The Sacramento Kings finished the 2016-17 season with Skal Labissiere and Willie Cauley-Stein starting at the four and the five. They hit the road for Cleveland without either on Tuesday afternoon.
Cauley-Stein will miss his first game of the season due to a lower back strain. The third-year big has started 16 of 23 games this season for Sacramento, posting 10.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game.
The 23-year-old big came up lame in the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks and couldn’t return in the second half. In addition to has already been ruled out for Friday’s matchup against the Pelicans. Cauley-Stein is listed as day-to-day.
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Labissiere has been in and out of the starting lineup all season and now he’s heading to the Reno Bighorns of the G-League. The 21-year-old power forward is averaging 7.7 points and four rebounds in 17.1 minutes a night.
The Kings are hoping that Labissiere will find a rhythm and some confidence in Reno with extended playing time. He joins first rounders Justin Jackson and Malachi Richardson who were assigned to the Bighorns last week.
With a lack of depth up front, second-year center Georgios Papagiannis has been recalled to the parent club. Two-way players Jack Cooley and JaKarr Sampson made the trip as well.