According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Sacramento Kings have signed Daeqwon Plowden to a two-way contract. Plowden was one of the players involved in the record-breaking, seven-team trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets. The Atlanta Hawks traded him to the Phoenix Suns, who subsequently waived him.
Plowden played for the Kings in Summer League, earning minutes in all of their games. In his six appearances (14.2 MPG, including the championship game), Plowden averaged 7.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists while shooting 41.4% from the field and 37.5% from deep.
The 26-year-old will be an intriguing player for the Kings to monitor moving forward.
How did Daeqwon Plowden play last season?
Plowden played regular-season games for the Hawks last season, and he was extremely efficient when he got on the floor. In his 11.9 minutes per game, Plowden averaged 7.2 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 64.0% from the floor and 52.9% from three-point range on 2.8 attempts.
That’s not where Plowden’s success started and ended, however. He also got a ton of run with the Hawks’ G League team, the College Park Skyhawks. It was his third G League squad in three years after playing with the Birmingham Squadron (2022-23) and Osceola Magic (2023-24).
In his 43 games with the Skyhawks, Plowden played 31.7 minutes per game. He averaged 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks while shooting 40.4% from the field and 32.7% from distance on 7.1 attempts per contest.
Could Daeqwon Plowden actually play for the Kings?
This will be Plowden’s final season being eligible for a two-way contract, making this a big make-or-break year for him. And while he’ll likely spend most of his time in the G League with the Stockton Kings, there’s a chance he could sneak in some NBA minutes.
The Kings don’t have amazing forward depth, though their interest in Jonathan Kuminga could lead to them adding more.
As it stands, DeMar DeRozan and Keegan Murray are the stars of the show at the forward position, but DeRozan can play down to the two guard in some lineups.
Outside of that, rookie Nique Clifford and veteran Doug McDermott are the only true forwards on the roster, leaving the 6-foot-6 Plowden some runway to earn minutes.
If he wants to succeed in that endeavor, he’ll have to vastly improve his three-point shot consistency, but if he can do that, the Kings will have a very interesting player in their organization.