Betting on Himself has Paid Off for Chris Livingston

Maybe Chris Livingston does not have a guaranteed $24 million contract like former UK teammate Cason Wallace is getting from Oklahoma City, but Livingston’s decision to leave Kentucky after one year looks a lot better for him now than many ever thought it would.

He was the 58th pick — and last pick in the draft — in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks. Few players drafted in that spot have even made an NBA roster.

But Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news that Livingston was getting a four-year, $7.7 million contract with the Bucks.

No, that’s not a monstrous NBA contract but it is a lot more than he would have made in NIL money if he returned to UK or any other school for another season. And maybe another year at Kentucky would have netted him a bigger NBA contract next season but it certainly did not work out that way for Oscar Tshiebwe.

So getting this contract with two years guaranteed does not seem all that bad for Livingston, especially since he’s with a talented team that can give him time to develop.

Livingston’s contract is the largest ever for a player that was selected with the last pick in the draft and maybe shows that his sports agency, Klutch Sports, knew what it was doing by keeping him in the draft.

Livingston had seven points, six rebounds and one steal in his NBA debut and came back with 10 points and six rebounds in his second game. He shot 50 percent combined from the field in the two summer league games.

Livingston averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last year at Kentucky when he made the SEC all-freshman team.

Kings Re-Sign Lyles

Remember Trey Lyles?  He was the 12th overall pick in the 2015 draft and has played in 523 NBA games with 126 starts and has been re-signed by the Sacramento Kings. He averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game after joining the Kings in February of 2022.

Here is a release from the Kings:

“The Sacramento Kings have re-signed Trey Lyles. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Since joining the Kings in February 2022, Lyles, 27, has appeared in 98 games (20 starts) and averaged 8.3 points (46.8 FG%, 36.3 3PT%, 82.7 FT%), 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 18.3 minutes per game. During the 2022-23 season, Lyles recorded 562 total points, which were the second most points scored off the bench for the Kings.”