After selecting Providence guard Devin Carter at No. 14 overall, the Kings ended the 2024 NBA Draft process by agreeing to two-way contract terms with two undrafted players.
Sacramento reportedly picked up Louisiana Tech’s Isaiah Crawford, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, and Washington State’s Isaac Jones, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski -- both reporters cited sources.
Washington State's Isaac Jones has agreed on a two-way deal with the Sacramento Kings, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2024
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Louisiana Tech's Isaiah Crawford has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Kings, sources said.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
Crawford, 22, is a 6-foot-6 small forward and brings two-way flexibility to Sacramento. As a senior, he averaged 16.3 points on 48.5 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3-point range, to go with 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32 games.
However, Crawford made his mark by earning Conference USA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2023-24 NCAA season while averaging 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.
Perhaps the most crucial aspect of Crawford’s game, though, is his availability, as the wing twice has torn his left ACL, once in 2020 and once in 2021.
NBA
Still, Crawford is an enticing prospect that Sacramento is comfortable betting on.
Jones, meanwhile, brings the prospect of height and agility to a Kings team searching for support around three-time NBA All-Star center Domantas Sabonis.
At 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, the senior center averaged 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 66 Division-1 games between 2022 and 2024. The 24-year-old played three seasons at Wenatchee Valley College in Washington before transferring to Idaho and then Washington State, leaving him much older than the typical NBA prospect.
Jones likely will have his back to the basket defensively as a rim protector, and has a tough road to remain in Sacramento long-term.
The Kings also invited undrafted free agent Boogie Ellis of USC to join their NBA Summer League team, per the Orange County Register’s Luca Evans, who cited sources.
USC's Boogie Ellis will be playing in the NBA Summer League with the Sacramento Kings, his agent Derek Malloy told @ocregister. Big opportunity for USC's captain after going undrafted, a three-year Trojan who made himself into one of the best shooters in the country.
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) June 28, 2024
Ellis, presumably the biggest name out of Sacramento’s three post-draft signees, is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard.
He most recently was a three-year Trojan and two-time All-Pac-12 selection (2023-24), but was a two-year Memphis Tiger beforehand. Over 154 career collegiate games, Ellis had averages of 17.1 points on 38.4-percent shooting from 3-point range, to go with 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals.
On a day when the Kings lost a fan favorite in guard Davion Mitchell in a trade with the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento supporters might find solace in the team’s signing of Ellis, albeit just a summer move for the moment.
It is uncertain how key these three pickups will be, if at all, for the Kings during the upcoming NBA season and beyond, but fans should keep an eye on them.
The Kings did not make a second-round selection on Day 2 of the draft. Instead, Sacramento traded pick No. 45 -- who ended up being Houston Cougars guard Jamal Shead -- to Toronto on Wednesday.