Former Duke Star Reportedly Signs With Sacramento Kings
NBA training camps will begin later this month, and the season is just 40 days away from September 8.
Therefore, teams continue to finalize their rosters before the offseason wraps up.
Many young players that get signed this late into the offseason will not actually make the roster, and will be waived either before, during or after training camp.
On Thursday night, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports that the Sacramento Kings have signed DJ Steward (h/t Hoops Rumors).
Steward also signed with the Kings last offseason, but he did not make the final roster.
Anderson: "Source: Sacramento Kings sign former Duke guard DJ Steward, providing path to return for second season with G League Stockton"
Last season, Steward played for the Stockton Kings (Kings' G League affiliate), and averaged 14.6 points per contest in 30 regular season games.
As Anderson indicates, Steward could go to the G League once again.
Anderson via his article in the Sacramento Bee: "It’s not clear if Steward will be part of the roster going into training camp, which is set to begin Sept. 27, but signing with Sacramento now gives him a path to return for a second season with the team’s G League affiliate in Stockton, the source said."
Steward was a highly ranked recruit out of high school, and ESPN ranked him as the 25th best player in the class of 2020.
During his one season at Duke, he averaged a very solid 13.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
However, he went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft.
He is only 20-years-old, so he could definitely still turn out to be an NBA player at some point in the near future.
This past season, the Kings went 30-52, so they were the 13th seed in the Western Conference and missed the NBA Playoffs for the 16th season in a row.
They have the longest active drought from the postseason in the NBA right now.
