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The Sacramento Kings announced today that they would be assigning rookie Duje Dukan to their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Dukan was signed to a two-year contract this summer after a good stint with the summer league, but has yet to see any playing time this season and only played 9 minutes during preseason as well.
Dukan will get plenty of opportunity in Reno in a high-octane offense. The Bighorns start their season tonight and it's not inconceivable that Duje could play in that game. Duje will join Vince Hunter and Marshall Henderson as affiliate players, although Hunter and Henderson's rights are not exclusive to the Kings.
I've gotten a few questions on if this means the Kings can now sign another guard to backup Rondo with Dukan in Reno, but that is not the case. Dukan is still under contract with the Kings and the Kings have the maximum amount of players allowed under contract (15). The only way the Kings would be able to sign someone else is by cutting an existing contract player or by being granted a hardship exception by the NBA due to injuries. The Kings aren't anywhere close to needing a hardship exception with just two players injured.