The Kings have picked up their 2023/24 team option for guard Davion Mitchell, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Mitchell will earn a guaranteed $5,063,640 in ’23/24, his third season.
The No. 9 overall pick in 2021 after helping Baylor win the NCAA Tournament, Mitchell had a big role as a rookie, averaging 11.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG and 4.2 APG on .418/.316/.659 shooting in 75 games (19 starts, 27.7 MPG). He ranked 10th among rookies in both PPG and MPG, and fifth in APG, the team noted in its press release (Twitter link via James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com).
A talented defensive player, Mitchell also posted a solid 2.75-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in ’21/22. He is part of a revamped backcourt that includes De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk, with the latter two being offseason acquistions (via trade and free agency, respectively).
The Kings are trying to break their 16-season playoff drought, which is an NBA record. They have some talented players on the roster to aid in that effort, including the aforementioned backcourt rotation, this year’s No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray, veteran Harrison Barnes, and two-time All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis.