The two-time Vegas Summer League Champion Sacramento Kings will embark on their journey to another summer league title today in their opening matchup against the Orlando Magic. The game tips off at 4:30 PM PT / 7:30 PM ET on NBA TV. Consider this your open thread for the upcoming game, and any other happenings from the Las Vegas Summer League today. And yes, despite the NBA’s efforts, I refuse to call it the NBA 2K26 Summer League.
Sacramento’s summer league roster is set, and features several intriguing young prospects. Most notably, Devin Carter, Nique Clifford, Maxime Reynaud, Dylan Cardwell, Isaiah Crawford, Isaac Jones, Isaiah Stevens, and the list goes on. I don’t want to jinx it, but the Kings should have a watchable squad this year. And if they don’t, well, we’ll likely be having some uncomfortable conversations about Carter’s future.
Go Kings? Go Kings.
Rangz or bust!!! Probably the best time of year for us fans. That’s depressing.
In tribute to the old Seals & Croft classic:
Summer League makes me feel fine
blowing through the jasmine in my mind
(whatever that means)
The Summer League Celtics
On paper this unit should be good.
Isaac Noques is fun to watch. Would have preferred him to Schroder and his price tag.
Will this game be on the radio as well?
From Shams (on X.com)
After becoming the second-youngest team in NBA history to win a title, the Thunder now have long-term commitments from their Big 3 of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26), Williams (24) and Chet Holmgren (23) to play together through the rest of the decade as they enter their primes.
Thunder locking in their Big 3 for the long term, and as much as $822 million total
They can make another run or two with their current team, but I don’t know how they are going to afford to keep all of Dort, Caruso, and Wallace. Topic is an unknown, but if he turns out to be good as well, they are going to have to move some of those guys or they will have to operate way above the 2nd apron.
Just rotate out those guys out for the youth they develop from their hoard of picks. Either let them walk in FA or get more picks back in sign and trades. Or trade them for more youth and picks.
I actually think they flip those guys for win now mercenaries on short term deals while keeping their big 3 intact. Or they just flip those guys for more future picks and keep kicking their assets down the road.
I agree, they’ll be flipping some of these young players for future picks or vets just before they need to be extended. I expect OKC to maximize their assets for the most part, unlike what I expect from the Kings.
OKC are likely to keep Wallace for as long as they can but I doubt they extend him considering their payroll now. Ajay Mitchell has already overtaken Topic for the backup PG role and is going to be good for them and likely won’t cost much too extend.
Topic might just be available at a decent price as he won’t be getting much of any run this year considering how loaded OKC is in the back court (think he is 10th in line).
PG: SGA – Mitchell – Topic
SG: Dort – Caruso – Wallace – Joe
SF: Williams – Wiggins – Jones
If the Kings FO believe Topic could be a PG of the future, then they really should contact OKC and see what it might take to get a deal done before OKC unloads him to more aggressive future-minded team.
Wild.
You know it’s gonna be a classic Kangz type of season when the Summer League is more intriguing than the actual regular season.
Kings start 4 rostered players and 1 G-League Finals MVP. On paper this team should roll the other Summer League teams.
Did you hear the announcers comment stating that so the summer league team is basically older than the Oklahoma City thunder?
MAXIME!
11 points in the opening 16 minutes for Kings Legend Maxime Reynaud.
Raynaud appears to be a very fundamentally sound player..
The kid can run the floor like a wing.
I think he could play the 4 at times with Sabonis
You could be right. I get some Zach Collins vibes, which isn’t a bad thing at all with the #42 pick.
I got Toni Kucoc vibes, though with a bigger frame.
He’s a mix of Wilt on offense, Dikembe on defense, with a Boris Diaw accent.
Isaac Jones has odd shoulders/neck.. Not impressed by Nique
It’s too early, obviously, but he’s not super athletic compared to other elite athletes. He’s going to have to be smart and polished, because he ain’t blowing by anyone.
Not worried about Nique I’m more worried about Carter.
His jumper is gross. Incredible motor, though. He’s a really disruptive defender, and a helluva rebounder.
But if he can’t shoot or play PG, then he doesn’t really have a spot on the roster.
Yes, wouldn’t DeSilva, Ware, Holmes, Knect, McCain all look better
Absolutely!
A undersized 22-23 year old who can’t shoot, create for himself, nor initiate an offense, whos coming off shoulder surgery was a more pressing need for Vivek.
Let the record show I wanted to trade down and get Ryan Dunn and another lanky wing with defense. I think maybe Kevin McCullar was on my radar.
“…Our ownership group – the DeVos family.”
GROSS!
Our owner doesn’t equate to winning basketball, but he’s not a complete POS.
Last year I wanted to draft DaRon Holmes, DaSilva or Ware … as I watch Devin Carter, I’m more convinced that the kings just blew it
Thomas Robinson’d again! The Kings are the collector device after the pinball falls thru.
DaSilva and Ware are players that fit the modern NBA. Carter doesn’t. He might improve, but it could take a while, and probably a different team or two.
Me too, I thought Holmes would’ve been the pick at 13…I saw him as the long-term PF between Murray and Domas.
He was my favorite.. then DaSilva then Ware. All 3 would have been better roster fits too… I hope the truth comes out around the potential reason we drafted Carter was he was supposed to be in a trade that fell through
Holmes and Ware were the obvious pick…same way Sengun was a few years ago over Mitchell…yet MM and his propensity for undersized guards, he just couldn’t help himself.
For as much crap as we talk about Vivek, Monte deserves a lot of the blame as well. I doubt Vivek was in his ear telling him to draft Davion or DC.
Last year I wanted to draft DaRon Holmes, DaSilva or Ware … as I watch Devin Carter, I’m more convinced that Monte
thekingsjust blew itQuick thoughts after one very insignificant summer league game.
I’m not all that impressed with the 2-way players. Mason Jones, once again, proves that he is worthy of a 2-way. We’ll have to wait and see if he gets the last spot.
Devin Carter seemed to be forcing too much. Not good from a former lottery pick.
Clifford looks lively with promise. Multi-positional bench guy. I got some Francisco Garcia vibes.
Isaac Jones looked heavier and even more raw. Rooting for the guy
Maxi Ray impressed the most, but I’m not totally sold on he verticality. He had some rebounds just ripped away from him by smaller dudes out jumping him. He got bested by a more experienced Skal. Ugly ass shot, but it seems to work.
Max has that trebuchet style shot…he is French after all.
I guess this is why they wanted to trade Carter, especially before summer league. Teams now get to see him, and itbsounded like he wasn’t very good.
With Clifford i see a little bit of Brandon Roy Lite mixed with some Francisco Garcia not in terms of talent, but playing style when it comes to Roy. If he can be an in-between version of those two with a Harrison Barnes type of impact (4th-6th best player) Then I think he will be fine.
I can see why some folks comp him to Christie. If he can even be Christie-lite, I’ll take it.
Clifford, Reynaud and Ike Jones looked pretty good. Carter not so much (2/14 wtf?). Typical Kangz game tho squandering the big lead down to 2 but they did pull it out so there is that.
Forgot to mention Skal. Still doing summer league. What is he now, 30?
Yeah, he’s 29. I’ll always root for Skal to be in the NBA.
Skal is the Crash Davis of Basketball.
Can’t wait for the movie, King Stockton.
Great take on the Crash Davis call
I thought the best players today were:
Mason Jones (led team with 5 Asts and pushed the pace, captained team w/ exp – don’t think he is eligible for a two-way but I hope he remains on the squad, I think he is the best of the bad options as the backup PG)
Nique Clifford (seemed very comfortable with the ball in hands, looked good in all aspects of the game, I could see him playing PG more than I can see Carter doing it)
Max Reynaud (displayed decent footwork and looked comfortable shooting from NBA 3, but got pushed around by smaller players when rebounding and didn’t provide much rim-protection but was better than I thought he’d be defending the perimeter, seems more 4 than 5).
Isaac Jones (strong rebounds, played solid defense but needs to stand straight-up to avoid PFs, went up strong offensively and hit his FTs)
Isaiah Crawford (played solid across the board in limited mins, rebounded well – hope to see him get more run)
The rest:
I liked what I saw from Plowden and Kinsey as well, but we don’t need any more SGs. Cardwell posted zeros across the board except for a bad hook shot attempt and 2 PFs, he seems a little lost at times (so I expect to see more from him in the next game).
Carter was forcing everything and it showed. I don’t think the Kings are doing themselves any favors by putting Carter into the PG role – neither his development nor trade value will be increased by this experiment.
Random observations (some of which have been stated). Purely eye test.
Reynaud and Clifford looked solid and fit. See no issues with them getting NBA minutes. Carter struggled but showed glimpses-I think he will be just fine. He executed things nicely, just felt like he forced some things and had to bail out late in the shot clock. However; he fit and looks like an NBA guy.
Isaac Jones-we know what he is. Don’t see much more growth. He’ll play hard and fight inside but that’s about it. Looks thicker than last year. He’s an NBA player but more of a 3rd team, end of bench guy. Doesn’t look good enough to comfortably replace Lyles if needed.
Mason Jones-stinks he isn’t eligible for 2 way because he has improved every year. So likeable-just doesn’t have a home on the roster with so many shooting guards.
Cardwell and Stevens looked awful. I’m very scared that Perry gave them those 2 way contracts. They looked lost and did not look like NBA type players.
I hope Isaiah Crawford gets the last 2 way deal. He looks like a solid wing piece to fill out end of bench. Reminds me of Louis King from a few years ago. Don’t see huge growth potential but could fill in during short stints.
All in all-first game and likeable guys that play hard. Only disappointment was Cardwell and Stevens.
Kings still haven’t lost since 17 April!
The full game was unfortunately (or fortunately, depends on how you see it) not available on League Pass, so watched all possessions instead. Came away impressed with Reynaud, who moves quite fluidly for a 7-footer and showed that he has quite a varied skillset, especially on offense. It’s only one game, so let’s see how he does against the Suns in the next one.
Nest:
Saturday 12 July
Kings v Bulls
8 PM ET/5 PM local time
Max Rey is my favorite King’s pick since Hali. He has a floor as a rotational big IMO which is great value for a 2nd rounder.
And Perry thought he could fool the Warriors into taking Carter off our hands. Hah!
I didn’t see the game, but I wouldn’t get down on DC over one SL game. We’ve seen countless good NBA players have bad SL games. Let’s see how he progresses throughout SL. I do see DC as a potential trade candidate considering he wasn’t a Perry pick, so hopefully he increases his value as the SL goes on.
Based on last season, and now SL, they are trying to change his position because he doesn’t fit on the roster. It’s probably not a good sign. It’s like drafting an outfielder with a good arm that can’t hit or play the field well, and then converting him to a pitcher.
Maybe he will settle in to the PG role a bit more, I just don’t have high hopes for the guy as a consistent contributor with the current roster.
We all knew this would happen eventually, be prepared:
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon came up with an alternative solution while discussing the situation on the “Game Theory Podcast.” Vecenie suggested Kings general manager Scott Perry could pivot to Kyle Kuzma, a player the Kings have pursued in the past, if the Warriors continue to stonewall their effort to acquire Kuminga. “If you’re the Kings, I guess your leverage is to just go to the Warriors and say, ‘Look, you’re 100% right, we do want Jonathan Kuminga, but if you’re not willing to do Devin Carter, Malik Monk and something else, then we are just going to do a thing where we decide we’re just going to flip Malik Monk for Kyle Kuzma, and that will be our answer,’” Vecenie said. “If you’re the Milwaukee Bucks, you do that in a heartbeat, first and foremost. You’re ecstatic.”
Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article310439550.html#storylink=cpy
Ugh. I would rather trade DDR for Kuzma. Bigger positional need for the Kings. But DDR has a smaller guarantee next season, so they might want the cap savings.
I’ve been saying it’s gonna be Kuzma for a while, but I think it will be DDR for him. Bucks need scoring next to Giannis.
We need Portis then. Or a third team cause I do not want Kuzma. He has one of the lowest PER. We should be looking at guys like Brandon Clark who’s buried in Memphis Atlanta has that kid from USC Onyeka Okongwu.. hell go after Isaac with Orlando. They need more scores in Orlando. He can defend the four. He’s a stretch guy he can block shots just note to Kuzma.
Thought the rookies looked good, but the sophomores did not.
Watched the whole game and Reynaud sure looks like an NBA player. 7’1 dudes rarely move as fluidly as he does. Great touch around the basket, looks incredibly agile for a guy his size. The defense isn’t there but he can move his feet so hopefully he can improve.
The passing was the best part. Somebody already posted it but the fake pass, into a pump fake to free up the guy on the wing cut backdoor for a dunk was just a thing of beauty. That is high level basketball IQ stuff. Really impressive.
The shot looks funky and it’s slow but it sure looks like it’s going in most of the time. Even the miss were right on line and a couple were in and out. I don’t know what the ceiling is but it sure seems like he can be a rotation player down the line and that’s a huge win for a second round pick.
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