Twenty-nine of the NBA’s 30 teams have filled both of their two-way contract slots early in the 2017/18 season, as our two-way tracker shows. The Hawks were the latest team to sign their second two-way player, inking Tyler Cavanaugh to a new deal over the weekend. Currently, the Timberwolves are the only club without two players on two-way contracts — former Lakers guard Anthony Brown is their only two-way signee.
It’s not clear why the Timberwolves have held off on filling their second two-way slot, but it may be about maintaining flexibility. Because two-way players are eligible to be on the active NBA roster for up to 45 days, a player who signs a two-way contract can immediately contribute to the NBA team if needed.
The Hawks’ addition of Cavanaugh on Sunday was a good example of this — shortly after signing with Atlanta, Cavanaugh made his NBA debut, helping to provide some frontcourt depth for a team that was missing Ersan Ilyasova, Miles Plumlee, and Mike Muscala. The Wolves have a healthier roster, but if they get hit hard by the injury bug at a certain position, having that open two-way slot will allow the club to add immediate help without making changes to its NBA roster.
Two-way contracts are still in the infancy stages, so it has been interesting to monitor how teams are using them so far. While some clubs opted to immediately send their two-way players to the G League for further development and seasoning, other teams have had to lean heavily on their two-way players. Mike James, for instance, doesn’t even have a standard NBA contract yet, despite the fact that he has been the Suns‘ starting point guard since Eric Bledsoe was sent home.
James is rapidly using up the 45 days he’s allowed to be with the NBA team. Assuming he’s not transferred to the G League, the Suns will be forced to make a decision on him right around the end of November. Two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA deals, but Phoenix would have to trade or cut someone to create room. While Bledsoe would, of course, be the obvious candidate, things could get more complicated if the Suns end up trading Bledsoe for a package that returns two or three players.
Rockets point guard Demetrius Jackson (eight games), Mavericks guard Gian Clavell (six games), Pacers forward Alex Poythress (five games), and Hawks guard Josh Magette (five games) are among the other players on two-way contracts who have already appeared in several NBA games and are progressing toward their 45-day limit.
It will be worth watching over the course of the season to see the approach teams take with their two-way players. Will players whose 45-day clocks start running out be converted to standard NBA contracts, or will they simply be sent back to the G League to retain them on the current deals? And now that the G League season is underway, will teams begin turning over their two-way slots more frequently if they don’t like what they see from their two-way players in starring G League roles? Stay tuned.