Bibby's grandmother dies; he plans to stay

The Kings' Mike Bibby, who learned earlier Wednesday that his paternal grandmother had died of unknown causes, said he was "saddened" but had no immediate plans to withdraw from the team.

Evelyn Bibby, 83, died of unknown causes at her home in North Carolina.

"My mom (Virginia) called me at the hotel and told me," said Bibby, after the USA's 96-69 victory over Mexico. "I haven't talked to her in a while, and I haven't seen her since I was 10 or 11, but she's still my grandmother."

USA Basketball officials were informed of Evelyn Bibby's passing approximately an hour before tip-off, and, uncertain whether Bibby knew, decided not to approach the veteran point guard until after the game. Initially, there was some concern that he would become the second player to leave the team due to a death in the family.

During the team's training camp in New York, Los Angeles Lakers power forward Karl Malone left after his mother, Shirley Jackson Malone, died suddenly.

Via Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, General Basketball

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Veteran Massenburg signs with Kings

The Kings, moving to replenish their frontcourt depth, signed journeyman free agent Tony Massenburg to a one-year deal Friday.

A veteran of 11 previous seasons and 11 franchises, including the Utah Jazz last season, Massenburg is most comfortable as a power forward but has played center at 6-foot-9, 250 pounds.

Massenburg also had advanced conversations with the Dallas Mavericks, until their trade with the Golden State Warriors, and the Minnesota Timberwolves before finalizing a deal with Sacramento.

"It was a pretty easy decision for me," he said. "I wanted to go someplace where I would win and have a chance to win a title. They play a style of basketball I like. They run, and the guys play off each other."

The signing puts the roster at 12 and gives the Kings the reserve big man they had been seeking after trading Scot Pollard to the Indiana Pacers and Keon Clark to Utah, where, ironically, he will get some of Massenburg's minutes.

Via Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks

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Next season, Bibby hopes to get off on the right foot

Here on an island in the middle of the Caribbean, in the familiar confines of a hotel weight room, no less, Mike Bibby is engaged in a complicated game of multi-tasking. He is pounding the equipment alongside several of his USA teammates while dismissing rumors about wild playoff nights, discarding his disappointing 2003 postseason, even offering his confession.

That fractured right foot?

A season-crippler.

Though he missed only the first 27 games of the regular season, the Kings point guard finally conceded what many suspected, namely, that he never fully recovered. That he never felt right. Soreness lingered throughout the year, altering the mechanics of his once-lethal jump shot, limiting his ability to freeze defenders with his deceptive, change-of-pace drives and diminishing his confidence.

"I don't make excuses," Bibby said Thursday while pausing between reps, "but that was my first injury ever, so I didn't know how it was supposed to feel. I was always aware of my foot, though, and I stopped being aggressive and taking the ball hard to the basket. I definitely could have played better."

Of course he could have. And of course he has. Bibby's performance during the 2002 playoffs prompted the Kings to offer a lucrative multi-year contract and was hugely instrumental in his selection to the national team that is competing here in the Olympic-qualifying FIBA Tournament of the Americas.

Mortified by a sixth-place finish last September in the World Championship in Indianapolis, USA Basketball officials overhauled the roster, placing an emphasis on selflessness, cohesiveness and fundamentals.

So in that sense, Bibby has come to the right place.

Via Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings

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