Taiwanese player invited to try out for Kings

Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Kings will be looking at Chen Hsin-An, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard with tremendous leaping ability. What makes him so special? He will be the first player from Taiwan to be invited to an NBA training camp

Jack Mai is the Kings scout assigned to find and follow players in the Pacific Rim -- lands such as China and Taiwan, where basketball has become the rage. Mai has kept tabs on Chen for five years, from high school to the professional leagues. Mai said that it was 2 1/2-month process to get Chen to come to Sacramento. For starters, his NBA tryout means significant sacrifice: He'll attempt to make the team at the same time the Asia Games begin.

"He played a (shooting guard) on the Taiwan national team and did very well," Mai said. "I really noticed him when he was a senior in high school. He sees the court fairly well. He has a tremendous amount of speed, and he's a very good open-court player."

Scotty Sterling, the Kings' director of scouting, said one thing jumped out about Chen. "He's got some hops," Sterling said. "This is a great chance for him to go against some of the best players in the world, and he'll receive outstanding coaching. It'll be a worthwhile experience for him."

Chen worked against American competition last winter, in the National Basketball Developmental League with the Mobile (Ala.) Revelers. "He surprised a few players, including myself," Mobile assistant coach Del Demps said in a Kings Web site interview. "Chen made shots and was very explosive going to the basket. He can definitely play at the NCAA Division I level and have a pro career with maturation."

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Sacramento Kings

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Cavs reject Cleaves!

The Cleveland Cavaliers have rescinded the trade from September 10, that sent Jumaine Jones to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guard Mateen Cleaves, it was announced today by Cavs Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Paxson.

The trade was rescinded due to Cleaves not passing the physical examination which was administered by Cavs team physician Dr. Richard Parker of Cleveland Clinic Sports Health. The trade had been conditioned upon each player passing a physical.

“This results in having four very disappointed parties – the two teams and the two players involved – who were excited about the original trade,” said Paxson. “Unfortunately, we had no other choice than to rescind the transaction.”

Jones played in 81 games (36 starts) with the Cavs in 2001-02 and averaged 8.3 ppg and 6.0 rpg in 26.4 minutes per contest. He grabbed a team-high 490 total rebounds on the season. Jones was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers along with Tyrone Hill on August 3, 2001 in exchange for Matt Harpring, Cedric Henderson and Robert Traylor. In 179 career games, he is averaging 5.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg.

Cleaves, 25, is averaging 4.5 ppg and 2.1 apg in 12.9 minutes per contest in 110 career games. The 6-2 guard played in 32 games for the Kings last season, averaging 2.2 ppg. He was traded to Sacramento from Detroit in exchange for Jon Barry and a future first-round draft choice on Sept. 7, 2001. Cleaves led all rookies in assists during his rookie year in 2000-01. He averaged 5.4 ppg and 2.7 apg in 16.3 minutes per contest in 78 games. Cleaves was selected in the first round (14th pick overall) of NBA Draft 2000 by the Detroit Pistons.

Via nba.com

Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings

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Kings sign Turkoglu for 2003-04

The Associated Press reports that the Sacramento Kings have exercized the team option on Hedo Turkoglu's contract. He is now guaranteed through the 2003-04 season.

Turkoglu averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 80 games last season as the Kings' second-leading scorer among reserves. He started eight playoff games while All-Star Peja Stojakovic was out with a sprained ankle.

The Kings are expected to increase both Turkoglu's playing time and his responsibilities during the upcoming season. He will play both forward and guard, team president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said.

Turkoglu was selected 16th overall in the 2000 draft, becoming the NBA's first Turkish-born player. He played for Turkey at the World Championships in Indianapolis earlier this month. Much of his NBA salary is used to pay the European club team that signed Turkoglu to a lengthy contract when he was still a teenager.

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