Ashton Hagans

Contract Details: Bitim, Evbuomwan, Funk, Spencer, Hagans, Goodwin

Onuralp Bitim‘s new standard contract with the Bulls covers two seasons beyond this one, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The three-year deal is guaranteed for the rest of this season but is non-guaranteed in years two and three, Scotto notes.

The Bulls used $500K of their mid-level exception to give Bitim a rest-of-season salary worth more than the rookie minimum, Hoops Rumors has learned. And while the Turkish wing isn’t owed any guaranteed money beyond this season, he can earn a partial guarantee worth $350K if he’s still under contract by the start of the 2024/25 regular season.

Here are more details on a few contracts recently signed around the NBA:

  • Like fellow signee Buddy Boeheim, Tosan Evbuomwan agreed to a two-year two-way contract with the Pistons, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Both players received partial guarantees for 2024/25, but those guarantees are very modest (projected to be worth approximately $78K) and won’t count against the cap, so they don’t necessarily assure either player of starting next season on Detroit’s 18-man roster.
  • Andrew Funk‘s two-way contract with the Bulls and Pat Spencer‘s two-way deal with the Warriors each run through the 2024/25 season as well, according to Smith and Scotto (Twitter links).
  • Conversely, the two-way contracts that Ashton Hagans signed with the Trail Blazers and Jordan Goodwin signed with the Grizzlies are both just rest-of-season deals, Hoops Rumors has learned. As a result, Hagans and Goodwin will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.

Ashton Hagans Returns To Trail Blazers On Two-Way Contract

FEBRUARY 23: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Hagans to a two-way contract, the team confirmed today in a press release.


FEBRUARY 22: The Trail Blazers will sign Ashton Hagans to fill their open two-way slot, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The 24-year-old point guard was on Portland’s roster earlier this month on a 10-day contract, but it was terminated early because the team needed an open spot to promote two-way player Duop Reath. Hagans got into four games during his time with the Blazers, making one start and averaging 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 15 minutes per night.

Hagans appeared in two games with Minnesota during the 2020/21 season, but he has mostly been in the G League since going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2020. He has spent the majority of this season with Portland’s new Rip City Remix affiliate and was selected as a G League All-Star.

Once Hagans’ signing is finalized, Portland will have a full roster with all 15 standard spots and all three two-way slots filled. Justin Minaya and Ibou Badji are the team’s other two-way players.

Trail Blazers Sign Duop Reath To Three-Year Deal

10:00pm: Reath’s promotion to a standard contract is official, the Blazers announced in a press release.


1:50pm: The Trail Blazers are promoting Duop Reath to their standard roster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the rookie center has agreed to a three-year contract with the club.

Reath, 27, signed a two-way contract with the Blazers in October and has emerged as a regular part of the team’s frontcourt rotation, appearing in 40 games so far this season, including 11 starts. He has averaged 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 17.4 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .475/.385/.741.

As Wojnarowski observes (Twitter link), Reath’s path to his first standard NBA contract has been an unorthodox one. He and his family fled South Sudan for a refugee camp in Kenya when he was nine years old and ultimately relocated to Australia.

After later moving to America, Reath spent two seasons at Lee College in Texas, then transferred to LSU for two more years. He went undrafted in 2018 and played professionally in Serbia, Australia, China, and Lebanon from 2018-23 before catching on with Portland. The big man was in camp with the Blazers on a non-guaranteed contract, but made enough of an impression to earn a two-way deal and has now received another promotion.

While the exact terms of Reath’s new contract aren’t yet known, the Blazers will use a portion of their mid-level exception in order to sign him for more than two seasons. The deal will be guaranteed for the rest of this season, and I’d expect it to include at least a partial guarantee for 2024/25.

The Blazers currently have a full 15-man roster, but Ashton Hagans‘ 10-day contract with the club will expire on Saturday night, opening up a spot for Reath.

Blazers Sign Ashton Hagans On 10-Day Deal

4:38pm: The Blazers have officially signed Hagans to a 10-day deal, the team announced in a press release. It will cover Portland’s next four games, then expire during the All-Star break.


3:13pm: The Trail Blazers are signing Ashton Hagans on a 10-day contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Hagans has been playing for the Blazers’ Remix NBA G League affiliate in Portland. He averaged 15.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.8 steals in 15 starts with Remix.

Hagans was waived early in training camp by Portland, then signed with the G League affiliate. Hagans had a two-way contract with Minnesota in 2020/21 but only appeared in two NBA contests. He spent the last two seasons with the Raptors’ and Hornets’ G League teams.

Portland had a roster opening to add the 24-year-old guard and Hagans could see some action with Shaedon Sharpe out indefinitely due to a core muscle injury.

NBA G League Announces Up Next Participants

A pool of 28 players has been selected for the NBA G League’s Up Next Game at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, the NBAGL announced in a press release.

According to the release, the event features “four teams of seven players competing in two semifinal games. The winner of each semifinal will face off in a Championship game.

“The teams will be made up of 28 NBA G League players, including 10 selected by a fan vote. The remaining 18 players will be selected by the NBA G League and will include eight members of NBA G League Ignite and at least one member of the Indiana Mad Ants, the G League affiliate of the All-Star hosting Indiana Pacers. Each team will be coached by a head coach from the NBA G League.”

Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts.

Fan vote:

Former Kentucky guard Hagans received the most votes.

NBAGL selections:

G League Ignite:

They aren’t currently on NBA teams, but it’s worth noting that Labissiere and Bazley are ineligible for two-way deals because they each hold four years of NBA experience. Weatherspoon (three years), Hagans (one) and Williams (one) also hold at least some NBA experience.

Trail Blazers Sign, Waive Ashton Hagans

OCTOBER 1: The Blazers officially signed and then waived Hagans, according to the NBA transactions log.

He was on an Exhibit 10 deal, meaning if he joins the G League’s Rip City Remix and remains with that team for 60 days, he could earn a bonus up to $75K.


AUGUST 18: The Trail Blazers are signing free agent guard Ashton Hagans to a one-year deal, according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Hagans, who played college ball at Kentucky prior to going undrafted in 2020, spent part of 2020/21 — his rookie season — on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves. However, he only appeared in two games with Minnesota for a total of four minutes prior to being waived in February 2021.

The Raptors signed Hagans to an Exhibit 10 contract in October 2021, waiving him almost immediately. He spent ’21/22 playing for their NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.

Last season, the 24-year-old played for the Hornets’ NBAGL affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, holding modest averages of 6.8 points, 4.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 30 regular season games (21.1 minutes).

Haynes didn’t reveal the terms of Hagans’ contract, but it’s highly likely to be a training camp deal featuring an Exhibit 10 clause. If Hagans is waived before the ’23/24 starts, he could receive a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with Portland’s new G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix.

The Blazers currently only have 14 players under contract — 12 on guaranteed standard deals, and a pair on two-way contracts.

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Hagans, Jazz, Snyder

Damian Lillard is staying focused on business as he waits to learn where he’ll be reporting to training camp in six weeks, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. It’s been nearly two months since Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, preferably to Miami, but the market has remained quiet throughout the summer.

“Mentally, I’m strong,” Lillard said Friday at his Formula Zero elite basketball camp in Phoenix. “I think the last year and some change in my life overall, it’s not even just sports, it’s been a tough time, but right now, I’m in a strong place. Anytime I can come be in this environment. Like I said, it’s a lot of my loved ones that are here doing what we do at this camp, pouring into people, that brings me joy. That’s something that lifts me up so to be here is helpful.”

Lillard is coming off his best statistical year, averaging 32.2 PPG in 58 games before being shut down late in the season. He’s devoted much of the summer to traveling and family time, but he’s also preparing to help the Blazers, Heat or any other team he winds up with.

“I’ve had a great summer of training,” Lillard said. “I do a lot of things now to pour into myself and lift myself up and it’s been really helpful. So I would say I’m in a very strong place. My process has been the same going into the season that it’s been any other time except I’m just getting better as a man. I think that really helps me as far as my career goes. Anytime I can be improving myself as a man, it’s going to be positive for me.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • Ashton Hagansagreement with the Trail Blazers will be an Exhibit 10 deal, tweets Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report. Haynes reported on Friday that the 24-year-old point guard is expected to join Portland for training camp.
  • The Jazz may not have a set rotation at point guard until well into the season, suggests Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Kris Dunn, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker and Keyonte George will all compete for time at the position, and Jordan Clarkson and Ochai Agbaji may run the offense occasionally as well. Todd suggests that Dunn may be the favorite to start if he plays as well as he did last season, but the trade market could factor into playing time decisions.
  • In a separate story, Todd looks at highlights of the Jazz schedule, including Hawks head coach Quin Snyder returning to Utah for the first time on March 15.

Raptors To Sign, Waive Ashton Hagans, Breein Tyree

The Raptors will sign Ashton Hagans and Breein Tyree to Exhibit 10 contract, then waive them, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca tweets.

Hagans was on the Raptors’ summer league team in Las Vegas but missed games due to an ankle injury. He was a two-way player for the Timberwolves last season but was waived in February.

Tyree has played for Toronto’s G League team, Raptors 905. He’s working his way back from a torn ACL, suffered at the G League bubble in Orlando last season.

Both players would receive a $50K bonus if they’re on the G League team’s roster for at least 60 days.

Timberwolves Waive Ashton Hagans

The Timberwolves have waived two-way player Ashton Hagans, according to a team press release.

Hagans was signed to a two-way contract in late November. The undrafted rookie out of Kentucky made two very brief appearances with the Timberwolves before joining the team’s G League squad, the Iowa Wolves, at the Orlando bubble.

Hagans was one of several Iowa players suspended two games without pay this week for violating the league’s health and safety protocols. That incident contributed to the team’s decision to cut ties with the 21-year-old point guard, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.

Hagans started two seasons for the Wildcats. As a sophomore, Hagans averaged 11.5 PPG and 6.4 APG in 30 regular-season games.

Jordan McLaughlin is Minnesota’s other two-way player. Along with the vacated two-way slot, the Timberwolves also have an opening on their 15-man roster, giving the team some flexibility to make moves.

Wolves Notes: Towns, Edwards, G League Bubble

After suiting up and taking the court for the first time in nearly a month on Wednesday, Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns admitted he endured a “rough journey” during his absence as he battled COVID-19.

“I am a high-risk case,” Towns said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “COVID did not treat me well whatsoever. A lot of scary nights. One of the things that I told my sister when I got COVID was that, ‘Hey, I got it, and I don’t got a good version of it. I got a lot of COVID in me, but I am going to fight and beat it.'”

While Towns acknowledged that many players around the NBA have experienced few symptoms – or none at all – after testing positive for the coronavirus, he noted that everyone’s experience is “totally different.” Several of Towns’ family members have died of complications from COVID-19, including his mother, to whom Towns said he is most “genetically connected.”

“You hear those stories where people get COVID,” Towns said, according to Youngmisuk. “And they’re like, ‘Oh, for four days, five days, I didn’t feel well, and then I turned the corner magically one day and I was feeling great.’ That did not happen with me.”

Towns was solid in his return to action, putting up 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, but he admitted to reporters that he didn’t feel mentally ready for the game. It may take a little more time before the 25-year-old back to his usual dominant self.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

  • As Youngmisuk relays, Towns also became the latest star player to question the logic of holding an All-Star Game in 2021. “I personally don’t believe there should be an All-Star Game, but what the hell do I know?” Towns said, sarcastically adding: “S–t, I obviously haven’t dealt with COVID, probably a guy who has some insight into that. What should I know about COVID, right?”
  • Anthony Edwards got off to a slow start during his rookie year, shooting just 34.4% from the floor and 27.4% from beyond the arc through his first 16 games. However, he has come on lately, averaging 16.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .435/.400/.800 shooting in his last nine, and entering Minnesota’s starting lineup during that time. The No. 1 overall pick is just getting started, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who says the Wolves drafted Edwards knowing he was raw and not expecting him to dominate right out of the gate.
  • The Iowa Wolves – Minnesota’s G League affiliate – have been penalized for violating the health and safety protocols at the NBAGL bubble at Walt Disney World. As Adam Zagoria of Forbes tweets, the club was fined $10K, while Charlie Brown, Ashton Hagans, Jaylen Johnson, Ade Murkey, and Dakarai Tucker were all suspended without pay for two games. Iowa added Isaiah Briscoe and Jaylen Morris from the bubble’s available player pool to temporarily fill the holes on its roster, tweets Adam Johnson.