The Kings like what they’ve seen so far from Damian Jones. Now they want to see more of the explosive young center from Vanderbilt.
Kings general manager Monte McNair is signing Jones to a multiyear contract that will keep him with the team in 2021-22, a league source told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday, confirming a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Kings will also waive forward Chris Silva, the source said, creating a roster spot that could be used to sign two-way player Chimezie Metu to a standard contract.
Jones signed the first of two 10-day contracts with the Kings on April 7. His second 10-day contract expired Tuesday. Under rules of the collective bargaining agreement, the Kings had to sign Jones for the rest of the season or release him.
Jones has appeared in six games for the Kings, averaging 3.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 15.5 minutes per game. He had eight points and seven rebounds in Monday’s 113-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Kings coach Luke Walton said he didn’t know what the organization would do following the win over Dallas, but he offered his endorsement when asked about Jones.
“I know that he was good again tonight,” Walton said. “He’s active. He’s big. He attacks the rim, which is what we’re looking for. The front office and I talk all the time and I’ve given my opinions on him, and then it’s really their call where they go with it. He’s been given an opportunity and he’s done a very nice job with that opportunity. We’ll see where we go from here.”
Jones, 25, is a 6-foot-11, 245-pound center who came out of Vanderbilt as the 30th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He spent three seasons with the Golden State Warriors before bouncing around with the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.
Silva, 24, came to Sacramento along with Maurice Harkless in the trade that sent Nemanja Bjelica to the Miami Heat. He appeared in four games for the Kings, averaging 0.5 points and 0.5 rebounds in 2.3 minutes per contest.
