle, since they are a bad team and the pick will have value (but we wouldn’t los a first rounder).
Not even for a starting power forward who would solve that spot almost perfectly? And you get a really good backup point guard in TJ.
Walker is a decent player. His 3pt% numbers make him look enticing. He is a stationary shooter, and limited offensively. Not known to be a vertical or quick athlete, and defensively is below average.
He would be a good rotational big, but those guys are not worth 1st round picks. If they could get him for salary and maybe a 2nd rounder, then sure. He is also due a contract, so the Kings would need to factor that in, as they are facing salary cap hell.
I wish they could waive Vivek.
The dismissive little chap probably wouldn’t waive back.
If Perry wants a Monk trade than I have 2 ideas.
Trade #1 Trade Monk and 2 seconds rounders which we still have to the Bucks for Caris Lavert(expiring 14.8 mil contract) and Kasparas Jakucionis. KJ is the kicker. He would be an exceptional backup to Acuff. More of a team player and play maker but can also defend(6’5″ with a 6″ 11″ wingspan) and shoots the 3 over 43%. Got to watch him to appreciate him. Perry loses Monk’s contract and Lavert is an expiring contract. I would do this in a heartbeat.
Trade#2 Trade Monk and a future first for T J McConnell and Jarance Walker. Walker is the kicker here. Would be a fantastic power forward between either Raynaud and Sabonis and Keegan Murray(now a 3) He checks all the boxes Perry and Doug want. Precious would be the backup. T J would backup Acuff. We all know what he would bring. Might be hard to trade for as he is a fan favorite. That’s what the first is for.
Of the 2 trades IMO the first one of my choice. All though we would’t get Walker Precious can start at times.
I don’t know how both comments got in the Hearld. Sorry for the mixup.
LOL, LeBron really did screw the Dubs. Green opted out so they could sign James and try and trade for AD. Neither happens so Green says fuck you very much, give me the money I opted out of.
Dubs are now above the first apron with roster spots to fill and no one to score the basketball other than Curry until they hopefully get Butler back in 2027. Good luck!
I can’t wait for the Warriors to be irrelevant again. We’re getting pretty close.
That will be lovely to see.
But will they go to irrelevant and back to relevant before the Kings ever become relevant? I feel like 90% of the league has completed that cycle while the Kings remain in purgatory. Hell, Cleveland has done it three times.
That gets me thinking, the Kings have been pretty bad pretty much since King James entered the league. Is he the cause of our curse?
I think you’re on to something there.
Lebron = King James = King = Royal = Roy Al
Good time to note—fuck you Vivek. Take your 2billion and just leave please. Thank you.
I think you’re on to something. The Kings were the very first NBA team he played against and the Kings won. Of course he cursed them.
The sad part is no matter how irrelevant they get they won’t sink to irrelevancy lows of the kings.
Wow, what a waste of money for Draymond at this point in his career, especially when they won’t be able to compete beyond the 8-10 slots.
He probably threatened to punch the GM and his agent during negotiations.
Isaiah Stevens was a star at Colorado State. He got a cup of coffee in the NBA. Now, it’s get a real job or play in Europe or China or some place. That’s the basketball life.
I wish my real job paid me 2 million to live in Madrid.
One last time. The Bucks just brought back Gary Trent Jr. He will backup Rollins at point guard. They also have Burries who is in front of Jakucionis who is now third on the list. Monk is one of the best players off the bench and is better than Lavert. Add the 2 second rounders and IMO that would do it. Jakucionis would be an excellent backup for Acuff and Lavert is on an expiring contracts for almost 15 mi. The Kings should really consider this. No more Monk’s contract and next year who put 14.8 mil bach on the books and you get an exceptional point guard at 20 years of age,
For the Kings, yes. The Bucks? I just don’t see the upside for them. You noted they already had many guards, so why add one more, even after moving Levert and Kasparas?
Monk has been dangled in trade offers/rumors, and no teams are biting. He is a bad defender, small for his position as an off-guard, and makes a lot of money this year and next. The Bucks should just roll with Kasparas and Levert, let Levert expire at the end of the season, and move forward with Rollins, Kasparas, Trent, and Burries.
The only teams that I could see being interested in Monk would be an upper level team looking for scoring punch off the bench. And in that limited case, the move would happen (a) closer to the trade deadline, and (b) would bring little to no true assets in return – expiring contract and a future 2nd at best.
Yup, and right now the Kings can’t absorb a larger salary in a dump. Monk will most likely be with the Kings all season.
I agree. He could have value to a team in need of scoring and a bit of playmaking. Oddly enough, a team that might swing for him in desperation could be the Dubs, especially if Butler is is out longer than expected or even out for the season
From all that, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Dubs trade Butler if things get off to a slow start in Golden State. Right now they have Curry and really nothing else. I don’t count on Zinger at all with his health issues.
Just gonna point out that LaVine and Monk is a near perfect salary match for Butler and Moody.
What I find interesting is that Monk was good enough to play important minutes on a 48 and 46 win Kings teams, but then just became a non-factor. He was a fine backup PG/SG, and then he became a starter with Fox, and then the starting PG after the Fox trade. The end of that season came the “we need a PG” talk from Domas and the front office. Monk has seen his role diminished since then, to the point that they signed DS and brought in Russ, and Monk was relegated to the bench.
It’s just an odd turn of events that seemed to happen quickly. I do hope he gets to somewhere that he can find a role, because he is an exciting player (at times), and seems like a good teammate.
I don’t think Monk changed all that much, but what changed was his role and pay. He thrived as a playmaking combo guard during the playoff season when he shared the floor with space stretching shooters. IMO, in the same way Keegan was affected by the arrival of DDR, so was Monk.
Now couple that fact that his pay has more than doubled from those two good seasons and it leaves some with a sour taste in their mouths. I feel if he were still making less than $10M per year the opinions of him may change. Right now his contract is not an albatross, but it’s far from good.
Just an example, Payton Pritchard, who is a similar type of 6th man scoring combo guard (although a better shooter) is making $7.7M this coming season compared to Monk’s $20.1M. Swap players and contracts and we might be saying the same thing out Pritchard.
In essence, Monk didn’t change the team and league have changed.
“IMO, in the same way Keegan was affected by the arrival of DDR, so was Monk.”
I agree with you on this and have been wondering whether we might face an addition-by-subtraction situation by losing DDR this year (disclosure: I totally love DDR, just not for this team). We will likely still see a fair amount of iso ball still this year with both Monk and LaVine, unfortunately.
Even still, we should see the ball in the hands of both Sabonis and Acuff a lot this year, which ideally results in a more team-oriented offense overall. I’ve mostly given up on the idea of the Kings stopping their freefall into oblivion, but it does seem as though there’s a chance they improve this year given good health (fingers crossed) and a more evenly distributed offense. Do you think we see a bit of a resurgence in efficiency and production from both Murray and Monk this year?
The big unknown for me is Acuff. Can the Kings successfully incorporate him into the offense and will he show the maturity and patience needed to run the team effectively? I’ve seen the predictions that they will land in the 20-22 win range but that seems pessimistic to me if they’re healthy. They have a number of solid individual pieces, to the point that I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up competing for the play-in. I do believe that Acuff has the tools to be the best pure PG that the Kings have had in many years. Obviously, the biggest issue is that I don’t have faith in Doug Christie. Maybe he will shock and surprise…
Good comment. KM and Monk both suffered from the presence of DDR- and to a lesser extent ZLV
In the right situation, many of these players thrive. I think Monk has about the same talent as in those years but that talent is thwarted
Acuff is a better player than Fox at same stage in career. Kings need to protect him from his tendency to do it all. Let him develop slowly. Start him, of course, but limit the shots
New thought- the bottom 3 teams get terrible lottery odds. Can the Kings avoid the bottom 3? Who is worse than them?
Bulls, Pels, Nets, Grizz ????
I would be ecstatic if the duds fell into the bottom 3.
When all the worst teams are forced to compete to stay out of the bottom three, I think it’s going to come down to health. And I would also be ecstatic to see the Warriors in the bottom three. They’re just one Steph Curry injury away from that being guaranteed.
I think this sums it up. If Acuff is Brunson 2.0, I’m not sure he maximizes guys like Keegan and Monk. Brunson is a ball dominant scoring guard and not an elite playmaker. He was #3 in the league for usage behind Embiid and Jaylen Brown.
Did Brunson maximize his supporting cast of Bridges, OG and Hart, or were they there to maximize his scoring ability. I guess If you envision Keegan to be a defense first type dude (like Bridges and OG) it could work. Monk, on the other hand, seems like the kind of guy you want on the floor when Acuff sits, and not necessarily on the floor with him.
I guess we won’t know until we see what kind of player Acuff is or even if he is the guy you build around. For all we know he’s Darius Garland 2.0, but with worse defense.
Yeah, based on the handful of games I saw this summer, Acuff seems like he might be a ball dominant scoring guard first. But he also had many eye-popping passes that his teammates just weren’t ready for.
I agree about his fit with Monk. That seems like a recipe for disaster to me. But the thought still holds – if the loss of DDR opens up Monk’s game a bit, it could be good for the team.
And Brunson 2.0? I would certainly take that or even 75% of that. If Acuff draws the defense and dishes, I could see Keegan being a very nice fit with Acuff. Garland 2.0? Ugh, I shudder to think.
Possible Zach LaVine buyout??
https://www.reddit.com/r/kings/s/M1XvuNOPh4
Hmmmm. I’d think Zach’s camp would want a promise from another team before agreeing to that. Who has cap space left other than vet minimum deals? Nets? Pistons?
I think the idea would be if another team offers Zach something like a $10M one year deal, the Kings could then negotiate a buyout of $39M so Zach gets his full $49M and all parties are satisfied.
I wonder of the Kings are permitting Zach’s agent to talk to other teams.
Adding…after doing a quick perusal of the interwebs, Miami is apparently keeping close tabs on LaVine in case of a buyout.
The LeBron stuff needed to happen so these could move on to plan B. Demar, Lavine, etc.
IMO, a bought out LaVine would have more value to contenders than the likes of DDR, Beal, and Westbrook. Dubs, Heat, Lakers, etc could all use his services.
If the Kawhi saga ends up unraveling their trade with the Raps, I could even see Toronto trading for LaVine in a similar deal that sent Ingram to the Clips.
Time will tell, but the feeling in my bones makes me think the Kings aren’t done.
If they actually went through with it and bought Zack out…they could then throw a mini-max offer ($185M/4) at Duren.
From SAC’s side, its probably not the best timing for a move like that (an opportunity at swiping such a young talent shouldn’t be passed up IMO) but it would really put DET on the hot seat to match. It might also be a way to get S&T talks going if they aren’t willing to pay Duren.
I thought the same thing, yet knowing the Kangz, they’ll likely overpay for Kuminga.
Personally, I’d like them to go after Payton Watson if LaVine is bought out.
the duds are not contenders – they just think tha they are
Yup, and the Kings could use that to their advantage.
From everything I’ve read they are all in on trying to win as much with Curry. That kind of effort makes them contenders if they are willing to take risks.
It isn’t clear to me what the Kings get out of buying out his contract. I get that he’s overpaid, but he could have a lot of impact on the win column this year, especially with DDR gone. Doesn’t buying him out make it more likely that we’re a bottom three team than less likely?
It depends on the buyout price and what the Kings do with the space.
They are dialing the phone for him
Follow up:
https://x.com/CarmichaelDave/status/2083212407103426964?s=46
This makes the most sense to me, to be honest. I’d rather see if they can get a career resurgence out of him early this year and possibly increase his value at the trade deadline.
Agreed. Try and get something in return for Lavine. Just crapping away an expiring massive contract is not the way to do buz.
Maybe the duds would take Lavine for Jimmy as it would give them a better chance to win this year.
Unfortunately, the only stupid person that would trade for LaVine and his contract is Vivek!
LaVine can’t fetch more than a second round pick in a trade no matter how good a half season he has. I suppose that’s useful as a way to get out from under some future face plant, but it’s not much. You also run the risk that the Kings add salary in a salary dump for the second year in a row. LaVine’s only real value to the Kings is in staying out of the bottom three.
Seems wise to wait a bit and see what comes available before fulfilling all your two way contracts. Unless you’re just all in on your 3 two way guys. Getting someone at another position than PG/G for the final spot seems like a good idea.
As for the talk of Monk trades in this thread, love the ideas that were thrown out there. To me, it’s shocking that Golden State hasn’t already made the trade for Zac LaVine. You either have 1 year of LaVine (contract year) to add to Steph, Green and Kristaps or you pay butler to never play a game. Whatever minor assets get thrown in to make it happen is well worth it. Not wasting 50 million on a player who won’t play a game during the last few excellent years Curry seems like a no brainer.
Yeah. They owe it to Curry to do something with Jimmy’s contract.
Lavine for Jimmy and some draft capital makes a ton of sense. Not a bad roster and the duds can then pivot again next offseason with Lavine and moron’s contracts coming off the books.
Curry
Lavine
Yaxel
draymoron
KP
Moody, Podz
The dog days of summer are here and practically no news on the Kings. With this org, with Perry in charge under a dismissive little thumb, no news is probably the best news.
SI mentions the Kings.
https://www.si.com/nba/five-biggest-offseason-questions-that-still-must-be-answered-after-lebron-james-decision
Uhhhh, according to Jake Fischer the Kings are “weighing” adding backcourt depth with Westbrook and… wait for it…Victor Oladipo. They want guard mentoring for Acuff. Just soooooo Kangz.
Six pillars!
Of the two, I’d rather have Russ. We know Russ is a good mentor for the young guys based on comments from multiple guys last year, and young players at Russ’ previous stops. Russ has been a superstar at a level we can only hope Acuff reaches. The key to me is that all parties (Russ, coaching staff, and FO) need to be aligned that Russ will be coming off the bench behind Acuff even if Acuff has some initial growing pains. I don’t blame Russ for being annoying at playing behind Schroeder last year, but I would need to be completely confident that Russ will accept a bench role.
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