SportSpyder - The Latest Sacramento Kings News

25 April 2024

• [Fansided: A Royal Pain] - National media members disrespect Sacramento Kings once again
  Malik Monk loses out on the Sixth Man of the Year award, as media members are once again failing to recognize the Kings.
• [Last Word on Sports] - Highlights from Jordi Fernandez’s Introductory Press Conference
  On Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets introduced Jordi Fernandez. The Nets hired Fernandez after a brief stint as the Sacramento Kings associate head coach and several seasons as an assistant for the Denver Nuggets. Listening to the 41-year-old, his mindset has led to his promotion as much as his experience, education and tactical expertise. He’s a promising leader. Highlights from Jordi Fernandez’s Introductory Press Conference “The youth excites me,” Fernandez says of the Nets’ roster. Developing the Youth “When you have a young roster and talented, that means that you’re going to have those guys for a long time. So you can develop them and they can perform at their best…” Jordi Fernández: The youth excites me. — YES Network (@YESNetwork) “Our jobs as coaches is to work with those guys and ,” Fernandez continues. “If they don’t get better, it’s on me and the rest of the coaching staff. I’m excited about the process. I’m excited to get to work with them. I’ve already been in touch with every single one of them.” “We’ll have a team that’s extremely competitive on both sides of the floor. A team that is connected. So, that means that they care about each other. And a team that is selfless; that is going to put the team first. Competitive Connected Selfless Head Coach Jordi Fernández on the team's identity — Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) This will give us the identity that we need… If we’re able to fight, we care about each other, and we put the team first, we’re going to be very good in the long run.” Nic Claxton ‘Fits Perfectly’ “ is a quote-unquote ‘big’ that has defensive versatility,” Fernandez says of the Nets’ impending free agent. “I believe he’ll be Defensive Player of the Year for us.” “He’s a priority in this summer,” he continues, echoing by Nets general manager Sean Marks. “…Obviously, he’s very good in pick-and-roll. He’s quick to the rim. He puts pressure on the rim. His ability to play the dribble hand-off game, which as you guys know lately is a style that’s been very efficient and it helps us with ball-movement... "He fits perfectly with what we want to do moving forward." - Jordi Fernández on Nic Claxton — YES Network (@YESNetwork) When everybody touches the ball and everybody’s involved, everybody’s happier. You’re harder to guard because you’re not that predictable… So he fits perfectly what we want to do moving forward.” “Our roster right now would allow us to do a lot of things, like playing fast,” Fernandez explains, “which usually allows you to find the best shot (and) to be physical — extremely physical in the regular season.” “Obviously,” he continues, “we want to be top-10 offensively and top-10 defensively. With the roster we have, we’ll be able to do that.” Basketball Background “My hometown, I don’t know if you guys know, but it’s probably one of the best basketball cities in Europe and I would say the world,” extols the Catalonia native. From Badalona to Brooklyn — Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) “And it’s where I grew up and fell in love with basketball,” he reveals. “First as a player. I was not that good but I enjoyed playing. Then as a coach. I started coaching early, when I was 15. Then I coached and played until I was 19.” “It’s the beginning of a new chapter, for my family, for myself,” Fernandez says, now that he’s a head coach at the NBA level. “I always believed the next step of my career is never an ending point. The next step of my career is going to lead me into a challenge. Jordi Fernández: We want to sustain success and do it in the long run. — YES Network (@YESNetwork) As you guys know, winning is extremely important. But the way want to do it, we want to sustain success and we want to do it in the long run.” The way that Fernandez plans to effectuate sustainable success, in a word, is by teaching. Learning from Kings head coach Mike Brown (his “American basketball father”) and Spanish team national coach Sergio Scariolo (his “European basketball father”) among other head coaches, he has a wealth of knowledge available to him. His pedagogy might veer from Brown and Scariolo’s own styles but like them, he’s shown himself to be as charismatic and thoughtful. He’s also demonstrated the ability to be calm under pressure. These intangibles will lend themselves to how well his coaching is received. An underrated aspect of player development is how well a coach can get through to players. Like Brown and Scariolo, Fernandez should have plenty of success in this area. “I think I’d like to start with my background. My education. Sports science education and sports psychology… As you guys know, coaches are teachers. To me, that’s been very important to get deal with different groups of players so they learn different ways. Jordi Fernández: Coaches are teachers and to me that's been very important to get to deal with different groups of guys and players so they learn different ways. — YES Network (@YESNetwork) …My experience in the NBA, my journey starting from player developmen...
• [Locked On Kings] - Malik Monk SNUBBED as NBA Sixth Man of the Year. The Sacramento Kings Disrespect Continues.
  Matt George reacts to Malik Monk not being named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Monopoly GO!Get in the game and join you...
• [Sports Illustrated] - Kings' Malik Monk Has Telling Reaction After Sixth Man of the Year Snub
  The Kings guard seemingly wasn't pleased after losing out on Sixth Man of the Year in favor of Naz Reid.
• [ClutchPoints] - Malik Monk Sixth Man of the Year snub sparks Kings outrage
  Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk finished second in the voting for NBA Sixth Man of the Year on Wednesday. Monk, who was viewed as the favorite for the award almost the entire season, suffered an MCL injury in his right knee, causing him to miss the Kings’ final nine games. But even with the absence, Sacramento […] The post appeared first on .
• [ClutchPoints] - Kings’ Malik Monk immediately reacts to massive Sixth Man of the Year snub
  The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award has been decided by only a few votes. It went to Minnesota Timberwolves big man Naz Reid. This was quite unexpected given that a lot of the league’s avid watchers and everyone who is part of the Sacramento Kings faithful had Malik Monk winning as a foregone […] The post appeared first on .
• [NBC Sports Bay Area] - Fox sends message to fans, vows Kings will return to NBA playoffs
  The Kings and their fans by a Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans last week in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Sacramento returned to its playoff-less ways after snapping its league-record 16-year postseason drought during the 2022-23 season, to make matters worse. But star guard De’Aaron Fox isn’t going to let the negative outcome define him and his team. Fox, who just finished his seventh NBA season, issued a heartfelt promise to Kings fans in an Instagram post on Wednesday. In sharing eight of his favorite pictures from this season, Fox captioned his post: “Sac fans: yall deserve to be in the playoffs. We’ll get back. 💜” Fox for Sacramento fans in the Kings’ season-ending, 105-98 loss at Smoothie King Center, finishing with 35 points, seven rebounds and five assists, sitting only six minutes. And if anyone will back a promise, it’s the Kings’ guard. Fox previously made a promise to Kings fans when entering his second season with Sacramento in 2018. The then-20-year-old emphasized wanting to fight for the city, as fans remained supportive despite the playoff drought at the time. “Sacramento, you don’t ask for a lot. Just that we’re all in, like you are,” “I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep, but I’ll promise this: You fought for us, this team, this franchise, this city — and that’s why we’ll fight for you.” Fox and his teammates have fought for Sacramento over the years. Last season’s playoff run, albeit short-lived, proved the Kings were serious about wanting more than NBA Draft Lottery picks and Sacramento’s fight for a 2024 postseason spot while and Kevin Huerter only furthers the sentiment. Sure, the Kings have a big summer ahead, as the team bears a roster that isn’t quite championship contention-worthy. But when Fox says something, he means it. Expect the Kings to shake things up during the offseason, as they evaluate paths back to the playoffs. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. to open the story in your web browser.
• [NBC Sports Bay Area] - Kings brass feels urgency to sustain success, take next step forward
  SACRAMENTO – As one of only two Western Conference teams to win at least 46 games in each of the past two seasons, the Kings are in rarefied company along with the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets. While that’s head and shoulders above where the franchise had been floundering for nearly two decades, Kings general manager Monte McNair understands fully that it’s . The bar of expectations in Sacramento , and it’s no longer acceptable in the state capital to look better. There has to be results, significant results. And McNair is completely in line with thinking as he and his staff prepare for what should be a busy NBA offseason. “A lot to be positive on, and at the same time, those expectations got raised last year,” McNair told reporters at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday. “That’s a great thing. And it’s a great thing for our organization. I love that 46 wins and beating Golden State in the play-in is not good enough anymore.” A year after ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history and garnering the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, the Kings kept themselves in the hunt again this season before stumbling down the stretch. Sacramento won 46 games in 2023-24, two fewer than it did a year ago. It was a small decline but was large in the standings. The Kings beat the Warriors in the Western Conference’s 9-vs.-10 Play-In game before by the New Orleans Pelicans three days later. There were plenty of highlights along the way, too. Domantas Sabonis evolved into the league’s most consistent two-way threat. He had his best offensive season since 2020-21, garnering 19.4 points, a career-best and a league-leading 13.7 rebounds and 9.2 assists that was second among all NBA centers. Sabonis tallied a whopping 77 doubles in 82 games and set a franchise by recording one in 61 consecutive games. Point guard De’Aaron Fox was another bright spot while averaging a career-high 26.6 points. Keegan Murray, the No. 4 overall selection during the 2022 draft, took another step forward in his development while Keon Ellis, an undrafted player in 2022, made significant strides across the board both as a backup and later as a starter when injuries began to pile up. So even though the season ended in frustration and disappointment, the cupboard isn’t bare and the belief is that the Kings have plenty to build off as they head to the offseason. “There were some good things in terms of our growth,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “I’m proud of our guys. They competed, they prepared the right way, they tried to lock in and focus on the details. They continued to try to improve upon our identity, trying to play fast, trying to play physical, and then playing for each other. This group has been connected from Day 1 and that connectivity has gone a long way in terms of our growth.” As much progress as the Kings have made, they still haven’t won a playoff series since advancing to the Western Conference finals 20 years ago. “We always feel urgency,” McNair said. “In this league, windows don’t last forever. But I think we’ve seen a lot of what we can build off of. If you look at this from a two-year horizon, I’m proud of what this team accomplished.” Problem is, more has to be done not only just to keep the Kings afloat in the top-heavy Western Conference but in also in order for the franchise to take the next step. And there are plenty of steps to be taken. Sacramento made notable progress with its defense but struggled with an uneven and inconsistent offense. A year after leading the NBA with an offensive rating of 118.6, the Kings fell to 13th during the 2023-24 season at 116.2. They also had trouble closing out games, blowing 15 double-digit leads and letting 14 fourth quarter leads slip away. So yes, the Kings have a full plate of issues to address in the coming months. Sacramento’s offseason already got in full swing when assistant coach Jordi Hernandez was hired by the Brooklyn Nets to be their new head coach. Now the Kings will have to figure out what additions or subtractions to make to their roster. Malik Monk is scheduled to this summer, while Fox, Harrison Barnes and Murray are among a handful of Sacramento players who will be entering the final year of their respective contracts in 2025. The Kings also have a at No. 13 overall. Sacramento will either stand pat or could use the selection as part of a bigger trade package, something that McNair did not rule out. Free agency will also be a tool that the Kings’ brass uses to try to improve their overall package. “The biggest thing is, especially over the last couple of years, guys want to be a part of what we’re doing here in Sacramento,” McNair said. “Coach Brown, his staff, our players, all deserve a ton of credit for that. And winning helps.” One topic that could come up in the offseason is the status of Brown. Since getting hired by owner Vivek Ranadive prior to the 2022-23 season, the Kings have won 94 games. That’s their most over a two-year period since 2004-05 when th...
• [NBC Sports Bay Area & California] - Kings' Malik Monk misses out on Sixth Man of the Year award, finishes second in voting | NBCSCA
  Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk finished second in 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting behind Minnesota Timberwolves big man Naz Reid.#Sacramento #Kin...
• [Deuce & Mo] - Malik Monk ROBBED of 6th man of the year!
  Deuce and Mo react to the news that Malik Monk did not win NBA 6th man of the year. Congratulations to Naz Reid who won the award this season._______________...