The Kings offered guard De’Aaron Fox a two-year, maximum-salary extension prior to the start of the 2023/24 season, according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report. Haynes discussed the offer on the latest episode of his #thisleague UNCUT podcast with Marc Stein. As Haynes outlines, since Fox had three guaranteed years left on his current contract entering this season, a two-year extension was the best offer Sacramento could make when he became eligible for a new deal over the summer. However, the Kings recognized the guard likely wouldn’t sign a new agreement at this time and weren’t bot ..read more

The Bucks and the Lakers earned quarterfinal victories on Tuesday night, joining the Pacers and Pelicans as the final four teams that will head to Las Vegas to compete for the championship in the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament. Milwaukee pulled away from New York in the second half in Tuesday’s early game, with superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combining for 63 points in the 146-122 victory. In the late game, the Lakers benefited from a generous timeout call in the closing seconds (Twitter video link) and eked out Phoenix in a 106-103 nail-biter, led by LeBron James‘ 3 ..read more

The Kings’ NBA G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, are trading for the rights to forward Stanley Johnson from the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s affiliate, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype tweets. The Kings have an open roster spot, so this could be an opportunity for Johnson to work his way back into the NBA ..read more

Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol, Portland announced on Monday (via Twitter). Grant sustained the injury during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Utah and did not return, per the team. Grant, who re-signed with Portland on a five-year, $160MM contract over the summer, is averaging 22.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists on .437/.412/.830 shooting in 19 games this season. In other injury news for the Blazers, guard Anfernee Simons is nearing a return, tweets Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report. Simons, who has been out since Oc ..read more

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Knicks forward Julius Randle have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced (via Twitter). Fox won for the Western Conference, while Randle won for the East. It’s the second weekly award thus far in 2023/24 for Fox, who led Sacramento to a 2-1 record last week. The 25-year-old averaged 31.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.7 steals in his three games (38.7 minutes per night). The Kings host the Pelicans tonight in the quarterfinal of the league’s inaugural in-season tournament. Randle, meanwhile, averaged 24.7 points, 13.3 rebounds and 7 ..read more

While most of the league has gotten back to business as usual, the eight teams that advanced in the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament are focused on the knockout round and a trip to Las Vegas for the semifinals and title game, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Single-elimination games will start Monday with the Pacers hosting the Celtics and the Pelicans meeting the Kings, and will continue Tuesday with Knicks-Bucks and Lakers-Suns matchups. “I just want to make every appeal I can to our fans that we need the loudest building possible,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “To show ..read more

Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton is expected to miss Saturday’s game against Miami, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Indiana’s best player is officially listed as questionable. As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star tweets, Haliburton missed the team’s shootaround this morning due to a right knee bone bruise and an upper respiratory infection. The Pacers went just 6-20 without Haliburton last season, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). Haliburton, who signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension in the offseason, is off to an All-NBA-caliber start to 2023/24, averagi ..read more

A little over four months after suffering cardiac arrest, USC freshman Bronny James has been cleared to make a full return to basketball, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Charania, the expectation is that James will resume practicing with the team next week and make his NCAA debut not long after that. Discussing the good news on Thursday, star forward LeBron James – Bronny’s father – told reporters that if his son’s USC debut occurs on the same day as a Lakers game, he intends to skip his own game to watch Bronny. “Whenever he’s cleared and ready to have his first game, I al ..read more

Warriors guard Chris Paul appeared to avoid a major injury. Paul exited Golden State’s Tuesday game against Sacramento in the first quarter due to a lower left leg nerve contusion. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday, according to a team release (Twitter link via Andscape’s Marc J. Spears), and it confirmed his contusion and revealed no structural damage. While Paul has to miss the Warriors’ next two games, he’s being re-evaluated on Monday, which appears to be excellent news for both him and Golden State as it looks as though he’s dodged a long-term injury. Paul is an integral part of the Warrio ..read more

The Kings savored their comeback win over Golden State Tuesday night, and not just because it gave them a spot in the final eight of the in-season tournament, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Sacramento would have won the West’s Group C by staying within 11 points, but it felt better to claim a victory over the Warriors, who knocked the Kings out of the playoffs in April. “We want to win. Obviously, our fans want us to beat Golden State,” De’Aaron Fox said. “A game this close, coming back from down 24, you want to win regardless of if it’s a tournament game or not.” Malik Monk finished off ..read more