Sunday Musings: Kings fall in Summer League, plus news and notes

Summer League is fun. Saturday’s Kings vs. Magic game was a lot more than that.

In an epic battle between rookies Keegan Murray and Paolo Banchero, a sudden death double overtime was needed.

The Kings came up on the short end of the stick, but there is so much to like from what we are seeing, not only from Murray, but two-way players Neemias Queta and Keon Ellis.

Queta and Murray hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final seven seconds of regulation to force the first overtime. Ellis knocked down 5-of-6 from deep on his way to 15 points.

The loss likely cost the Kings any shot at a second straight championship in Las Vegas, but they played hard for coach Jordi Fernandez all the way down the stretch and if there is such a thing as an instant classic in summer league, this game moves to the top of the list.

Murray is clearly the focus of everything this summer, but Queta’s development both physically and fundamentally could pay huge dividends this season. Ellis is a 3-and-D defender the Kings desperately need.

This is a tremendous growth opportunity for everyone involved. The Murray vs. Banchero battle was a toss up. Murray finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, two assists and five turnovers. Banchero dropped in 23 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and eight turnovers. It was sloppy at times, but Murray rose to the challenge.

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The Kings aren’t done

Monte McNair continues to work to fill the holes in the Kings’ rotation. The addition of rookie Keegan Murray took care of the glaring need at the four. Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk will compete for the starting shooting guard spot and both address the team’s need for 3-point shooting.

While the Kings’ general manager has checked a few boxes, he still needs to find head coach Mike Brown a few pieces if he hopes to shore up one of the league’s worst defenses.

“Still more work to do as we go into the season, into the next trade deadline,” McNair said during Huerter and Monk’s press conference. “We never think we’re done, but we’re excited with where things are at.”

With the free agent class drying up, Sacramento needs to find a way to balance the roster and search out more depth, specifically at the wing.

As of today, Harrison Barnes is the only true small forward on the roster. Brown can steal minutes at the three with players like Huerter and Terence Davis, but finding a true 3-and-D wing would do wonders for this squad.

The issue facing McNair is that Barnes might be his most marketable player. He’s a veteran who can play heavy minutes and he’s also on an expiring contract that will pay him $18.3 million this season.

This is becoming a game of high stakes poker with Barnes. The 30-year-old forward has spent the last three and a half seasons spinning his tires in Sacramento. He’s reaching that age when players want to search out winning situations and that has never materialized with the Kings.

Barnes is still a steady force and a heavy minutes eater, although his defensive metrics last season fell off dramatically.

Will McNair risk going into the season with a player entering the final year of his contract? Can they extend him now and avoid some of this concern? What if the Kings get off to a fast start with Barnes being a big part of that success and then need to trade him at the deadline to avoid losing him for nothing?

There are no easy answers, but trading Barnes for two players that can man the three might not make the team better. Neither is waiting for a monster trade that might never materialize.

There are difficult decisions ahead for McNair and his staff in their quest to end the franchise’s 16-year playoff drought.

Swing and a miss?

There was a buzz around Sacramento regarding European prospect Sasha Vezenkov. There were even rumors that the 26-year-old was on his way to Las Vegas to meet with the Kings’ brass with the expectations of a potential signing.

What a difference a week makes. Vezenkov won the Greek League MVP and that may have changed everything.

According to a league source, there are still conversations going on between the Kings and Vezenkov’s camp, but nothing new to report on a potential contract.

A league source confirmed that Vezenkov’s role in Sacramento would mean as much or more than his salary figure. That may still be the case, but there are also murmurs that Vezenkov is looking for bi-annual exception money ($4.1 million starting salary) and not a league minimum contract.

According to Christos Tsaltas, who covers the NBA from Greece, Vezenkov is in year two of a three-year, $2.7 million euro ($2,749,208 US dollars) contract that pays him $900,000 euros ($916,403 US dollars) per season.

Are Vezenkov and his team playing the Kings to get a new deal in Greece? Is there a possibility the Kings look to offer more than a league minimum deal that starts at $1.02 million and pays roughly $6.9 million over four years?

A final decision on the smooth shooting power forward will likely happen in the coming weeks, but the momentum that was strong a week ago appears to have dissipated.

Give em’ a shot?

A league source confirmed to The Kings Beat that veterans Matthew Dellavedova, Shabazz Muhammad and Quinn Cook are all working out this week with the Kings in hopes of returning to the NBA.

Dellavedova, 31, last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2020-21 season. He’s an experienced point guard and a career 36.4 percent shooter from 3-point range.

Like Dellavedova, Cook made his last appearance in an NBA game with the Cavs during the 2020-21 season. He spent time with the Stockton Kings last season, although he never suited up for a game.

At 29 years old, Cook has plenty of tread left on the tires. He also has ties to Kings head coach Mike Brown from their time together with the Golden State Warriors from 2017-19. He’s also a career 40.8 percent shooter from deep.

Last on the list is Muhammad. The 29-year-old small forward has spent the last four years galavanting around the world playing hoops, last seeing action in an NBA game during the 2017-18 season for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Once a promising scorer in the league, Muhammad, the 14th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, is a mystery. He put up huge numbers in China, but he’s more of a scorer than a pure shooter.

The Kings still have three open roster spots. One of those has been earmarked for Vezenkov, but that may change. It’s unlikely that any of these three receive fully guaranteed contracts with the Kings, but Sacramento clearly needs a third point guard and depth at the three. They are digging deep to find experienced players.

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