California Classic Kings notes: Doug Christie likes the growth of Ellis, Jones and Jones

The place was buzzing on Saturday night, and not just because the Kings pulled off one of the most significant player acquisitions since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985.

Yes, the excitement was palpable when it became official that the Kings had secured the rights to six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade move, punctuated by a beaming DeRozan nodding, smiling and waving to a standing ovation by fans who attended the opener of the California Classic at Golden 1 Center. But there was also a game against the Chinese national team for players who aspire to reach any measure of DeRozan’s stardom.

They mostly just want a job and some solid standing in a league that is big on player turnover. The Kings did not suit up first-round draft choice Devin Carter, a guard who is dealing with a pre-draft shoulder injury. He will not play this summer. Carter was at Golden 1 as a fan, and he beamed at meeting DeRozan, who delighted fans by signing autographs and taking selfies.

The focus of summer league is evaluation, of player growth, of sharing the ball and playing defense. Coaches want to see players in action. Three players the Kings expect to give a lot of minutes under summer league coach Doug Christie are guards Keon Ellis, Colby Jones and Mason Jones, and they collectively pleased their coach during a 101-50 triumph.

A 6-foot-3 guard out of Alabama who averaged 5.4 points for Sacramento in 57 games last season, Ellis scored 18 points with four rebounds and four assists Saturday. He produced some of his best Kings moments down the stretch last season, scoring 26 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 17 against the Phoenix Suns and 15 against the Golden State Warriors on April 16 in a play-in victory at Golden 1. But he went scoreless in a season-ending play-in loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on April 19.

Mason Jones, a 6-4 guard and a late bloomer who didn’t play high school ball in Texas until his senior season, signed a two-way deal with the Kings on Dec. 8. He started Saturday, posting 19 points, four rebounds and five assists while looking fit and active after shedding nearly 50 pounds with a renewed diet.

Jones averaged 1.4 points in five games with the Kings last season. He averaged 16 points, 8.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds for the Stockton Kings in 2023-24.

The 6-6 Colby Jones averaged 2.1 points for the Kings and 19.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists for Stockton last season. He had six points and five assists Saturday.

“This is an opportunity for you to grow, to make another step on the team, and not lay back and think they’re here,” Christie said. “I think you saw it with how they approached the game and set the tone. For a coach, that’s all you ask for.”

‘An honor’ to play

Christie said it was “an honor” to play the Chinese national team, adding: “For them to come over here and continue to spread the gospel of basketball is great, and it helps them.”

Sitting near the China team as a guest of honor was Al Biancani, the tireless and ageless conditioning coach based in Sacramento for decades. He worked as the Kings strength and conditioning coach for 18 years, including when Christie played for the Kings, and also served in similar roles with the Chinese women’s Olympic team and the Chinese national team.

“Always good to see Al, and he’s one of my favorites,” Christie said. “Really good person, no doubt.”

Basketball is a big deal in China. Center Yao Ming helped explode the popularity in his home country as an eight-time NBA All-Star when he played for the Houston Rockets from 2002-11. The Kings credentialed 25 media members from China on Saturday.

Arms helps Kings roll Bronny’s Lakers

The Kings have two teams in the dual-site California Classic, and one of them rolled the Los Angeles Lakers 108-94 on Saturday afternoon at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Bronny James, perhaps the most celebrated second-round draft pick in league history, struggled while Kings guard Adonis Arms scored 30 points with 11 rebounds and five assists to lead the Kings.

James, the son of Lakers star and NBA all-time career scoring leader LeBron James, struggled in his professional debut. The 6-2 guard out of USC, where he started just six games, made 2 of 9 field-goal attempts for four points. James missed all three of his 3-point shots while posting two assists and two rebounds in just under 22 minutes of action.

Lakers summer league coach Dane Johnson told San Francisco media: “Hopefully, he’ll play all the games. We’re going to try to integrate him and get him as many reps as we can. He needs more experience playing. ... His instincts are there. We’ve just got to keep building habits.”

The 26-year-old Arms went undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft after bouncing around the college circuit, going from junior college to Northwest Nazarene, Winthrop and Texas Tech. He has had training camp stints with the Denver Nuggets, Suns and Memphis Grizzlies, and he showed promise in the G League.

Ford tough

Jordan Ford, a two-time Sacramento Bee Player of the Year from Folsom High School, started at point guard for the Kings 2 team in San Francisco, posting 17 points and six assists. Antoine Davis scored 20 points and Xavier Sneed had 13.

Ford is an unrestricted free agent who spent last season with the Kings on a two-way contract.

The Kings 2 play the Miami Heat on Sunday at Chase Center.

Nagle moment

Jay Nagle, a Wood High of Vacaville graduate, scored three points on his lone field-goal attempt with two rebounds for in just over seven minutes of action for the Kings 2 team.

The 6-9 forward played at UC Santa Barbara and Idaho State before going to the Greek Basketball League.

California Classic schedule at Golden 1

Sunday: Hornets vs. Team China, 5 p.m. PST (ESPN2); Spurs vs. Kings, 7 p.m. PST (ESPN2)

Tuesday: Team China vs. Spurs, 5 p.m. PST (NBA TV); Hornets vs. Kings, 7 p.m. PST (NBA TV)