On Tuesday, the Sacramento Kings announced they have signed forward to a 10-day contract. The move comes as the team looks to bolster its depth in light of Domantas Sabonis’ injury and the playoff race heating up. Top star, known for his energy and rebounding ability, will provide additional frontcourt support as Sacramento navigates the coming games without their All-Star big man.
He isn’t exactly a stranger to Sacramento’s system. He has spent this season with their G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, where he’s been having a strong year, averaging 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. (Devin Carter has also been a standout for Stockton this season.)
As noted in the headline, he is a unique player. Though listed at just 6’5″, he plays much larger than his size, which is reflected in his impressive rebounding numbers. Throughout his NBA career (1,166 minutes over three seasons), he has logged 66% of his minutes at power forward, despite being undersized for the position. His skill set and style of play draw comparisons to Chuck Hayes, a similarly undersized but gritty big man from the 2000s and early 2010s.
The Sacramento teams announced that they would be signing him to a 10-day contract.
As we mentioned in the headline, Taylor is a pretty unorthodox player. Taylor is 6’5, but he plays much bigger than that. You can see this from his impressive rebounding numbers. For his NBA career (1,166 minutes across three seasons), Taylor has spent 66% of his minutes at power forward. In this way, he bears a great deal of resemblance to Chuck Hayes – an undersized big man from the 2000s/2010s.
The main reason the Kings signed Taylor
Taylor has certainly earned this shot, having stood out with his strong performances in the G-League. Still, there’s more to this signing than just rewarding his play.
Per the current CBA, NBA teams are only allowed to carry fewer than 14 standard contracts for a maximum of 14 consecutive days, or 28 total days over the course of a season. Following their flurry of moves at the trade deadline, the Kings were left with just 13 players on standard contracts.
To comply with league rules, Sacramento has been cycling through short-term signings, such as Daishen Nix and Skal Labissiere, who were both brought in on 10-day contracts. With both of those deals now expired, the Kings turned to Terry Taylor to help meet the roster minimum while also adding a player familiar with their system.
In a recent post, we suggested that the Kings should consider converting one of their two-way players to a standard contract to satisfy the league’s roster minimum, with Isaac Jones being the standout candidate.
However, as Greg Wissinger of the Kings Herald pointed out earlier today, it appears Sacramento is hesitant to make that move, likely as a cost-saving measure. It’s a disappointing development, especially considering how hard Jones has worked and how well he’s performed when given NBA minutes this season.
That said, this is still a great opportunity for Terry Taylor to potentially carve out a more permanent role at the NBA level. Hopefully, the Kings can find him some minutes in the rotation so he can prove what he’s capable of on the big stage.
Through 95 career NBA games, Taylor has posted averages of 4.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game while shooting an efficient 62.3% true shooting. Prior to joining the Kings organization, Taylor most recently suited up for the Chicago Bulls, following a stint with the Indiana Pacers earlier in his career.