Keegan Murray represents, Harry Giles making a comeback, preseason schedule released

Thanks for visiting The Kings Beat, an independent credentialed news source covering the Sacramento Kings. We have plenty of new exciting upgrades to the site, including a comments section that has been added to the bottom of the posts. Feel free to chime in and thanks for supporting The Kings Beat!

The NBA has gone into hibernation mode, but there are still a few tidbits of information to discuss with regards to the Sacramento Kings.

First up, Keegan Murray wrapped up his Team USA Select team experience on Saturday and is heading home. This was a tremendous opportunity for the second-year pro and an incredibly proud moment for the Murray family.

The key is that Murray came out of the camp healthy and likely with a new perspective on the game. Training with the best of the best and being surrounded by coaching legends is a perfect way to round out a very important summer for the 22-year-old forward.

Preseason Schedule released

It will take time before we get our hands on the regular season schedule for the 2023-24 season, especially with the new In-Season tournament scheduled for Dec. 7-9 in Las Vegas.

The preseason schedule is different. Teams are allowed to build out their own set of games. The Kings will open on the road with a trip north of the border where they will face the Toronto Raptors at Rogers Arena in Vancouver BC on Oct. 8.

Following the northern swing, the Kings will travel to Anaheim to face the Los Angeles Lakers at the Honda Center for a 7 PM game on Oct. 11. They open their home preseason schedule on Oct. 15 with a battle against the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 before taking a trip down I-80 to play the Warriors at Chase Center on Oct. 18.

The Kings wrap up the exhibition schedule on Oct. 19 when they host the Utah Jazz at Golden 1. Four of the five games are only available via streaming on Kings.com, with the lone televised game coming on Oct. 15 against the Warriors on NBC Sports.

Queta update?

It has been strangely quiet on the Neemias Queta front since the Kings’ restricted free agent center was injured during Summer League in Las Vegas.

There were murmurs this week that the Portland Trail Blazers are interested in the 7-footer, but they are stuck in a holding pattern with the Damian Lillard situation mucking up their summer. According to a league source, Queta is hoping to stay in the NBA as opposed to searching out employment overseas.

Queta dominated the G League last season, finishing second in MVP balloting and landing a spot on both the All-G League team and the All-Defensive team. The Kings still have the right to match any offer, but with the team bringing back big men Trey Lyles and Alex Len, as well as the addition of Nerlens Noel in free agency, there may not be room for the Portuguese-born center.

Comeback?

Harry Giles is trying to fight his way back into the league and his comeback is gaining some traction. Still just 25 years old, the former top prospect has been out of the league over the last two seasons.

Selected by the Kings with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the fan favorite may have gotten a boost in his return when the league added a clause in the new CBA that allows players with four years of experience who have a lost season due to injury to land on a two-way contract.

Giles held a private workout in front of scouts and front office personnel last month in Las Vegas and he’s starting to get private workouts with teams, including the Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets and the Warriors.

Giles has an incredible feel for the game and he is one of the more charismatic players you’ll find. He’s torn up the Miami ProAm league and is looking for someone to give him another shot.

Salary Cap Breakdown

There is still time for the Kings to add pieces to the puzzle. They currently have 13 guaranteed roster spots, plus Nerlens Noel’s partially guaranteed salary and two-way players in Keon Ellis and Jalen Slawson. That puts their current roster at 16 players and they are allowed to carry up to 21 until final cuts are made before 2 PM PST on October 23.

Sources have told our friend Sean Cunningham from FOX40 that there is a high likelihood that local product Jordan Ford will be in training camp with the Kings in some fashion when it opens on Oct. 3. Whether Ford will land the last two-way contract or something like a partially guaranteed contract for camp, is unknown at this time.

The Kings still need to figure out the Queta situation and potentially invite a few more players into the fold, but there is plenty of time. Here is a look at team’s current cap situation.

• Domantas Sabonis’ salary includes $2.6 million in likely bonuses in each of the next five seasons. He receives $1.3 million for making an NBA All-Star team and another $1.3 million for earning All-League recognition.

• Malik Monk is an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024, but the Kings have Early Bird Rights that allow them to pay him up to 105% of league average salary or up to 175% of his previous season’s salary.

• Kessler Edwards is a restricted free agent following the 2023-24 season with a qualifying offer of $2.4 million. The Kings also have Early Bird Rights that similarly allow them to pay Edwards up to 105% of league average salary or up to 175% of his previous season’s salary.

• Nerlens Noel's contract comes with $300K in guaranteed money for training camp and $600K if he makes the opening day roster. Contract becomes fully guaranteed on 1/10/2024.

• Colby Jones’ contract falls under the new Second Round Pick Exception. 2025-26 salary is non-guaranteed. His 2026-27 salary is a team option.

• The two-way contracts of Keon Ellis and Jalen Slawson are non-guaranteed at $560K each and do not count toward the overall salary of the team.

In addition to breaking down salary by standard measures, a new trend has begun where we start to look at individual salaries as a percentage of the team’s overall cap.

With the salary cap taking leaps and bounds over the last few seasons and projected to do even more in the coming years, this is a good way to start thinking about the cap.

For example, Harrison Barnes made $18.6 million last season and accounted for roughly 14.9 percent of the salary cap. His $17 million this season is just 12.5 percent of the team’s cap. The difference is more than enough cover the cap percentage for a player like Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, Colby Jones or Kessler Edwards.

Despite an increase in salary during each season of his new three-year, $54 million contract, Barnes’ percentage of the cap stays relatively stagnant at 12.5 percent, 12.7 percent and 12.2 percent.

The NBA’s salary cap is set to rise dramatically over the next few seasons, even before we see a spike from a potential new television contract. The Kings are in a healthy place with regard to the cap and they are in a good position to make a substantial move if one presents itself.

***Salary figures and information aided by sportac.com, hoopshype.com and cbafaq.com.