AUGUST 2: The two-way deals for Paige and Mathiang are now official, the Hornets announced today in a press release.
AUGUST 1: The Hornets will sign Marcus Paige and Mangok Mathiang to two-way contracts, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).
Paige, 23, spent four seasons at UNC, where he averaged 13.1 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 2.8 RPG in 141 games. The Nets drafted Paige with the 55th overall pick in last year’s draft but traded him to the Jazz as part of the deal that sent Isaiah Whitehead to his native Brooklyn squad.
After he was waived in early October 2016, Paige latched on with the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 46 games, he averaged 12.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.2 APG in 32.7 minutes. Most recently, Paige was part of the Timberwolves‘ summer league team in Las Vegas.
As for Mathiang, the Lousiville product averaged 7.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 1.1 BPG in his senior year at the college. The 24-year-old appeared for Charlotte in five games during the summer league where posted 4.4 PPG, five boards and 53.3% from the field.
As a side note, the Hornets also guaranteed forward Johnny O’Bryant‘s $1.5MM salary for the 2017/18 season, per Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Today was the deadline for Charlotte to fully guarantee O’Bryant’s contract.
For more details on what two-way contracts are and how they work, be sure to check out our FAQ.
Glad O’Bryant is coming back. He played extended minutes for Charlotte in Denver last year when they were several big men and played well with that extra court time.