The Sacramento Kings are hunting for a veteran ball handler who can also serve as a mentor for Darius Acuff Jr., and the list of names already floating around has included Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton, Cam Payne, and Ben Simmons. But with rosters tightening around the league, one fresh option has entered the picture: Tristen Newton.
The Rockets waived Newton in a related move, and that opens the door for Sacramento to take a look. Newton isn’t a familiar NBA name yet, but his résumé is loaded.
He won two national championships at UConn and was a key piece on both teams, then followed that up with a strong G-League season for the Houston Rockets’ affiliate, the Rio Grande Vipers. There, he averaged over 26 points per game, 8 assists, and shot 48% from the field.
He also brings size for the position, measuring at over 6-foot-3 barefoot at the combine. At UConn, Newton was named a consensus All-American in his final season and put up more than 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists per game.
The biggest concern is the jumper. He shot well in his first year at UConn, but since his final college season he’s been around a 32-33% three-point shooter.
That matters for a Kings team that struggled to shoot the ball, but the roster already includes enough scoring punch from former teammate Alex Karaban, Emanuel Sharp, Keegan Murray, and Acuff Jr. to help cover that weakness.
Newton’s appeal goes beyond raw production. If Sacramento is really looking for a backup point guard who can organize the offense, keep turnovers down, and defend at the point of attack, he fits the kind of profile worth examining.
He’s not being sold here as some breakout star or future Sixth Man of the Year candidate, but his numbers from his final college season are hard to ignore. His 3.3 DBPM was strong for a guard carrying that kind of offensive load, his assist percentage climbed to 31% while his turnover percentage dropped, and his 47% free-throw rate and 16.8% defensive rebounding percentage were both excellent for a guard.
It’s understandable why the Kings keep getting tied to older, more established players. Even if they don’t give much on the floor, they can still help younger players adjust to the NBA. That’s especially relevant with Acuff Jr. in the mix.
Still, Sacramento’s track record makes that line of thinking worth questioning. The team has previously moved off Davion Mitchell to help sign DeMar DeRozan, traded Keon Ellis after bringing in multiple veteran guards in the offseason, and gave up on Neemias Queta too soon.
There’s no denying the case for the veterans. Simmons and Oladipo are former All-Stars, Payne has nearly 1000 playoff minutes, and Payton was a top-10 pick.
They’ve all done more at the NBA level than Newton has so far. But the question is what that really means for a team that is years away from competing for a playoff spot again.
The mentor angle for Acuff Jr. is real, especially on defense. All four of the veteran names mentioned do bring defensive effort, but Sacramento already has other examples for him to learn from.
Doug Christie is one of the better perimeter defenders of the modern era and a four-time All-Defensive selection. Precious Achiuwa, Keegan Murray, De’Andre Hunter, and Emanuel Sharp are also older and more experienced than Acuff Jr. and understand how to settle into a defensive stance.
There are plenty of examples of players finding their footing later in their careers, though not many of them are 30-plus players who had already been out of the NBA and still went on to make a real impact. Steve Nash, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, and others all started slowly before becoming All-Stars and legends for their franchises.
Newton may not belong in that class, but the point remains: passing on him just because a veteran has the longer résumé would be another short-sighted move for Sacramento.
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