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Kings' Precious Achiuwa Free Agency Preview: Setting Expectations
Apr 3, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Precious Achiuwa (9) during the first quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center. Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Kings' Precious Achiuwa Free Agency Preview: Setting Expectations

Originally posted on Sacramento Kings on SI
By James Mccauley  |  Last updated Apr 6, 2026 12:40 PM ET

For all the bad that the 2025-26 season has brought the Sacramento Kings, there have been some diamonds in the rough. Precious Achiuwa is at or near the top of those highlights. The former lottery pick joined the Kings in early November and has had a strong season. Let’s take a look at how Achiuwa landed here, how he has done, and what his future looks like. 

How Did We Get Here? 

The Kings (1) are not good, and (2) have been ravaged by injuries. The injury part, specifically, is what led to Achiuwa signing. Achiuwa was a free agent waiting for an opportunity to join his fourth team in six seasons. So, there was a need for depth on the Kings’ part, and a need for opportunity for Achiuwa.

The new Kings front office has made a habit of acquiring players they know (see: De’Andre Hunter and Killian Hayes, both of whom were very seriously considered when Scott Perry was with the New York Knicks), so familiarity is also worth noting. Perry and the Knicks had the 25th pick in 2020, just five picks before Achiuwa was drafted 20th overall. They certainly did their homework on him, as they did with Hunter and Hayes, both of whom ended up in Sacramento this year. 

So, the perfect storm of need and familiarity arose, and Achiuwa landed in Sacramento. The injuries ended up being much worse than anyone could have anticipated, though, changing Achiuwa’s role from mercenary depth to a season with a clear, low-stakes platform to have a strong season. 

The season, paired with his impending free agency, has led to some thinking that the Kings will not be able to afford to keep Achiuwa. So, let’s set some expectations based on similarly situated players over the last couple of offseasons. 

Recent Precedent Overview

It is not uncommon for first-round picks to get into this situation - especially lately. If you are not a max player, extension negotiations and free agency can be a cold world. The number of players who sign for salaries greater than the midlevel exception is dropping like a rock year over year. 

There are a few recent examples of players who have found themselves in Achiuwa’s situation over the last couple of seasons. Paul Reed, Jaxson Hayes, and Goga Bitadze all found themselves on minimum contracts. However, all were able to play themselves into larger deals. 

Bitadze and Hayes are particularly instructive here. Both were first-round picks that, for one reason or another, did not stick with their original team. Bitadze was waived by the Pacers during the last year of his rookie scale contract, and Hayes signed on a minimum contract right after his rookie scale contract ended. 

Here is what Precious Achiuwa’s stats look like compared to these bigs, along with Dario Saric and Drew Eubanks, both of whom were on minimums and played themselves into larger contracts: 

James McCauley

The numbers speak to the runway discussed earlier. Most of the comps were backups on good teams, while Achiuwa has been a regular starter on a bottom-5 team. The per-75 figures point to this unique situation, too. When adjusted to the same scale, Achiuwa’s numbers do not stand out as much. So, teams may discount these numbers through a “someone has to get stats on bad teams” lens. 

However, Achiuwa has consistently shown the versatility that teams desire and that made him a highly regarded prospect coming out of Memphis. 

Athletic, mobile bigs like Achiuwa are not usually in-season finds like this.

Here is what these players’ contracts (along with some other recipients) looked like after playing themselves out of minimum territory: 

James McCauley

As you can see, the terms and means by which the player is signed can vary widely. However, the market is largely in the $3.5-$8M AAV range. Player options are common—most of these players were UFAs, and the incumbent team probably needed to add an incentive for the player to stay with them. 

How Can the Kings Keep Achiuwa? 

Now that we have an understanding of Achiuwa’s market and how he stacks up with recent comps, it is worth assessing whether the Kings can pay him market value. The short answer is that it depends. That certainly reads like a cop out, but it is the reality. 

Since Achiuwa is on a one-year contract, the Kings only have his Non-Bird rights. This means they can re-sign him for up to 120% of his prior salary through this mechanism (just under $3M). 

Considering that his vet minimum (around $3.3M) beats this figure, Sacramento will not bring Achiuwa back via Non Bird rights unless he has no market and wants to help save the Kings some money. 

While he has said he wants to stay in Sacramento, it is also safe to assume Achiuwa will want to cash in on whatever market he may have, considering he began last season as a free agent. With that in mind, Sacramento will probably need to turn to its exceptions. 

Depending on where their cap sheet stands, Sacramento can use their NTMLE (~ $15M) (or a portion of it), their TMLE (~6M), or Biannual Exception (~$5.5M) to offer Achiuwa more money to stick around. 

So, the Kings will absolutely be able to retain Achiuwa if they want to. Given the cap restrictions they face, it would be surprising to see Sacramento offer something in the Kornet range without some other changes coming. The more realistic range is something slightly above his minimum, coming in around the TMLE, likely with a player option in year two. 

It is also worth noting that Sacramento’s roster currently sits at 15 players with Killian Hayes, a first-round pick, and two seconds on the roster. 

There are plenty of ways to change that and create a roster spot for Achiuwa. Expect the team to look into signing one of the second-rounders to a two-way, waiving Hayes, or finding a larger move to make that ultimately opens up a roster spot. 

Regardless, it is great to see Achiuwa get a chance to thrive and make good on his great potential. Here’s hoping that Sacramento can retain one of its best stories of the season.


This article first appeared on Sacramento Kings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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