By Jason Anderson Tribune News Service
The Sacramento Kings are making a move to improve their frontcourt depth and defense after losing five of their first seven games while dealing with injuries.
A league source told the Sacramento Bee the Kings are waiving second-year center Isaac Jones in order to sign veteran free agent Precious Achiuwa. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, who noted that the addition of Achiuwa will give the Kings immediate rebounding and defensive versatility.
The Kings could use some help in those areas. They currently rank 27th in opponent points in the paint (56.3). They are 30th in rebounding (38.9) despite having Domantas Sabonis, who is leading the league in rebounds (14.2) for the fourth consecutive season.
Jones, 25, is a 6-foot-9, 245-pound center who signed a two-way contract with Sacramento in July 2024 after going undrafted out of Washington State. His two-way contract was converted to a standard NBA contract in March.
Jones, who played for the Idaho Vandals before transferring to WSU, appeared in 40 games last season and emerged as something of a fan favorite, averaging 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game.
Achiuwa, 26, is a 6-foot-8, 243-pound power forward/center who came out of Memphis as the 20th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. Achiuwa gives Sacramento another rotational big man with Keegan Murray still sidelined after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb.
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