Pacers Sign Rookie Taelon Peter To Two-Way Contract
1:47pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
10:30am: As anticipated, the Pacers and the No. 54 overall pick of the June draft, Taelon Peter, have agreed to a two-way deal, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
Indiana general manager Chad Buchanan recently indicated that Peter was in line to receive a two-way contract. The Pacers cleared a spot for the shooting guard by pulling their qualifying offer to Enrique Freeman.
By adding Peter, the Pacers have filled all of their two-way slots. RayJ Dennis and Quenton Jackson have the Pacers’ remaining two-way contracts.
Peter excelled in a sixth man role at Liberty University last season. He only started two of 35 games, yet averaged 13.7 points on 57.8 percent shooting from the field and 45.3 percent from three-point range. He also grabbed 4.0 rebounds and handed out 1.0 assist in 22.7 minutes per contest. Liberty won its conference tournament and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Oregon, a game in which Peter scored eight points.
Peter spent his previous three seasons with Division II Arkansas Tech. In four Summer League appearances, he averaged 9.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 23.6 minutes per game for Indiana.
“We like a lot of things he does as far as playing without the ball, his shooting, his movement. I thought he showed very encouraging signs defending the ball in Las Vegas,” Buchanan said.
David Jones-Garcia Signs Two-Way Deal With Spurs
July 23: Jones-Garcia has officially signed his two-way contract with the Spurs, the team announced today in a press release.
July 22: The Spurs are signing Summer League standout David Jones-Garcia to a two-way contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
Jones-Garcia earned All-Summer First Team honors playing for San Antonio. The 6’6″ wing finished an eight-game summer campaign with averages of 22.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest. He posted averages of 21.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 3.8 APG while shooting 52.9% from 3-point range during a handful of games in Vegas.
Jones-Garcia recently turned down a three-year offer from Olympiacos and let all other European suitors know he was committed to continuing his NBA career. He’ll now focus on trying to earn a promotion to a standard NBA contract.
After going undrafted out of Memphis in 2024, Jones-Garcia signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia last July but was waived in September. He also spent about a month-and-a-half on a two-way contract with the Jazz prior to being released on January 1.
The 23-year-old didn’t appear in any NBA games with Utah last season. However, he was one of the top performers in the G League, finishing as the runner-up in voting for NBAGL Rookie of the Year.
Jones-Garcia, who is from the Dominican Republic, was also named to the All-California Classic Summer League team earlier this month after averaging 22.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals.
San Antonio hadn’t filled any of its tw0-way slots, so the team will still have two more openings when Jones-Garcia signs.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Confirmed For EuroBasket
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has confirmed his participation in EuroBasket, according to a tweet from FIBA EuroBasket.
Antetokounmpo was already on Greece’s 19-man preliminary roster for the tournament, but this indicates he’ll once again represent his home country. He’s been on the country’s national team since 2014, appearing in a total of 37 official games in major FIBA tournaments.
Antetokounmpo was the leading scorer at EuroBasket 2022 but Greece was eliminated by Germany in the quarterfinals. He averaged 29.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks in six games.
It was a similar story in last year’s Summer Olympics. The two-time NBA MVP averaged a tournament high 25.8 points along with 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists in four games but Greece was once again knocked out by Germany.
Speculation regarding his status with the Bucks has cooled this summer. Team president Peter Feigin said this month that the organization was in a “good place” with its franchise player. Milwaukee was eliminated by Indiana in the first round of the playoffs despite Antetokounmpo averaging 33 points, 15.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists during the series.
Central Notes: Pistons Offseason, Robinson, Buzelis, Prince
There’s still some unfinished business for the Pistons this offseason, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes in a subscriber-only story.
They could use a proven floor-spacer who can play power forward after trading Simone Fontecchio. Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland could attempt to fill that role behind starter Tobias Harris, but they’re undersized for that position.
The Pistons have a $14.3MM trade exception at their disposal, courtesy of their sign-and-trade transaction with Sacramento involving Dennis Schröder. They could use it in a variety of ways but don’t necessarily need to take advantage of it this offseason, since it doesn’t expire until next summer, Sankofa notes. They also must try to finalize rookie scale extensions with starters Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Acquired by the Pistons in a sign-and-trade with Miami, Duncan Robinson told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic that he works on the mental aspects of the game as much as his physical skills. “Having resilience has been, sort of, the calling card of who I aspire to be,” he said. “I’m a big believer in that, learning how to deal with setbacks and challenges is a skill as much as shooting or dribbling. And the skill is honed and acquired through repetition. The only way you can get better at dealing with it is having gone through it. So, that’s one area of my career where I feel like I’ve been very fortunate is that from a young age. … I was challenged early on, (asking myself), ‘Is this what you want to do? Is this what you want to be?’ And I always just kept coming back to, ‘Yeah, I mean, this is. I love basketball more than anything. It’s what I do, not necessarily who I am. But in terms of the game itself, it’s given me more than I ever could imagine.”
- During his second NBA season, Bulls forward Matas Buzelis will be tasked with initiating the offense and being a creator much more often than he was as a rookie, according to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. Buzelis got a taste of that during his two Summer League games, as plays were drawn up for him with that in mind. “Being a primary, secondary ball handler is like second nature to me,” he said. “I used to play (point guard) when I was younger, so it’s not really anything new to me. I think it’s just going to get better with time.”
- Forward Taurean Prince waived his implied no-trade clause in his two-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the Bucks, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. Prince signed the contract earlier this month. As Smith explains, Prince had an implied no-trade clause because the second year includes a player option and and he would lose his Early Bird rights if he’s traded and opts out.
New Laker Marcus Smart Has ‘Lot Left In The Tank’
Marcus Smart has only played 54 out of a possible 164 games since the Celtics traded him to Memphis two years ago. Smart, who signed a two-year, $11MM deal with the Lakers on Tuesday after reaching a buyout agreement with the Wizards, believes his injury woes are behind him.
“I still have a lot left in the tank,” Smart said during a Tuesday press conference, as relayed by The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
The Lakers used their bi-annual exception, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin confirms, to sign Smart for more than the veteran’s minimum. Smart calls the last two seasons of his career a “disappointment.”
“I’m very motivated,” Smart said. “The last two years for me was, in my eyes, a disappointment. Injuries kind of stopped me and held me back. But, like I told my wife and my family, everything happens for a reason. And it’s funny that 12 years ago, I could have been here and now it’s full circle and I’m here.”
The Celtics drafted him with the No. 6 overall pick in 2014, one spot before the Lakers — who worked out Smart — chose Julius Randle. Smart is energized by the opportunity to play for a team that he believes can win the championship next season.
“I think we stack right up there with the best of them,” Smart said. “And I think we can [compete]. Our ceiling is high. I think there’s no ceiling. I think if we all lock in and come and do what we’re supposed to do, we can have a real good shot at it.”
Luka Doncic was instrumental in convincing Smart to join the Lakers. Smart is expected to get steady minutes backing up Doncic and Austin Reaves.
“When you get a guy like Luka calling… checking on you, trying to see where you’re at, to see if you want to come join something special that he’s trying to cook up over here,” Smart said. “For him to say that he can really use my help, that meant a lot.”
The Lakers were in need of a perimeter defender and Smart, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, fits the bill.
“Just to be me,” Smart said of how he’ll impact the team. “Come in and do what I do and that’s [being] a tenacious defender, just bringing the intensity that I bring, my leadership, my basketball IQ, as well. But just being the pest that I’ve always been.”
Magic Waive Two-Way Player Ethan Thompson
The Magic have waived two-way player Ethan Thompson, the team’s PR department tweets.
Thompson signed a two-way deal with Orlando in February but never appeared in an NBA game. The 6’5” guard played 31 games with the Magic’s G League affiliate in Osceola, averaging 18.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.2 minutes per contest.
Thompson, 26, has made 127 G League outings in total, including 33 with the Mexico City Capitanes during the 2023/24 season. He went undrafted in 2021 out of Oregon State and had a couple of training camp deals with Chicago but was waived during camp both times. Thompson also signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic last year and was waived during training camp.
The Magic signed center Orlando Robinson to a two-way contract earlier this week. As a result of waiving Thompson, they now have two open two-way slots.
Northwest Notes: Shannon, A-Rod, Avdija, Hansen
Terrence Shannon Jr. was named to the All-Summer First Team on Tuesday. The Timberwolves guard stood out in Las Vegas and he’ll look to parlay that success in his second NBA season, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes.
Shannon could be as the main candidate to fill the void left by Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who averaged 25.3 minutes per game last season and signed with the Hawks as a free agent. Shannon will battle Jaylen Clark and Rob Dillingham for those minutes. A late first-round pick in 2024, the 24-year-old appeared in 32 regular season games as a rookie.
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- A conversation with Magic Johnson early in his pro baseball career inspired Alex Rodriguez to become an NBA owner after his retirement. Rodriguez and Marc Lore were unanimously approved as majority owners of the Timberwolves last month. “When I was 21 years old, Magic sat with me. I was supposed to have 30 minutes,” Rodriguez told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “And that 30 minutes went to about three and a half hours and nine pages of notes. I asked him a few years later, ‘Magic why did you give me three-plus hours?’ And he said, ‘Because you came in, you were focused, you were making eye contact and you were engaged. I saw your passion. I saw you writing all those notes.’ The main thing he said is, ‘When you do your thing, your obligation is to pass it down to the next generation of us.’”
- Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija is focused on playing for Israel in the upcoming EuroBasket tournament this summer, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net. “I am not currently thinking about the NBA. Playing for the national team of Israel is the most important honor for any player,” he said in a press conference, “Joining players I grew up with from the junior national teams is exciting. We have an amazing squad here, capable of great things. I will do everything possible to make this team successful.” Israel will face Iceland, Poland, France, Belgium, and Slovenia between Aug. 28-Sept. 4 in the preliminary round. “I am aiming for the top. I have always aimed for the top,” Avdija said.
- Suns draft pick Rasheer Fleming found out during a pre-draft workout with the Trail Blazers how skilled Yang Hansen was. Portland wound up using the No. 16 pick on the Chinese big man. “They’ve been saying he’s the next Jokic,” Fleming told Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (Substack link). “He’s so skilled. We got to see all of that in the workout. He was on my team. He threw me some dimes. He can really pass.”
Haliburton Unsure Why Achilles Tears Have Seemingly Increased
Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t have a theory about why he and other NBA players have suffered Achilles tendon tears. The Pacers star guard made his first public comments since suffering that injury in Game 7 of the Finals, which is expected to sideline him all of next season, during ESPN’s ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Tuesday.
“I think that there’s like a notion when guys get injured or when this has happened so many times that everybody thinks that they have the answer to why this is happening,” Haliburton said, per an ESPN story. “Everybody thinks we play too many games, we play too many minutes — all those things could be true, but I don’t think that is what’s causing these injuries.”
Haliburton was among three star players in the postseason and seven NBA players overall to go down with serious Achilles injuries during the 2024/25 season. Nuggets rookie DaRon Holmes also sustained an Achilles tear during Summer League last July.
“I don’t think that anybody has necessarily the answer,” Haliburton said. “I think injuries are just bad luck sometimes and that’s just what happened. I think that’s just what happens in sports sometimes.”
As it’s often described, Haliburton felt the sensation of someone kicking him in the back of the leg when the injury occurred and realized immediately what the diagnosis would be. Haliburton had been battling through a calf injury and was devastated that he couldn’t help his team win a championship in the decisive contest against the Thunder.
“I think I was just hurt that I wasn’t going to be out there,” Haliburton said, as relayed by Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “I think it was all those emotions coming at once, but I wasn’t thinking about next year or what’s led up to this. All I was thinking about was being in the moment of Game 7 and that happening definitely sucked.”
Haliburton underwent an MRI after Game 5, when the calf injury was constantly on his mind and he scored only four points. He was told by doctors if it were the regular season he would have had to sit out a few weeks. But since it was the Finals, he was determined to play. He was able to pass a calf stress test prior to Game 6.
“After Game 6, I’m like ‘it’s done, it’s gone, adrenaline is going to get to me, I’m going to be good,'” Haliburton said. “I go to Game 7, I feel nothing. I feel great going into the game. I think that’s why I had a great start to the game. My body felt great. Then obviously, that happens in the end.”
Haliburton is still in the early stages of his rehab. He’s using a scooter and keeping the leg mostly elevated, so he’s mainly been working on his upper body strength. He looks at next season as a time to heal while remaining a team leader and becoming a de facto assistant coach.
“I haven’t even thought about what the season will call for,” Haliburton said. “I probably won’t be traveling as much early in the year depending on what stage of rehab I’m in. But I still want to be around the guys as much as possible. I think I want to take this time to keep growing my mind for the game. Being around coach (Rick) Carlisle. Sit in on coaches meetings. (President of basketball operations) (Kevin) Pritchard, talking to those guys and helping. I feel like I have a pretty decent basketball mind myself. So I’m just trying to help the guys as best as I can. I’m going to be on the bench as soon as I can walk.”
You can access the video of the interview here.
Ricky Rubio Signs With Joventut Badalona
Ricky Rubio isn’t retiring after all. He has signed a contract with Spain’s Joventut Badalona, according to an announcement from the team.
Rubio ended his NBA career in January 2024 and returned to his home country of Spain, where he finished that season with Barcelona. He didn’t play for Barcelona this past season after taking a hiatus for mental health reasons.
Rubio indicated in June after posting a thank-you message on social media that he was still deciding whether to play again.
“Everything is open. I might play again – why not? – or I might not, and that wouldn’t be a bad idea either,” Rubio said. “It’s something I’d like to consider in the near future. For now, I just wanted to say thank you and also see how it affects me as a person, and if it gives me energy to move in one direction or another.”
Playing for Joventut Badalona represents a full circle move. Rubio started his pro career with the organization in 2005 and remained there until he signed with Barcelona in 2009.
Rubio was the fifth pick of the NBA draft in 2009 and came stateside two years later. He played for Minnesota, Utah, Phoenix and Cleveland over the course of 12 seasons, averaging 10.8 points and 7.4 assists in 698 career games.
Marcus Smart Officially Signs With Lakers
Marcus Smart has officially joined the Lakers. The team announced the signing of the veteran guard in a press release.
“Adding a player like Marcus Smart to our roster allows us to compete at the highest level,” Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said in the statement. “Marcus epitomizes what it means to prioritize winning above all else – whether that’s making huge plays on the defensive end or hitting critical shots in key moments of the most intense games. He knows and understands playoff winning and will be a key leadership voice in our group.
“Surrounding our stars with two-way players like Marcus is critical to our overall vision of how we want to play and win next season. This is an exciting player acquisition, for sure.”
Smart reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards over the weekend and was placed on waivers. At that time, it was reported that the combo guard had decided to join the Lakers. Smart’s new contract is worth roughly $10.5MM over two years and includes a player option for the second season.
Smart, who gave up $6.8MM of his $21.59MM salary as part of his buyout with Washington, could back up both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and will boost his new team with his leadership, ball-handling and defensive prowess.
Smart, 31, has battled health problems over the past two seasons. He was named Defensive Player of the Year with Boston in 2022, but his career took a downturn after a trade to Memphis in the summer of 2023. A wide swath of injuries limited him to 39 total games in a year and a half with the Grizzlies before he was sent to Washington in a three-team deal at this year’s trade deadline.
He appeared in 19 games with Memphis and 15 games with the Wizards last season, averaging 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 20 minutes per night with .393/.348/.761 shooting numbers.