Inside The Kings

Kings Assign Rookie Big Man to NBA G League

The Sacramento Kings have moved their second-round draft pick to Stockton.
Oct 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) looks to drive the ball while under pressure from Los Angeles Lakers center Christian Koloko (10) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images
Oct 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) looks to drive the ball while under pressure from Los Angeles Lakers center Christian Koloko (10) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

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The Sacramento Kings are putting together a busy Tuesday after suffering a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, as the franchise has already made multiple roster moves shortly after falling to 2-5 on the season.

To start their Tuesday morning off strong, the Kings reportedly agreed to a deal with free agent center Precious Achiuwa. In a corresponding move, the Kings waived 25-year-old forward Isaac Jones to make room for their newest roster addition.

Now, the Kings are shuffling up their frontcourt rotation again, as they are officially assigning Maxime Raynaud to the Stockton Kings, Sacramento's NBA G League affiliate.

The Kings drafted Raynaud with the 42nd overall pick in this year's draft, and many viewed the selection as a huge steal. The 7-foot-1 French big man showed plenty of promise through four years at Stanford, especially as a Senior, when he averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.

Why send Raynaud to the G League?

However, his game has not translated to the NBA as smoothly as many would have hoped. Raynaud has appeared in just two games so far for the Kings, playing a total of 15 minutes, and has yet to score his first NBA points.

Of course, while many fans want to see more from Raynaud, this move to Stockton makes a ton of sense. The 22-year-old big man still has plenty to learn, and he is simply not getting the necessary reps to make mistakes and improve in Sacramento. In Stockton, however, Raynaud will be the star of the show and will have the freedom to play his game and make strides to get better.

Many Kings fans were very excited about their rookie duo of Raynaud and first-round pick Nique Clifford. This G League decision is in the best interest of Raynaud's future as an NBA player, and it certainly helps that the Kings now have a much more reliable backup center in Achiuwa, to where they will not have to force the rookie big man onto the court when he is not ready.

The Stockton Kings tip off their season on Saturday, where Raynaud will likely get much more opportunity to shine, rather than being stuck on the end of the bench in Sacramento.

Once the Kings feel Raynaud is ready to take on actual NBA minutes, he will certainly get called back up, but spending some time in the G League never hurts young players.

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Logan Struck
LOGAN STRUCK

Logan Struck is the Deputy Editor for Inside the Kings - SI.com's team website following the Sacramento Kings.

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