Kings Sign Rookie Forward to Three-Year Deal

Raynaud's length, wingspan, and ability to step out and hit the three is what had him as a late first-round prospect for many. He was mocked by many as a late first-round pick, but ended up falling to the Kings, which may have even been by his doing.

The 7-foot-1 forward averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.4 blocks on 46.7% from the field and 34.7% from three last season with Stanford, showcasing a skilled offensive game on the inside and on the perimeter.

Raynaud has extreme potential to become a stretch big, as he attempted 5.5 threes per game last season. It's a positional prototype that the Kings haven't had in years. Trey Lyles was a stretch four, but Raynaud brings size at over seven feet that few others can, including Lyles.

The Kings locking up Raynaud over the next three seasons, with the third year being a team option, gives the Kings another player that they can slot in who isn't making a large sum of money, which is growing ever more important in today's NBA landscape.

With Lyles currently a free agent, Raynaud has a chance to crack the rotation in his first year if the Kings don't bring in another option for the power forward position. They have Dario Saric from the Jonas Valanciunas trade, but his best playing days might be behind him.

The Kings are doing their best to stay competitive this upcoming season, but giving their rookies time on the court to develop would be a solid use of what might end up being a gap year while Scott Perry reshapes the roster.

With Raynaud being an older prospect and already 22 years old, he's more likely to step in than a one-and-done player or younger draft pick would be, especially with bigs typically taking longer to develop than guards. If the Kings really want to lean into the future, they could even look at the option of starting Raynaud next to Sabonis at some point this season, but that seems unlikely with the roster as currently constructed.

The Kings could also choose to send Raynaud down to the G-League so that he can play heavy minutes and learns the Kings' system.

Contracts for second-round picks vary throughout the league, with some getting two-way spots and others getting one or two year deals, but the Kings seem to like what they have in Raynaud. Perry had an eye for talent during his days in New York, and hitting on the 42nd pick of the draft would be a huge boon to him building out the roster for the future.

Raynaud will be playing in the Las Vegas Summer League, where we'll get to see a first look at what he looks like on the court around NBA players. The Kings first Summer League game is on July 10th against the Orlando Magic.