The Kings and point guard Jordan McLaughlin have agreed to a one-year contract, according to agent Greg Lawrence, who informed Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento first reported that the two sides were close to finalizing the deal.
McLaughlin, 28, has played all five of his NBA seasons with the Timberwolves, providing backcourt depth behind the team’s starting point guards. He has come off the bench in 235 of his 242 career regular season games. In the 2023-24 season, the former USC standout averaged 3.5 points and 2.0 assists in 11.2 minutes per game over 56 appearances.
Though McLaughlin’s stats are modest, he excels at taking care of the ball, averaging just 0.3 turnovers per game last season, and is a solid shooter. His .472 3-point percentage in 2023-24 was an outlier, but he has made 36.9% of his career three-point attempts.
McLaughlin will provide Sacramento with an additional option behind De’Aaron Fox in a backcourt that will no longer include former lottery pick Davion Mitchell, who was traded to Toronto in June.
While the terms of the agreement have not been reported, the Kings are expected to have minimal room below the luxury tax line after completing their sign-and-trade deal for DeMar DeRozan. Therefore, it’s likely that McLaughlin signed for the veteran’s minimum. For a player with his five years of experience, this would result in a salary of about $2.43M, with Sacramento carrying a cap hit of approximately $2.09M.
