In the wake of Wednesday's deadline for two-way signings, all 90 two-way contract slots around the NBA are now filled, with each team carrying three two-way players into the home stretch of the regular season.
Of those 90 players who are on two-way contracts, more than a third are on two-year contracts (the maximum allowable), which run through the 2026/27 season. By our count, 31 players are in that group, including many who have signed their two-way deals since the trade deadline.
The total number of players to finish a season on two-year, two-way contracts has been steadily increasing in recent years, with 23 players falling into that category in 2023/24 and 26 doing so in '24/25. But 31 would represent a new record.
It makes sense that a team would always prefer having two years of control of a player instead of one when there are no salary cap implications to worry about. At the start of a league year, when all 30 teams are vying for the best undrafted rookies on the market, front offices don't necessarily have the leverage required to get those players to accept multiyear deals. But it's a different story later in the season when there are a limited number of open two-way slots available for hundreds of G League players hoping to be called up.
But does it really give an organization a meaningful advantage to secure that extra year of team control for one or two of its two-way players, especially if it might mean settling for a lesser prospect who doesn't have the leverage to negotiate a rest-of-season contract?
I don’t think this was mentioned, but a two-year two-way contract that carries over into the offseason does give teams one additional “touching” trade chip that doesn’t require a receiving team to match salary for. Rate, I know, but some utility.