Free agent point guard Elfrid Peyton agreed to sign with The necklacesaccording to Michael Scott of HoopsHype (Link to Twitter), which reports that Payton will compete for a regular season spot in Sacramento.
Payton, the 10th overall pick in the 2014 draft, has played in 524 regular-season games with five NBA teams, though he has been out of the league for three of the last four seasons. The 32-year-old last appeared with New Orleans and Charlotte in 2024-25, playing in 24 games for the two teams and averaging 3.5 points, 6.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 21.3 minutes per contest on .328/.167/.571 shooting.
As those numbers show, Payton is a talented ball-handler and playmaker who is a solid defender and rebounder at his position, but he is very limited as a scorer and shooter, which has affected his ability to stay in the league. His career averages are 9.8 PPG, 5.8 APG, 4.0 RPG and 1.2 SPG in 26.5 MPG while shooting .444/.286/.623.
The Kings, who were said to be in the market this offseason for the veteran point guard to back up and mentor the lottery pick Darius Acuff Jrwere connected in Peyton in August. As Scott, Sacramento’s general manager, points out Scott Perry was in Orlando’s front office when the Magic drafted Payton out of Louisiana in 2014.
Payton is slated to receive a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract from the Kings. While the former No. 1 overall Ben Simmonswho also signed a non-guaranteed deal with the team, is probably a better bet than Payton to make the opening roster, technically there would be room for both of them since Sacramento currently has 13 players with guaranteed salaries.
However, it’s worth noting that if the Kings were to take a full 15-man roster in the regular season, they’d be operating just $438K below the luxury tax limit, so they may prefer to keep the 15th this fall to maximize their roster and flexibility.