The Sacramento Kings have a number of rookies and young players just sitting on the bench, collecting dust. Finally, they’ve sent their two-way players to the G League to get some reps. It’s important because the coaches were just wasting their limited time on the main roster.
Two-way contracts allow players to spend time in a season on both the NBA squad and the G League squad. These contracts generally go to younger players, if not outright rookies, who have potential but need more time to hone their skills. But there are limits to this.
An NBA team can only have three players on two-way contracts each season in addition to the 15 regular contracts for main roster players. Additionally, two-way players can only participate in a maximum of 50 NBA games per season and cannot be in the playoffs.
Riding with the Kings…on the bench
Given these parameters, it’s important to manage the time of two-way players effectively, something the Kings have not been doing. Daeqwon Plowden, Isaiah Stevens, and Dylan Cardwell are all on these contracts, but have barely touched the court. That’s a problem.
All three of these players have spent the bulk of their time sitting on the bench, rarely getting any minutes. That’s actually a huge issue since sitting on a bench for an entire 48 minute game without playing still counts towards that previously mentioned 50 game per season total.
The simple act of having them sit on a bench without playing is a categorical waste of these young player’s limited main roster time. There is an argument to be made for them watching how it’s done from that perspective. But that only works for so long before it become impossible to rationalize.
Get thee to the G League, young Kings
Young players need in game reps to improve and find the rhythm of professional basketball. Even five minutes each game makes a difference. Sitting on the bench just doesn’t cut it. That’s why the G League is so important to their development.
It’s allows them to get real reps in with NBA-caliber players who are in the same boat. For Sacramento, the benefits are even bigger because their G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, are the defending champions. That environment will season these young Kings incredibly quickly.
Fortunately, it looks like Cardwell, Stevens, and Plowden will be assigned to the G League. They are all talented players, particularly Cardwell, but they need time on a court to develop their games. And they are not going to get that time in Sacramento right now.
