Report: Undrafted, WSU’s Isaac Jones agrees to two-way deal with Sacramento Kings
PULLMAN – Former Washington State and Idaho standout Isaac Jones may have gone undrafted in the NBA draft, but he has found a home with a team.
Jones has agreed to a two-way contract with the Sacramento Kings Thursday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, allowing Jones to play with the Kings and their G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings.
With this kind of contract, Jones will make half the minimum NBA player salary, and he’ll be eligible for as many as 50 games with the big-league Kings until they choose to either convert his contract to a standard deal or move him. In this case, Jones will likely play the majority of games with the Stockton Kings.
The 6-foot-8 Jones, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection who averaged 15.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in one season as a Cougar, played a meaningful role in helping WSU make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. Jones used his athleticism and touch around the rim to create easy looks, leading WSU in scoring last season.
He had a similar impact in one season with Idaho the year prior, when Jones was named Big Sky Newcomer of the Year.
A Spanaway, Washington, native who began his career with three seasons at Wenatchee Valley College, Jones converted 57.5% of his shots last year, eschewing perimeter opportunities for shots around the basket, which is where he thrived. He almost never took shots from beyond the arc – his lack of ability to shoot from that area may have been a key reason why he went undrafted – but he made it work.
Jones’ deal comes about an hour after former WSU wing Jaylen Wells was drafted by theMemphis Grizzlies, who used the No. 39 overall pick to select the 6-foot-7 perimeter shooter, making Wells the fourth former Cougar to get drafted in the last four years. Wells earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors last season.
With Jones going undrafted, WSU missed a chance to have multiple players selected in the same draft for the first time since Malachi Flynn and CJ Elleby were both selected in 2020. But the Cougs will certainly take placing two more players in the league.
Active former WSU players in the NBA include Flynn (Detroit Pistons), Gueye (Atlanta Hawks) and Klay Thompson, a four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors who is mulling a decision to return to the Warriors or test the free-agent market this summer. Free agency begins Sunday.