The Kings have reached an agreement with free agent forward/center Precious Achiuwa on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. According to Charania, Sacramento is expected to waive second-year forward Isaac Jones in order to make room on the roster for Achiuwa.
NBA insider Jake Fischer first reported on Monday that the Kings were eyeing Achiuwa, with Brett Siegel of Clutch Points stating at the time that Jones would likely be the odd man out if the team made a roster move.
The Kings have been shorthanded in the frontcourt after losing Keegan Murray to a thumb injury last month. With their starting power forward sidelined, the Kings have had to use smaller lineups while also leaning on rookies Nique Clifford and Dylan Cardwell more than expected in the early going.
Achiuwa, 26, began his career with the Heat as the No. 20 overall pick in 2020. He was sent to the Raptors as part of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade during the 2021 offseason and spent two-plus seasons in Toronto before being traded to the Knicks along with OG Anunoby in December 2023. Achiuwa was in New York for a season-and-a-half, then signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Heat this fall but didn’t make Miami’s regular season roster due to luxury tax concerns.
Achiuwa is a bit undersized for a center and isn’t a threat as an outside shooter, but he’s an athletic, high-energy player who rebounds well and is a versatile, switchable defender. In 57 games in 2024/25, he averaged 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 20.5 minutes per contest, with a .502/.278/.594 shooting line.
As for Jones, the former Washington State standout caught on with the Kings as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and appeared in 40 games off the bench for the team, earning a promotion from his two-way deal to a standard contract in March. While he exceeded expectations during his time in Sacramento, Jones played a very limited role, averaging 7.6 minutes per game last season and logging just 17 minutes in three contests so far in 2025/26, even with Murray sidelined.
There were some conflicting reports on Jones’ contract when the Kings exercised his ’25/26 team option in June, but ESPN’s Bobby Marks confirms (via Twitter) that the 25-year-old’s minimum salary was non-guaranteed. That means Sacramento will only be on the hook for a $191,043 dead-money cap hit if Jones is cut on Tuesday — for the purposes of evaluating whether the team finishes the season in luxury tax territory, he’ll count for $214,151 due to tax variance.
Assuming Achiuwa officially signs on Tuesday, a prorated minimum deal would pay him $2,453,285, with the Kings carrying a cap charge of $2,111,516. I would expect his contract to be non-guaranteed, though that hasn’t yet been confirmed.