The 2025-26 NBA season is just a little under one month in, but teams are still shuffling rosters here and there. When the Sacramento Kings opted to sign center Precious Achiuwa this week, they had to make room on the roster by cutting second-year forward Isaac Jones. One team’s loss is another team’s gain, and the Pistons swooped in to add the ex-Kings big man via a claim off of waivers, as per Shams Charania of ESPN.
The Pistons had one standard roster spot open, paving the way for them to add the second-year big man via waivers claim. Undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, Jones earned his was onto the Kings roster via a two-way contract. Before the end of his rookie year, the Kings opted to convert his contract to a standard deal.
Jones will give the Pistons additional frontcourt depth. He likely won’t see much playing time as the team has quality depth in their center and forward rotation, but he is added insurance in case of any unforeseen injuries.
Jones appeared in 40 games last season for the Kings, at a little over seven minutes per game. Due to injuries early last season, he was called into action for most of the first two months of the 2024-25 season. He averaged 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 65.1 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from the three-point line and 63.9 percent from the free-throw line.
This year, Jones had played in four games for the Kings, and even started the second game of the season, but he had since fallen out of the rotation. Jones’ path to the NBA was an unconventional one. He started off at the junior college level at Wenatchee Valley College, eventually transferred to a mid-major in Idaho, then finished off his college career at a high major in Washington State.
Jones spent a good portion of his rookie season developing in the G League with the Stockton Kings.
