SACRAMENTO -- It’s complicated. That is the long and the short of the Kings’ latest roster moves.
In what seems like a bizarre stream of transactions, the Kings have brought in Brandon Austin, Kalin Lucas, Taren Sullivan and Gabe Vincent to Exhibit 10 contracts.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a summer contract in the NBA world. It can be converted to a regular-season contract or a two-way deal, or it can expire at the conclusion of camp and a player becomes a free agent.
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Hidden inside the language to an Exhibit 10 contract is a small tidbit that helps explain why the Kings have shuttled players on and off of their roster over the last few weeks. From Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ:
“An Exhibit 10 bonus can pay the player from $5,000 to $50,000 if the player is waived by his NBA team, signs with the G-League, is assigned to the NBA team's G-League affiliate, and stays there at least 60 days. A team can only add an Exhibit 10 bonus if the team actually has a G-League affiliate team. An Exhibit 10 can also specify a Conversion Protection Amount between $5,000 and $50,000, which becomes compensation protection if the contract is converted to a Two-Way contract.”
This year, G-League salaries increased to $7,000 per month or $35,000 for the five-month season. By signing a player and then incentivising them to join your G-League affiliate with an Exhibit 10 signing bonus, NBA teams can create a pipeline of players of their choosing.
There is no word if all of the Kings’ latest signing fit into this mold, but it’s likely at a minimum we’ll see Lucas, Sullivan and Vincent with the Stockton Kings, as well as players currently on the training camp roster, like Cameron Reynolds and possibly Jamel Artis.
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Wenyen Gabriel currently is playing under a two-way contract with the Kings and will bounce back and forth between Sacramento and Stockton this season. The team currently has one more two-way contract available, which could go to one of the already mentioned players, someone vying for a spot on another NBA team or not be used at all this season.