Domantas Sabonis is changing numbers, switching from number 10 to number 11. Sabonis has worn 11 throughout his NBA career, but had to switch to number 10 when he came to Sacramento as the number 11 had been retired in honor of Bob Davies. The family of Bob Davies have given their blessing for the change:

“My siblings and I are so proud of our father and everything he accomplished throughout his legendary NBA career,” said Bob Davies’ daughter Camy Davies Keck. “He was a great influence on our family as well as many young aspiring athletes. He was definitely a man of true character. Given the Sabonis family’s special connection to number 11, we thought it was fitting to share our dad’s number with Domantas and wish him much success. We are thankful to the Kings organization and fans for their continued support.”

Bob Davies played for the Rochester Royals for all 7 years of his career, including the 1950-51 season in which the franchise won its only NBA Championship, and was MVP of the NBL in 1946-47, and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.

Sabonis will wear number 11 in honor of his father, Arvydas Sabonis, who wore 11 during his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers.

“The number 11 holds a special place in mine and my family’s lives, having worn it throughout my career in honor of my father,” said Domantas Sabonis. “I’m incredibly thankful to the Davies family for sharing number 11 with me and I look forward to building on the legacy of all those who wore it before me.”

Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes are expected to be on the trade block

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has a new mock draft up, and it includes notes and rumors from around the league. Scotto has the Kings selecting Devin Carter, who I wrote about last week, but also has a note about Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes:

Rival NBA executives who spoke with HoopsHype expect Kevin Huerter to be available again on the trade market this summer along with forward Harrison Barnes as the Sacramento Kings look to upgrade their roster in the vaunted Western Conference.

This isn’t really surprising, as pretty much all of us also expect Huerter and Barnes to be available on the trade block this summer, but I wanted to include it because I’ve seen a few instances of this being misconstrued as “the Kings are shopping these guys”. It’s a minor difference, but “execs expect these guys to be available” is different than “the Kings are in talks about these guys”. Semantics, perhaps, but still worth noting.

Scotto also mentions that Luke Loucks is expected to move to the front of the bench as an assistant coach, which had been written about previously following Jordi Fernandez getting hired as the Brooklyn Nets head coach. Seems like that is still on track, and it doesn’t sound like the Kings are looking at external hires to bolster the coaching staff.

Initial Sasha reports off base?

Sean Cunningham reported this weekend that Sasha Vezenkov, while unhappy, has no intention of leaving the NBA and will honor his contract, despite earlier reports.

This is kind of a “duh” report (not directing this at Sean, but at the initial reports), as it was never realistic for Sasha to leave the NBA. I still expect that Sasha is moved this summer, if the Kings can find a deal. Vezenkov clearly wants a bigger opportunity, and there isn’t a clear path for him to get more minutes in Sacramento based on the current roster construction. Of course, there’s also always the possibility that offseason trades create that opportunity, and Sasha ends up being needed here. We shall see.