Marco Belinelli

sacasingh

SACRAMENTO, CA - The Sacramento Kings acquired the draft rights of guard Malachi Richardson (Mal-ah-kai) from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for forward Marco Belinelli, according to Kings Vice President and General Manager Vlade Divac. Richardson will join the Kings’ summer league team in Las Vegas.

An early entry candidate, the 6-foot-6 Richardson was selected by the Hornets in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft. Richardson averaged 13.4 points (.369 FG%, .353 3pt%, .720 FT%), 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 34.4 minutes per game in starting all 37 games in which he played in as a freshman at Syracuse. An ACC All-Freshman team selection, Richardson finished with 79 three-pointers, the third-best total by an Orangeman freshman.

Belinelli averaged 10.2 points (.386 FG%, .306 3pt%, .833 FT%), 1.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 24.6 minutes per game in 68 contests, starting seven for the Kings during the 2015-16 season. A nine-year NBA veteran forward, Belinelli has career averages of 9.5 points (.424 FG%, .379 3pt%, .458 FT%), 2.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 23.0 minutes per game in 570 games of which he started 216 with six teams – Golden State (2007-08 – 2008-09), Toronto (2009-10), New Orleans (2010-11 – 2011-12), Chicago (2012-13), San Antonio (2013-14 – 2014-15) and Sacramento (2015-16).

kings-acquire-malachi-richardson

Kings Acquire Malachi Richardson

Kyle Ramos

Kings guard Marco Belinelli is a known threat to knock down a jumper from just about anywhere on the floor. His silky smooth shooting stroke and his effective pump fake make him a tough cover for any opponent, but one aspect of No. 3’s game that allows him to thrive is his constant movement on the hardwood.

“He does a lot of movement, a lot of great movement to get himself open and get a lot of other players open,” said Kings guard Ben McLemore to Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee. “He uses the defender to get himself open, fake this way and go the other way after the defender gets moving and has to stop, little things like that that great shooters do. Marco does a great job of that.”

According to the NBA’s Player Tracking data, Belinelli has run 9,947 feet while on the court this season, which adds up to about 1.88 miles. This ranks as the seventh highest distance traveled by players who play 27 minutes or less per game. On offense specifically, Marco ranks even higher, as his 1.07 miles traveled is fourth among the same group of players.

“When I was a free agent, I wanted to play with Marco,” Kings point guard Rajon Rondo told Kawahara. “Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) was one of the guys, obviously the cornerstone for why I wanted to be here. But playing with a guy like Belinelli has been a dream.”

Now in his ninth NBA season, the guard from Italy has fit right in with the style of play installed by Kings head coach George Karl, who also had praise for what he’s seen from Marco thus far this season.

“I think he makes us play basketball the right way,” Karl said to Kawahara. “He makes us move, he makes us pass. Too many times we have … possessions where we give it to one guy and everybody stands around and watches. And I think there are certain games like (Tuesday) night where we have some of them but not a lot of them.”

While the encouragement is high and good impressions have been made on his teammates, Belinelli still sees room for improvement, as his shooting numbers this year have not aligned with what he’s shown to be capable of.

No. 3 has averaged a 42.8 percent shooting percentage for his career and 38.9 percent from three-point range. In his 23 games this season, however, Marco is knocking down just 39.1 percent of his field goal attempts and only 33.6 percent beyond the arc.

“Not so good,” Belinelli told Kawahara. “It’s a different system than San Antonio and other teams, another role. But I’m going to try to do better. I’m going to try to help the team to not just be a shooter but create something for my teammates and try to (help us) be a better team.”

belinelli-keeps-kings-moving

Belinelli Keeps Kings Moving

Nikki Nicholson

Sacramento, Calif. – Today, the Sacramento Kings Foundation announced its Season of Doing Good presented by Wells Fargo schedule for December 2015. Each year, the Sacramento Kings partner with community leaders throughout the region to leverage basketball as an agent of social good. The month long blitz of special events is aligned with the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Season of Giving.

“#DoGood is much more than a motto for the Kings Foundation,” said Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “It's a belief that, together, our employees, players, fans and community can build a stronger region. This holiday season we look forward to joining our community in the giving spirit.”

Kings players DeMarcus Cousins, Ben McLemore, Marco Belinelli and Willie Cauley-Stein have donated over $140,000 in tickets towards students as education incentives, non-profits to extend their mission and several families for their first NBA experience.

Upcoming events include:Media can email jjacobs@kings.com to receive more information and RSVP for events.

The Kings Foundation works year-round to provide the Sacramento region the support it needs to succeed economically and emotionally. Serving as a positive agent of change is at the core of the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to #DoGood, impact the world and make #SacramentoProud.

kings-launch-season-of-doing-good

Kings Launch Season of Doing Good

2K Sports recently released its latest promotional trailer for NBA 2K16 titled “#WINNING” and there are quite a few familiar faces highlighted in it.

In the video, fans get a sneak peek at the videogame versions of Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Ben McLemore and Marco Belinelli, as well as a preview of how the overall game looks in action.

Check out the trailer below and see if you can spot the Kings player cameos!

kings-featured-in-nba-2k16-trailer

Kings Featured in NBA 2K16 Trailer

SACRAMENTO, CA -- The Sacramento Kings today signed three free agents -- guard Rajon Rondo, guard-forward Marco Belinelli (bell-uh-nell-ee) and center Kosta Koufos (COAST-ah Koo-fuss) -- according to Vlade Divac, Vice President of Basketball and Franchise Operations. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Rondo, a 6-1, 186-pound guard is averaging 10.8 points (.470 FG%, .263 3pt%, .609 FT%), 4.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 32.6 minutes per game in 573 career games in nine NBA seasons with two teams (Boston, 2006-07 – 2013-14 and Dallas, 2014-15). Rondo, a four-time NBA All-Star, twice led the league in assists per game (2011-12, 11.7 apg and 2012-13, 11.1 apg). He was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2011-12 and has earned four NBA All-Defensive Team honors, twice on the First Team (2009-10 and 2010-11). With the Celtics, Rondo helped Boston advance to two NBA Finals, including a championship in 2008. Rondo has 22 career triple-doubles in the regular season and 10 in the NBA Playoffs.

An eight-year NBA veteran, Belinelli is averaging 9.4 points (.430 FG%, .392 3pt%, .819 FT%), 2.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 22.8 minutes per game in 502 career games with five teams – Golden State (2007-08 – 2008-09), Toronto (2009-10), New Orleans (2010-11 – 2011-12), Chicago (2012-13) and San Antonio (2013-14 – 2014-15). A member of the 2014 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, the 6-5, 201-pound Belinelli averaged 11.4 points (career-highs with .485 FG%, a team-high .430 3pt% and .847 FT%), a career-high 2.8 rebounds, a career-best 2.2 assists and 25.2 minutes per game in 80 games of which he started 25 that season.

A 7-0, 265-pound center, Koufos is averaging 5.4 points (.528 FG%, .617 FT%), 4.7 rebounds and 15.3 minutes per game in 424 games in seven seasons with four teams – Utah (2008-09 – 2009-10), Minnesota (2010-11), Denver (2010-11 – 2012-13) and Memphis (2013-14 – 2014-15). Selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft, Koufos posted his best statistical season in 2012-13 with the Nuggets, averaging career-highs in scoring (8.0 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg) and minutes played (22.4 mpg) while starting in all 81 games he played in.

Marco Belinelli

Kings Acquire Malachi Richardson

Belinelli Keeps Kings Moving

Kings Launch Season of Doing Good

Kings Featured in NBA 2K16 Trailer

Kings Sign Rondo, Belinelli, Koufos