The Kings will be missing a key player when they face the Boston Celtics in the Las Vegas Summer League championship game Tuesday at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center.
The NBA announced Monday it has suspended Kings forward Chimezie Metu for throwing a punch during Sunday’s 86-70 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at Cox Pavilion. Metu, 24, will be suspended for one summer league game, the league said, noting he will serve his suspension Tuesday’s against the Celtics.
Metu and Mavericks forward Eugene Omoruyi were both ejected after a hard foul led to an altercation late in the fourth quarter. Omoruyi knocked Metu to the floor on a dunk attempt with 3:03 remaining. Metu was ejected after he sprang to his feet and punched Omoruyi in the head. Omoruyi was ejected when officials upgraded his foul on Metu to a flagrant foul 2.
Metu averaged 10.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in four summer league games for the Kings (4-0), who will try to win their first Las Vegas Summer League championship since 2014 when they play the Celtics (4-0) at 6 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN. Metu, the team’s starting power forward, had seven points, seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists in Sunday’s win over the Mavericks.
The Kings recently picked up a partial guarantee on Metu’s $1.76 million salary for the 2021-22 season. Metu averaged 6.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 36 games for the Kings. He was sidelined for six weeks after breaking his right wrist on a dangerous play by Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas, an incident that might have aggravated Metu’s response to Omoruyi.
