The Sacramento Kings introduced their selections in the 2023 NBA Draft on Tuesday, including former Mountain Brook High School star Colby Jones, even though they didn’t draft Jones and the trade that brought him to Sacramento is “not finalized,” according to general manager Monte McNair.

That didn’t matter to Jones.

“It feels great,” Jones said. “Some moves happened. It feels like they showed that they wanted me, so that made me feel a whole lot better.”

When the Charlotte Hornets chose Jones with the 34th selection in the NBA Draft on Thursday night, they were picking for the Boston Celtics who were picking for the Kings.

RELATED: HOW COLBY JONES WAS A HORNET, CELTIC AND KING IN 1 NIGHT

Charlotte traded Jones and Washington State forward Mouhamed Gueye, who had been chosen five picks after Jones on Thursday night, to Boston for the 31st selection, James Nnaji, a center for FC Barcelona in the Spanish ACB league and EuroLeague. Nnaji had been drafted by the Detroit Pistons, then traded to the Celtics along with two second-round picks for the No. 25 pick, Houston guard Marcus Sasser.

Boston moved Jones along to Sacramento in exchange for the 38th pick, Arkansas forward Jordan Walsh, and a second-round selection in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Jones said he knew the Kings were interested in adding him to the team.

“I had a great workout here,” Jones said. “I enjoyed meeting all the staff and some of the players, so I knew this was a great spot that I could potentially go to. I knew I was in good standing with the front office and things like that. But I really didn’t know what to expect come draft night. I knew I had a couple of places, but it all worked out great.”

In the 2022-23 season, Sacramento posted a 48-34 record for coach Mike Brown and made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The Kings led the NBA in scoring with average of 120.7 points per game last season.

“From past college experiences being in a free-flow offense,” Jones said, “I feel like I do well in those situations when the players are allowed to read and react to different scenarios on defense, so I’m very excited and I feel like my game will fit in well here. …

“I’m going to come in and try to find just any way to contribute to the team’s success.”

A 6-foot-6 guard, Jones averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals for Xavier in the 2022-23 season, when he earned second-team All-Big East recognition.

The Musketeers posted two victories in the 2023 NCAA tournament. In 2022, Xavier won the NIT, with Jones receiving the Most Outstanding Player Award in that tourney.

Jones’ abilities and credentials had him in the first round of some draft projections.

“I wasn’t discouraged at all,” Jones said about being the fourth pick of the second round in the 2023 NBA Draft. “I’m just grateful that the Kings gave me this opportunity.”

Jones won the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 7A Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season, when he averaged 25.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals as a senior at Mountain Brook.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.