Isaiah Thomas

Alex Kramers

After devouring a bowl of the Israeli breakfast cereal, Casspi is not only able to jump through woodendoors and concrete walls, but inexplicably toss a basketball across an ocean and catch it upon breaking through pavement.

In his other ads, No. 18 shares his moving journey from childhood phenom to NBA star in front of Madison Square Garden, and glides in style – both on and off the court – as spokesman for El-Al Airlines.

As Mary J. Blidge’s “My Life” plays in background of the cinematic production, Webber presents an inside look at intense workout routine, jogging down a dark, rainy street before lifting weights and jump-roping, his gray shirt drenched in sweat as the sun sets. No. 4 – who was then-president of the company’s basketball division – famously donned an all-chrome model of his CDubbz in the 2002 All-Star Game.

Thomas revealed his devotion to the local pizza chain in a series of charming 16-second spots, while McLemore went a step further when he took over delivery duties last season, personally training company employees in qualities including speed, agility and style.

No. 22 also previously endorsed Reebok sneakers in a “Game Recognize Game” campaign, showcasing his patented quickness and slick moves in a playground pick-up game alongside fellow NBA standouts.

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Kings Commercial Classics 3

Katie Cracchiolo

The team announced Thursday that Darren Collison will undergo surgery early next week to repair a core muscle injury and be reevaluated in three to six weeks following the procedure.

In the meantime, sophomore guard Ray McCallum is ready to face his new starting job head on. “When I get the opportunity, I go out there and make the most if it,” he said during Thursday’s practice.

Since taking over for Collison, No. 3 has averaged 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, four assists and 23.6 minutes per game in three contests.

Ray was able to seize a similar opportunity in 2014 when former Kings guard Isaiah Thomas went down with a quad injury late in the season.

Starting 10 of the last 12 games, the then-rookie averaged 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 44.6 minutes per game, hitting several career milestones along the way – including his first double-double (22 points and 10 assists) to propel the Kings past the Pelicans for a victory.

Though he performed extremely well during the 2014 NBA Summer League, guiding the Kings to a Championship win as well as earning Championship Game MVP, the signings of Collison and Ramon Sessions caused RayMac to see limited time off of the bench.

“I haven’t really played all that much with everyone this year,” he said Thursday, “now I’m getting the opportunity for an increase in minutes with them.”

Under the direction of new head coach George Karl and mentorship of veteran guard Andre Miller No. 3 has a shot at another stellar end-of-season performance and there’s no doubt he’s up for it. “I like going against the best players and seeing where I stack up,” he said, noting that each night he gets the start against the best is a challenge he looks forward to.

Following Thursday’s practice Coach Karl mentioned that while unfortunate, injuries are a part of good teams – they allow players who have been waiting to get onto the court an opportunity show what they’re made of.

“I think he’s kind of a conservative point guard,” said Karl. “I’d like to see him be more confident, more willing; and take responsibility for his possessions and get good shots for the team.”

In an effort to do just that, the young guard continues to look to Collison and Miller for advice and critiques.

[RELATED: The Professor – Mentor for Kings]

“Every game [Darren] is out there helping me and staying in my ear about things he sees,” he added. “Having guys like Darren and Andre just make my job even easier.”

With 27 games remaining this season Coach Karl will look to McCallum to be a strong playmaker for the Kings. “Ray is going to have a window to impress, grow and progress.”

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McCallum’s Big Opportunity

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Kings All-Stars Through The Years

Steven Wilson

Chesapeake Energy Arena hasn’t been kind to the Sacramento Kings over the six years since the Thunder became its main tenants. OKC holds an 11-0 advantage dating back to the team’s first matchup in Oklahoma in February of 2009.  However, the one key constant in those games was reining NBA MVP Kevin Durant and explosive lead guard Russell Westbrook. KD has missed the entire season due to a right foot Jones fracture sustained over the summer and his running mate Westbrook suffered a second metacarpal fracture less than a week into the season.

The Kings now come into the matchup as the presumptive favorite boasting a 5-1 record to the Thunder’s 1-5 mark and Sacramento will look to earn its first win in Oklahoma City since the team arrived in 2008.

Broadcasts: TV – CSNCA
Comcast - 34 / 721
Dish - 446 / 9516
Dish Hopper – 412-34
DirecTV - 698-1
AT&amp;T - 768 / 1768Radio – KHTK Sports 1140 AM

Rudy Gay, who was struggling with sickness much of the day, drained a baseline jumper over the Suns defense with 1:07 remaining in double-overtime to put his team up for good as Sacramento’s defense earned three consecutive defensive stops to close the game and walk away from Phoenix with their fifth consecutive victory.

"It was tough. Super tough," said Gay, who scored 11 points on 5-of-22 shooting from the floor. "You have to keep fighting. The coach kept calling my number and no matter what he had faith in me and I kept fighting."

DeMarcus Cousins finished with 25 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. Darren Collison scored 16 and Ben McLemore, who made a deep triple with just 1:49 to go to put his team up 112-11 and set the stage for Gay’s clutch jumper, added 15 points of his own thanks to 5-of-9 shooting.

“Phoenix came out on us early, hit us in the mouth and it was an uphill battle from the beginning of the game,” said Cousins after the game. “We stuck with it, stayed poised and played through adversity and came out with a very, very tough win.

The Suns jumped out to a 36-25 lead after the first period and led by as much as 12 in the game. But the Kings maintained composure and came up with keep defense stops down the stretch.

“In the first quarter, we weren’t ready to play,” admitted Head Coach Michael Malone. “We gave up 36 points and they shoot over 60% from the field. But the amazing stat was by the end of the game we get it down to 42%, but in the fourth quarter and both overtimes, we held that team to 26%. That’s 22 minutes of basketball and we held them to 26%... We held our composure, we were poised and guys kept on battling. Everybody made big plays. We got key stops down the stretch where we needed.”

Sacramento’s strong defensive 2nd half and timely buckets helped the Kings outlast Phoenix in double-overtime, beginning the season 5-1 for the first time since 1999-00 − a club that opened the season 9-1.

The victory also marked the first time the Kings have won five straight contests since the 2006-07 season and three straight road games for the time since the 1995-96 campaign.

While Darren Collison, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay all joined the team at different times and in different ways, their play on the hardwood has been in unison. One was added this past offseason, one was drafted in 2010 and one was added in December of 2013, but each has been in sync and have carried the offensive load at points this year.

Big Cuz leads with way with 24.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, showing why he has a legitimate shot at making the All-Star team come February. Meanwhile, No. 8 is right on his heels with 22.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per outing. DC7 is currently third in scoring with 15.2 ppg, but has distributed a team-high 6.2 assists per game.

The potency of this three-headed attack has helped the Kings average the fourth-highest points per game this year (105.5).

“It just shows you how our team is coming together,” stated Cousins after the team’s win over Phoenix on Friday night. “Even through the tough times and adversity, even when things aren’t going our way, we found a way. Tonight, I feel like we showed a will to win and our team is continuing to grow every day − we get better every day. At the end of the night, as a team we still aren’t satisfied. We know we still have another level to go to and still have lots of improvement.”

Seventh-year pro Carl Landry was impressive against the Suns hitting 6-of-8 attempts from the floor for 12 points, while adding a season-high 8 rebounds.

“Giving my team an extra opportunity to have possessions is huge,” said Landry after the team’s practice on Thursday. “That’s exactly what we need. Competing against guys like Eric Moreland, Reggie Evans, Ryan Hollins, DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson every day in practice − our rebound game is crazy − so you have to find a way to get some rebounds.”

His productive night left him with the Kings highest plus-minus ratio at plus-19. In all, No. 24 racked up 37 minutes on the floor − nearly 14 more than any other game this season.

“I’m just trying to take it a day at a time and make sure that I improve every week,” he continued. “As long as you’re taking steps in the right direction, that’s all you can ask for after suffering two major injuries within the last year.”

After dropping a season-high 18 points on Denver earlier this week, Landry earned his praise from his coach who stated, “When Carl gives you a low-post presence like that off the bench − a guy you can play through to get a bucket or get to the free throw line − that’s very comforting as a coach.”

Malone also mentioned his familiarity with the 6-foot-7 forward stating that it’s his third time coaching Carl following stints with him in New Orleans, Golden State and Sacramento.

“He stepped up big for us [in New Orleans] when David West went out with an injury,” said Malone on Thursday. “He was big for us in Golden State when we beat Denver in the first round and gave San Antonio a tremendous second-round matchup. So when we signed him, that was the Carl Landry we envisioned. Unfortunately with injuries last year, we never saw that… The biggest thing now is his confidence. With him having those types of games − scoring, getting to the free throw line and even playing good post defense against the likes of Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge − his confidence is getting back to where it needs to be.”

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Preview: Kings (5-1) at Thunder (1-5)

The purple and black look to extend their four-game win streak Friday night against a potent Phoenix Suns team led by guards Goran Dragić, Eric Bledsoe and former Kings guard Isaiah Thomas. All three players are shooting over 41-percent this year and are averaging a combined 44 points.

Broadcasts: TV – CSNCA
Comcast - 34 / 721
Dish - 452 / 9574
Dish Hopper – 412-40
DirecTV - 698-1
AT&amp;T - 768 / 1768Radio – KHTK Sports 1140 AM

Join Kings Dancers and fellow fans to watch as Sacramento visits Phoenix looking for its fifth-straight win. Firestone will feature the Pacific Division showdown across its 22 flatscreen TVs. Plus, enjoy drink specials and giveaways throughout game. RSVP

It’s not often a team can earn a standing ovation in the first quarter of a game in November, but that was the case Wednesday night in Sacramento.

Fans exalted with appreciation as Sacramento took a 21-point lead into the final minute of the first quarter. With DeMarcus Cousins leading the way, shooting 6-for-7 and tallying 16 points, Sacramento was nearly 70 percent from the field in the opening frame. Big Cuz (30) and Rudy Gay (29) combined for 59 points as Sacramento rode a stellar first quarter to a 22-point victory, 131-109.

“In the first and third quarter, our defense was phenomenal,” said Head Coach Michael Malone. “Then in the second quarter, we allowed 35 points, and then we 37 allowed in the fourth quarter. I’m happy that we won and happy with all of the good things that we did, but I don’t want us to create poor habits. To allow a team to score 37 points in the third quarter, the way that they did—I told our team that is unacceptable. I do feel good about the win and we protected our home court, but we understand that we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We have to defend for 48 minutes.”

Following the lead of DMC, who earned his third double-double of the season with 30 points and 11 rebounds, the Kings had six players finish with at least 10 points. One such player was Carl Landry, who totaled a season-high 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting and a 10-of-10 clip from the charity stripe.

“Any time you can continue a win streak − four games in a row for the first time in 10 or 11 years in Sacramento − is definitely a good feeling,” said No 24 after practice on Thursday. “The fans have been behind us from day one and since the day I walked in to the city of Sacramento.”

As Carl Landry stated in practice on Thursday afternoon, ‘you can’t gauge the season off of one road-trip,’ but this week’s four-game road-trip will be a crucial test for the upstart Kings.

“These are all good teams − they have all proven themselves in the Western Conference, so we’re just going to have to go out there and just keep playing the way we’ve been playing,” said rookie Nik Stauskas.

Even after the team returns from its four-game road-trip, the opponents still feature two playoff teams from a year ago. Upon return to Sacramento, the Kings face San Antonio, New Orleans and Chicago at home. That makes a whopping five of the next seven opponents contenders in the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

“If we struggle a bit on this road-trip, there’s no need to panic,” said Malone. “We’re a team that’s a work in progress. We’re playing well right now, but there’s a lot of area for improvement. And that’s encouraging − to be 4-1 knowing that we still have a lot of work to do.”

With a potent offense and smothering defense, Sacramento is off to its best start since the 2001-02 season. The River City is averaging 103.8 points per outing through five games, while shooting 43.8-percent from the floor. Meanwhile, the defense is also holding teams to the fourth-worst 3-point shooting percentage this season (27-percent).

“The areas of concern for me right now is we’re [ranked] 21st in fast-break points allowed and 21st in free throw attempts allowed,” said Malone. “We’ll have our challenges [tonight]. They’re a tremendous running team − a team that puts a lot of pressure on you, so we can’t be satisfied − we have to address all the areas of concern. It’s better to address those through wins rather than losses.”

The Suns enter tonight’s matchup with a 3-2 record with a pair of wins against the Los Angeles Lakers and another over the San Antonio Spurs. Yet the team has suffered two losses over the last three games, most recently to the Memphis Grizzlies.

“Coming off a loss at home at the hands of Memphis, they’re going to come out in attack mode,” said Sacramento’s Head Coach Michael Malone. “They’re a tremendous running team and they put a lot of pressure on you. They have three guards in [Goran] Dragić, [Eric] Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas who are going to attack for 48 minutes.”

The Suns are 13th in the League (Kings are 6th) averaging 101.4 points per game. In their three wins however, that number rises to 108 ppg, compared to just 91 in both of Phoenix’s losses.

“In their building, they’re going to try to run you out of the gym,” continued Malone. “Memphis beat them up by slowing the game down and held them to 91 points.”

The Kings gameplan features three key principles. First, they will focus on taking care of the basketball − limiting their turnovers and making the most of their possessions. In line with the first goal, the second strategy is to ensure great shot selection, all in a means to make their possessions count. Lastly, Sacramento will try to replicate Memphis’ success by slowing the game down.

“Scoring can be hard in this League,” admitted Carl Landry. “You don’t want to give up easy buckets in transition, especially on the road. That’s what we’re trying to do − continue to play solid defense and limit the team from easy buckets.”

Landry has been a solid offensive presence off the bench for the Kings thus far this season averaging 9.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. That includes the second-most offensive rebounds on the team (10).

“Giving my team an extra opportunity to have possessions is huge,” stated No. 24 when asked if rebounding was his forte. “That’s exactly what we need. Competing against guys like Eric Moreland, Reggie Evans, Ryan Hollins, DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson every day in practice − our rebound game is crazy − so you have to find a way to get some rebounds.”

With seven years of experience under his belt, Landry knows how crucial this road-trip could be for the Kings late in the season.

“Going in to this four-game road-trip isn’t going to be easy,” he admitted. “Any time you can get a win on the road is huge.”

The Kings know it, the Suns know it and the fans know it.

All eyes will be on Isaiah Thomas as he partakes in his first meeting against his former team.

“The Phoenix game is going to be a little emotional,” admitted Rudy Gay. “Hopefully those emotions don’t get the best of us. They’re a good team − they have three guards who can score and create mismatches.”

After averaging career numbers last season in a Kings jersey with over 20-points and 6-assists per game, Thomas signed as a free agent with division-rival Phoenix. Now, Sacramento will face their former No. 60 pick in a Friday night tilt in the Grand Canyon State.

“I’m sure Isaiah has this game marked in his calendar,” said Malone.

“I have nothing but love for him − he’s tremendous. I really enjoyed coaching him and getting to know him and we have a great relationship. He’s playing really well for the Phoenix Suns right now, so we’re happy for him. But tomorrow night, he’s on the opposing bench and we’re trying to get a win.”

A 2011 Draft pick of the Kings, Malone described Thomas as a confident ball-handler who can shoot the three very well, get into the paint and find open teammates.

“We have to make sure that we are very physical with him and try to get into the ball on our pick-n-rolls,” said Malone when asked about how he will defend the 5-foot-9 point guard.

Power forward Jason Thompson added, “It’s not [one guy] versus him. It’s the Suns versus the Kings. We just need to keep the same mindset that we’ve had through the first week of the season and positive things are going to happen.”

Whatever happens, Malone knows one thing is certain.

“He’s a [great] player and we’ll have our work cut out for us,” the second-year Kings coach concluded.

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Preview: Kings (4-1) at Suns (3-2)

sacasingh

SACRAMENTO, CA ---- The Sacramento Kings today acquired the draft rights to forward Alex Oriakhi (Or-e-ah-ki) and a trade exception from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for guard Isaiah Thomas, according to Kings General manager Pete D'Alessandro.

Oriakhi was selected by the Suns in the second round (57th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft. The 6-9, 255-pound forward split time with the Sioux Falls Skyforce and Erie Bayhawks of the NBA D-League after playing in France (Limoges CSP) and Israel (Hapoel Holon) in 2013-14. He earned 2013-14 NBA D-League All-Rookie First Team after averaging 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 43 games with Sioux Falls and Erie.

Prior to his senior season at Missouri, Oriakhi played three seasons at the University of Connecticut, helping the Huskies capture the 2011 NCAA Championship. Oriakhi averaged 7.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in 109 career games in three years at Connecticut.

Selected out of the University of Washington by the Kings in the second round (60th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft, Thomas is averaging 15.3 points (.447 FG%, .360 3pt%, .857 FT%), 2.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.0 assists and 29.1 minutes per game in 216 career games of which he started 153 in three seasons (2011-12 ­ 2013-14) for the Kings.

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Kings Acquire Alex Oriakhi

nbaplatformservices

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Kings GM on Draft, Trades and More

sacjwise

SACRAMENTO, CA ---- The Sacramento Kings today extended a qualifying offer to Isaiah Thomas, making him a restricted free agent, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

Thomas, a three-year NBA veteran, has accrued averages of 15.3 points (.447 FGs, .360 3FGs, .857 FTs), 2.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.03 steals per game through 216 outings (started 153) with Sacramento after being selected No. 60 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.  

In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.