Former Syracuse forward Tyler Lydon has agreed to a two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings, becoming the second free agent from SU to find a landing spot this offseason.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s national NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarwoski, via an anonymous source. Lydon’s agent Andy Shiffman, of Priority Sports, confirmed the agreement to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard via text message.
Free agent F Tyler Lydon has agreed to a two-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, league source tells ESPN.
Lydon was the No. 24 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft but spent the first two years of his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets, where he had little opportunity for playing time on a strong team that featured a deep rotation of forwards, many of them veterans. The Nuggets finished second in the Western Conference last year behind Golden State.
Lydon played in one NBA game during his first season and 25 last year. He averaged just 3.8 minutes and .9 points in those outings.
The 6-foot-10 forward also played 23 G-League games over those two years, averaging 12.9 points. He has shown the ability to shoot efficiently at that level knocking down 50.2 percent of his shots and 36.9 percent of his 3-point tries, crafting a profile as a stretch-forward in the NBA.
Lydon is just 23 years old and made around $3.5 million in salary during his first two NBA seasons.
Lydon joins a group of Syracuse players in the NBA next season that will include Jerami Grant, Dion Waiters and the recently-signed Michael Carter-Williams. Rookies Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett competed in the NBA Summer League in hopes of landing a spot, as did Malachi Richardson and Andrew White III.
Sacramento’s options at forward for next season currently include Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley, Trevor Ariza, Harry Giles and Caleb Swanigan.
The Kings also own the rights to former Syracuse forward B.J. Johnson who is signed to a non-guaranteed contract worth $1.4 million next year. He played in three Summer League games with the Kings, averaging 7.3 points in 17 minutes.
Courtesy: Syracuse.com
