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Serge Ibaka: “Best OKC player of all time: Shai or Kevin Durant?” Chet Holmgren: “I’d say probably Shai.” Serge Ibaka: “Shai or Russell Westbrook?” Chet Holmgren: “Uh, Shai.”
Even if the Blazers go with a coach with no previous head-coaching experience, it shouldn’t be tough to top what is believed to be the lowest head-coaching salary in the league, that of the Sacramento Kings’ Doug Christie ($2 million annually).
Michael Scotto: The Sacramento Kings are naming Saagar Sarin as general manager of their G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, league sources told @hoopshype. Sarin is also Sacramento’s senior director of pro personnel. Previously, he worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets.
Sources tell The Sacramento Bee that Scott Perry will serve as Sacramento’s official on-stage representative when the lottery is held May 10 in Chicago. The Kings will go into the lottery with the fifth-best odds. They have a 45.2% chance of securing one of the top four picks and an 11.5% chance of securing the No. 1 pick, but they could fall as far as No. 9.
NBA History: The NBA mourns the passing of Adrian Smith (1936-2026). Adrian played 10 NBA seasons with the Cincinnati Royals and San Francisco Warriors, and 1 season in the ABA with the Virginia Squires. He was selected an NBA All-Star in 1965-66 and named the 1966 NBA All-Star Game MVP. We extend our deepest condolences to the Smith family.
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Nori has interviewed for several NBA coaching jobs recently and is knocking on the door of becoming a head coach in the league. He’s been an assistant coach on Chris Finch’s staff in Minnesota since 2021 and previously worked as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons under Dwane Casey, Denver Nuggets under Michael Malone, and also was an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors.
![“You absolutely [feel spoiled], especially as a young …](https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/gcdn/content-pipeline-sports-images/sports2/nba/players/552336.png?format=png8&auto=webp&quality=85,75&width=140)
Barnes acknowledged that going to the NBA Finals in two of his first four seasons and being in the playoffs in each of his first four campaigns spoiled him. Since leaving the Warriors in 2016, however, the 13-year NBA veteran has not returned to the Finals while playing for the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and now the Spurs. “You absolutely [feel spoiled], especially as a young player when you have that type of quicker success,” Barnes said. “You go to the playoffs my rookie year, you go to the second round. Go to the second year, we’re losing in the first round. Then you go to back-to-back Finals. You have a sense that if you’re around guys who know how to win, the road map is there. “Yes, we have great talent, but we also had the knowledge of how to win and wanting to win. Then I always say that I got a chance to experience what the [elite] NBA was like. After that, it was just really understanding it is extremely hard to win consistently in this league.”
Vinny Benedetto: With that last defensive rebound, Nikola Jokic has tied Russell Westbrook for the most career triple-doubles when the regular season and playoffs are combined. Both have 221.
Maxime Raynaud: We were super lucky. And on top of that, when they are players of that quality, I really feel like Russ initiated my career. He lit the flame a little bit. He started feeding me the ball. He explained to me, “Listen, for now, these really have to be your spots. Find yourself here,” and so on. And that helped me so much. It helped me so much. It made me enjoy it, too. As a kid, you watch Russ with Team USA, you watch him with OKC, you watch DeMar when he was in Toronto, and now you are playing with them. It is crazy.
Can we ask a similar question about DeRozan? Obviously, they have not had the same career, but he is still one of the best players of all time, without any doubt. They do not have the same personality at all. Maxime Raynaud: Yeah, they really have nothing to do with each other. And the funny thing is, they are best friends. Interviewer: They are very close. Maxime Raynaud: I think they come from around the same district, or something like that. But DeMar is the opposite. He is not going to say a word. With him, it is all through actions. And it was funny because in preseason, during the first three or four preseason games, I had not understood that for veterans, it was just a way to run a little, get back in shape, and warm up. I think he had taken, really, maybe six or seven shots over four games. I was like, “Okay, year 17, he is a little tired,” and all that. Then the next day — or two days later — we played our first game of the season, and I think he finished with 28 or 30, something like that. I turned to Zach and said, “Wait, he is actually hot, then.”
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Q. I want to go back when you were the GM in Sacramento. I don't remember the year, but you had a chance to get Luka Doncic and you passed on him. Do you want to talk about that? Because you had drafted European players before. Vlade Divac: I actually went to Madrid to talk to Luka, a year before the draft. So, he definitely top on the list. But, obviously, it looks like I made mistake. Luka is an unbelievable uh talent, one of the top players in the league. All of my assistants told me that he can play small forward, and I said no, no, Luka is a point guard. Luka is a coach on the floor. And I felt that if I get Luka, I would have to trade De’Aaron Fox, and I already got a relationship with Fox, and I see he’s a perfect fit for us, a small market team, and Luka was a big market player.
Michael Scotto: Julius Randle on Ayo Dosunmu: “I didn't know he was that damn good. I ain't gonna lie to you. When I was in the East and he was in Chicago, that were those DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine teams, so I don’t know if the opportunity was there as much, but damn, I'm glad we got him.”
