Report: Kai Jones agrees to non-guaranteed deal with the Los Angeles Clippers

Kai Jones is reportedly getting another chance in the NBA.

Per Shams Charania, Jones is going to the Los Angeles Clippers on a contract that is not fully guaranteed. It comes after Jones had an opportunity to join their franchise last season.

“Sources: Free agent C/F Kai Jones has agreed to a non-guaranteed deal to return to the Los Angeles Clippers,” Charania wrote on Twitter. “Clippers incorporated the talented 6-foot-11 big man at the end of last season and give the 2021 No. 19 overall pick a chance to compete for a roster spot next season.”

Jones is a three-year pro who has tried to get back on track in the last year.

Jones spent the first two seasons in Charlotte where he appeared in 67 games for the Hornets. In that time, he averaged 2.7 points and a pair of rebounds on 56.7% shooting from the field. However, it was at that point that Jones began to struggle on and off the court.

Jones had an issue or two away from the floor, including demanding his own trade from Charlotte. They then obliged, in a sense, by just waiving him — a young, enticing prospect within their franchise — just before the start of this past year.

That led Jones to spending the year trying to get another opportunity elsewhere in the league. It included a 10-day deal with the Philadelphia 76ers in mid-March and a contract with the Clippers in mid-April that they had declined his team option on within the last week or so to make him an unrestricted free agent again. Still, with them planning to re-sign him, it’s clear that Los Angeles thinks he can end up making their roster.

Jones was the No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. The Knicks then traded him to Charlotte following the draft. He was selected out of Texas where he spent two seasons with the Longhorns.

Jones needed to find another chance elsewhere after how things looked for his career on his end with the Hornets. He now will have it in Hollywood with LAC providing a way for him to be back on a roster.

Mo Bamba also set to join Clippers on a one-year deal

Mo Bamba has also reportedly signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

He’ll return to LA after playing a brief stint with the Lakers at one point in his career.

“Free agent center Mo Bamba has agreed on a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell ESPN,” Wojnarowski wrote on Twitter.

Bamba played the 2023-24 season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Over the course of his career with the Magic, Lakers, and Sixers, Bamba averages seven points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 0.9 assists per game, and shoots 47.8% from the floor and 36.1% from three.

Bamba was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.