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The Sacramento Kings are picking up the options for the 2020-21 NBA season on big men Damian Jones and Chimezie Metu, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and NBC Sports California’s James Ham reported on Tuesday.
Tuesday marked the date in which the Kings had to make a decision on both Jones and Metu’s status for next season.
The Sacramento Kings are picking up the option on C Damian Jones for the 2021-2022 season, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 10, 2021
In addition to Jones' contract, the Kings are guaranteeing Chimezie Metu's contract. He is now under contract for a guaranteed $881,398, with potential for the entire seasons deal at $1.8 million.
— James Ham (@James_HamNBCS) August 10, 2021
In 17 games with the Kings last season, Jones averaged 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and one block per game at the center position while starter Richaun Holmes was sidelined due to injury. Jones brought decent defense and a nice combination of size and athleticism to the Kings during his run at the end of the season.
The 26-year-old Jones also spent time in the 2020-21 season with the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers before getting picked up by the Kings in April.
Jones joins Holmes, Alex Len, Tristan Thompson, Neemias Queta, as guys whose primary position is center, which makes it hard to see where Jones’ minutes could come from.
Metu, who also played some center last season is a more obvious fit on the roster as he can slide down to the power forward spot. Metu displayed a versatile skillset for the Kings last year during his 488 minutes with Sacramento, showing some more traditional big man skills but also flashing some range out to the three-point arc.
The Kings currently have a lot of guards and a lot of centers, but really lack guys between 6’6 and 6’9 wing spot, so it will be interesting to see how Monte McNair and the front office address this going forward.