Chima Moneke’s contract was set to guarantee on Jan. 10, but the Kings are waiving him and opening up a roster spot instead.
The Sacramento Kings have waived Chima Moneke, according to James Ham of The Kings Beat and ESPN 1320.
Sacramento made this decision a few days before Moneke’s non-guaranteed contract was set to guarantee for the rest of the season on Jan. 10.
Moneke only played in two games this season for Sacramento, scoring two points in his eight minutes of NBA action. He spent most of this year in the G League with the Stockton Kings. With Stockton, Moneke averaged 17.6 points and 11.3 rebounds in 16 G-League games.
The Kings signed Moneke this past summer after he had previously spent his post-college career playing in Europe.
While Moneke’s athleticism and rebounding for his size were interesting coming into the season, it was hard to see him factoring into Sacramento’s regular rotation. Moneke never really proved he could space the floor at an NBA level, which made him a tough fit on a Kings team so predicated on shooting around De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.
It’s unclear what Sacramento wants to do with this extra roster spot, but they could look to replace Moneke on the wing or look to solidify their backup center spot. As of Thursday, teams officially became eligible to start signing 10-day free agents again, so that is another place Sacramento could go with this extra roster spot.
In related news, Matthew Dellavedova will remain on Sacramento’s roster through Jan. 10, when his contract guarantees for the rest of the season, according to Ham. Dellavedova has appeared in 15 games, usually in garbage time or when De’Aaron Fox has had to sit out.
According to a league source, Matthew Dellavedova will remain on the Kings’ roster past the guaranteed contract date. His 1-year, $2.6 million contract for this season will be paid in full, whether he finishes out the season in Sacramento or not.
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) January 7, 2023
At this point in his career, Dellavedova is pretty limited on offense but still has strong basketball IQ and defensive wherewithal, along with familiarity playing under Mike Brown during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Seeing him stick around as a veteran presence is not a surprise as the Kings continue their push to end the playoff drought.