Nuggets Sign Spencer Jones To Two-Way Contract
JULY 30: The Nuggets have officially signed Jones to a two-way contract, they confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 19: The Nuggets will fill their open two-way contract slot by signing undrafted rookie free agent Spencer Jones to a two-way deal, reports Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link).
A 6’7″ forward, Jones spent all five of his college seasons at Stanford from 2019-24, starting 139 of his 146 games during that time. As a super-senior last season, he averaged 11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals in 29.1 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .438/.409/.645.
Jones was a 39.7% three-point shooter on 5.4 attempts per contest across his five seasons with the Cardinal, setting a school record with 315 career made three-pointers. Denver likes his combination of size, skill, and shooting, according to Durando.
Jones was on the Trail Blazers’ Summer League roster in Las Vegas. He came off the bench in Portland’s first game last Saturday, but was ruled out for Monday’s contest due to an illness and hasn’t played since.
Denver filled its other two-way slots earlier this month by signing two other undrafted rookies, Trey Alexander and PJ Hall. Once they complete their reported signings of Jones, Russell Westbrook, and DeAndre Jordan, the Nuggets will have 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts and three on two-way deals, so they’ll essentially be set for the regular season.
A player who spends the entire 2024/25 season on a two-way deal will be eligible to appear in up to 50 NBA regular season games and will earn a salary of $578,577.
Hawks Sign Dominick Barlow To Two-Way Deal
4:41pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
2:18pm: The Hawks and free agent forward Dominick Barlow have agreed to terms on a two-way contract, agent Todd Ramasar tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Barlow, 21, spent most of the past two seasons on two-way contracts with the Spurs, earning a promotion to San Antonio’s standard roster in early March. The Spurs signed Barlow to a rest-of-season contract that expired this summer and then didn’t issue him a qualifying offer in June, so he became an unrestricted free agent.
Barlow appeared in 61 NBA games with the Spurs across his two seasons with the club, averaging 4.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 13.6 minutes per contest. The former Overtime Elite prospect impressed at the G League level, putting up 23.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 1.7 APG with a .569 FG% in 19 Showcase Cup and regular season games (33.2 MPG) for the Austin Spurs in 2023/24.
The Hawks previously signed Seth Lundy and Keaton Wallace to two-way deals, so Barlow will fill the lone remaining opening.
While there’s nothing to stop Atlanta from moving players in and out of those two-way slots up until (and beyond) the start of the regular season, for the time being there’s no room for second-round pick Nikola Djurisic, who underwent foot surgery last week.
Blazers’ Grant, Simons Still Candidates To Be Traded
The Trail Blazers made a handful of trades right around this year’s draft in June, including agreeing to acquire Deni Avdija from Washington in a deal that was eventually finalized in July. Portland hasn’t been active on the trade market since then, but Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian wouldn’t be shocked if the club makes one more big move later this summer or in the fall.
“I would be surprised if Jerami (Grant) or Anfernee Simons, if one of the two is not moved,” Fentress said during an appearance on Sactown Sports 1140 in Sacramento (YouTube link; hat tip to HoopsHype). “I was told that that’s definitely the goal, that one of the two would probably be gone before training camp. Both being gone? That might be different. They obviously have time. They can wait until the trade deadline and see if someone else will offer more.”
As Fentress explains, the Trail Blazers have made it clear that they view Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe as franchise building blocks in the backcourt, but Simons is probably better than both of them right now.
That could create problems this fall, Fentress suggests, since the Blazers will have to decide whether they want to start all three guards or if Simons will be in the lineup over one of those cornerstone players. If Simons isn’t in the starting five, he likely wouldn’t be thrilled with his situation, Fentress speculates.
As for Grant, there’s no real urgency for the Blazers to make a move there, since they don’t have a similar logjam at forward and the 30-year-old is under contract for at least three more seasons. But Fentress believes Grant would like to spend his remaining prime years with a team closer to contention rather than one going through a rebuild.
“I predict both of them will be gone by next summer,” Fentress said.
While Fentress didn’t mention the center position, that may be another spot where something has to give sooner or later. Portland selected Donovan Clingan in this year’s draft lottery, adding the rookie to a group of fives that already includes Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams. Williams has battled injuries and Clingan may not be ready to play a significant role right away, so the club may stick with all three big men in the short term, but it seems unlikely they’ll all be part of the Blazers’ long-term future.
Signed Second-Rounders To Count Against Cap As Of Wednesday
Between July 1 and July 30 of each NBA league year, a player signed using the second-round pick exception doesn’t count toward his team’s cap, but that changes as of July 31. Beginning on Wednesday, each of the second-rounders signed using that exception will begin carrying 2024/25 cap hits.
[RELATED: 2024 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
Twenty-eight of the NBA’s 30 teams are operating over the cap, so this change will really only affect two teams: Detroit and Utah.
The Pistons signed No. 37 overall pick Bobi Klintman on July 13 to a contract that will be worth $1,257,153 in 2024/25. His $1,257,153 salary hasn’t counted against Detroit’s cap up until today, but it will count starting on Wednesday. That means Detroit’s cap room will be reduced from $11,496,652 to $10,239,499.
The impact that change will have on the Pistons’ rest-of-summer plans is minimal, bordering on nonexistent. But it’s still worth noting since it slightly affects the kind of moves the team can make. For example, as of today, Detroit could accommodate a P.J. Tucker salary dump from the Clippers without sending back any salary. As of Wednesday, that wouldn’t be possible.
Interestingly, the Jazz have yet to sign No. 32 overall pick Kyle Filipowski, so their cap situation will remain unchanged on Wednesday. With reported deals for Drew Eubanks and Johnny Juzang still not official yet either, Utah could create up to about $35MM in space by renouncing various cap holds.
I expect the Jazz are waiting to resolve their Lauri Markkanen situation – either via trade or renegotiation-and-extension – before signing Filipowski and formally finalizing their other agreements. Trading Markkanen could mean taking on additional salary in a deal, while renegotiating his contract could require up to $24MM+ in cap room to bump his 2024/25 salary to the max.
Having resolution on Markkanen – which could happen in about a week when he becomes renegotiation-eligible – will give Utah’s front office a better sense of its cap situation going forward, allowing the team to move forward with its other business.
Jazz Rumors: Markkanen, Lineup, Collins, Clarkson
Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen will become eligible to renegotiate and extend his contract on August 6. Signing on that day would make him ineligible to be traded for six months, with the trade restriction lifting on the day of the 2025 trade deadline (February 6).
Making a Monday appearance on The Drive with Spence Checketts on ESPN 700 in Salt Lake City (audio link), Tony Jones of The Athletic explained why he’s not counting on an Aug. 6 announcement.
“I would expect him to sign on August 7th, or after August 6th,” Jones said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “Lauri doesn’t want to be traded, so if he signs the renegotiation and extension, which I expect him to do, I expect him to do it after August 6th so there’s no trade talk this year. I don’t even think him signing on August 6th is even that much of an option. We’re almost 100% trending towards him signing on August 7th.
“Lauri has really taken to Utah. His family has taken to Utah. Obviously the Jazz can trade him between now and August 6th, and Lauri knows that, but Lauri has forged a really close relationship with (head coach) Will Hardy. And Will Hardy has really found a way to unlock his career in a manner that hasn’t been accomplished before. Lauri really recognizes that, understands that, and appreciates that. He wants to be a part of the rebuild.”
Jones confirms that the Jazz explored making “win-now” transactions at the start of the offseason, including pursuing Mikal Bridges. After those moves didn’t come to fruition, the expectation was that Utah might pivot to a more full-fledged rebuild by trading Markkanen. But Jones says the Jazz believe the 27-year-old’s game will age well and that he should still be in his prime when the team is ready to contend again.
“The likely scenario is Lauri signs on August 7th, the Jazz prioritize the young guys during the season, and they try to enter the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes in the draft in 2025,” Jones said.
Here are a few more highlights from Jones’ ESPN 700 radio appearance:
- Later in his conversation with Checketts, Jones stressed that he doesn’t believe a Markkanen trade is likely to happen this offseason. Asked to rate the odds of a deal on a scale from one to 10, Jones said he’d “probably put it at a two” for the time being. “I think we’re trending toward the Jazz not trading Lauri,” he said. “I don’t think that there’s a package out there that they’re overly interested in.”
- Asked what it would look like for the Jazz to “prioritize the young guys” in 2024/25, Jones said he expects the team to start Walker Kessler over John Collins at center while also potentially starting Keyonte George at point guard and Taylor Hendricks at power forward (with Markkanen at the three). Jones added that he could see 2024 lottery pick Cody Williams playing double-digit minutes “from day one.”
- According to Jones, making sure the Jazz keep their top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick and end up in the top half of the lottery figures to be a priority for management. “I think that the front office is going to go into this with the mindset of, ‘We have to do anything we can to get a top-five pick in this draft,'” Jones said. “I believe that if the Jazz accomplish that, I think any of the top five picks in next year’s draft is a guy with franchise-level talent. … I think the Jazz realize how good this draft is. And I think they are going to act accordingly, whether they have Lauri on the roster or not.”
- Jones thinks the Jazz would have liked to move Collins and/or Jordan Clarkson this offseason, but acknowledges that both veterans will probably open the season on the roster since they haven’t generated real interest on the trade market. “You can’t trade people if there aren’t people who want to trade for them,” Jones said. “John makes a little bit too much money. I don’t anticipate the Jazz being able to trade him until the last year of his contract. Jordan Clarkson is the one that surprises me because I thought he’d have a lot more of a market this summer, but it just hasn’t materialized.”
Chimezie Metu Signs With Barcelona
After spending his first six professional seasons in the NBA, free agent big man Chimezie Metu will continue his career overseas, having signed a one-year contract with Barcelona, the Spanish club announced in a press release.
The 49th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Metu began his career with the Spurs before signing with the Kings in 2020. He emerged as a regular rotation player in Sacramento, starting 20 of his 60 games in 2021/22 and averaging 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game.
After spending two years in San Antonio and three in Sacramento, Metu inked a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Suns last summer. However, the 27-year-old played sparingly for the club, averaging 12.1 MPG in 37 appearances before being sent to Memphis in the three-team deadline deal that saw Royce O’Neale and David Roddy land in Phoenix.
Metu, who was immediately waived by Memphis, signed a 10-day contract with the Pistons in March, then agreed to a two-year deal with the club when that contract expired. The former USC star appeared in 14 games for Detroit down the stretch, averaging 10.5 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 29.4 MPG, but the Pistons declined their minimum-salary team option on him for 2024/25, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Metu will join a Barcelona team that posted a 23-11 record in Spanish League (ACB) play and a 22-12 mark in EuroLeague play in 2023/24. Barca lost to eventual champion Real Madrid in the ACB postseason and was denied a spot in the EuroLeague Final Four by Olympiacos.
Sixers Sign Reggie Jackson
The Sixers have officially signed veteran guard Reggie Jackson, the team announced today in a press release. He received a one-year contract, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The move had been anticipated since last Tuesday, when word broke that Jackson would be cut by the Hornets and that he intended to join the 76ers after clearing waivers. The 34-year-old gave up approximately $3.3MM in a buyout agreement with Charlotte, which is the amount he’ll earn on his new minimum-salary deal with Philadelphia.
“Reggie is a playoff-tested veteran who brings leadership and experience to our backcourt,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “He’s been a dynamic offensive player throughout his 13 seasons in the league.”
Jackson spent the 2023/24 season in Denver, backing up Jamal Murray at the point. He averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game, posting a .431/.359/.806 shooting line in 82 outings (23 starts).
Jackson exercised a $5.25MM player option in June, but the Nuggets wanted to go in a different direction with their backup point guard spot and traded the 34-year-old to Charlotte along with multiple second-round picks in a salary-dump deal. Denver signed Russell Westbrook to fill the backcourt hole created by that trade. The Hornets, meanwhile, made that deal with Denver in order to acquire those future second-rounders rather than Jackson, who wasn’t in their plans for 2024/25.
Now that their addition of Jackson is official, the Sixers have 13 players on standard contracts — 12 are on fully guaranteed deals, while Ricky Council‘s salary is non-guaranteed. Philadelphia figures to add at least one more player on a standard contract at some point between now and opening night, though it remains to be seen if the team will fill both 15-man roster openings.
Jackson will provide additional depth in a Sixers backcourt that features rising star Tyrese Maxey, veterans Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon, and rookie Jared McCain.
NBA Players Who Can Veto Trades In 2024/25
No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, since a player must meet a specific set of criteria in order to qualify for one. And even those players who become eligible may not have the leverage to demand a no-trade clause, which significantly limits a team’s flexibility in future trade negotiations.
To be eligible to negotiate a no-trade clause, a player must have at least eight years of NBA experience and has to have spent at least four years (not necessarily the most recent four years) with his current team. He also must be signing a free agent contract, rather than an extension.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: No-Trade Clause]
For the first time in seven seasons, multiple players will have no-trade clauses in their contracts during the 2024/25 league year. In addition to Bradley Beal, who got his no-trade clause when he signed his current contract in 2022, LeBron James negotiated a no-trade clause into his new deal with the Lakers.
The last time more than one player had an actual no-trade clause in his contract was in ’17/18, when three players – James (as a Cavalier), Dirk Nowitzki, and Carmelo Anthony – had them.
Although Beal and James are the only players who have explicit no-trade clauses in their current deals, there are several others who will have implicit no-trade clauses in 2024/25, giving them the ability to veto trades during the current league year.
A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with an option year – is given no-trade protection, unless he agrees to give up that protection when he inks his deal. That group doesn’t include players on two-way contracts, but it does include players who accept standard (non two-way) one-year qualifying offers.
A player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team also has the ability to veto a trade for a full calendar year.
With those criteria in mind, here are the players who must give their consent if their teams want to trade them during the ’24/25 league year:
Players with a no-trade clause:
- Bradley Beal (Suns)
- LeBron James (Lakers)
Players whose offer sheets were matched:
- None
Players re-signing for one year (or two years, with a second-year player/team option):
Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on non-guaranteed contracts.
- Bol Bol (Suns)
- Vlatko Cancar (Nuggets)
- Seth Curry (Hornets)
- Luka Garza (Timberwolves)
- James Harden (Clippers)
- James Johnson (Pacers) *
- DeAndre Jordan (Nuggets)
- Luke Kennard (Grizzlies)
- Luke Kornet (Celtics)
- Damion Lee (Suns)
- Kyle Lowry (Sixers)
- Trendon Watford (Nets)
If any player who re-signed for one year approves a trade during the 2024/25 league year, he’ll have Non-Bird rights at season’s end instead of Early Bird or full Bird rights.
Any player who approves a trade will retain his veto ability on his new team, and would have to consent to any subsequent deal during the 2024/25 season.
The following players were re-signed to one-year contracts (or two-year deals with an option year), but have agreed to forfeit their right to veto a trade in 2024/25:
- Precious Achiuwa (Knicks)
- Charles Bassey (Spurs)
- Thomas Bryant (Heat)
- Gary Harris (Magic)
- Aaron Holiday (Rockets)
- Keon Johnson (Nets) *
- Alex Len (Kings)
- Sandro Mamukelashvili (Spurs)
- Markieff Morris (Mavericks) *
- Kelly Oubre (Sixers)
- Garrett Temple (Raptors)
- Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers) *
- Moritz Wagner (Magic)
Giving up the right to veto a trade was introduced as an option in the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Matthew Hurt Signs With Australian Team
Free agent forward Matthew Hurt, who appeared in eight games last season with the Grizzlies, has signed a one-year contract with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of Australia’s National Basketball League, sources tell Olgun Uluc of ESPN (Twitter link).
Hurt, 24, went undrafted in 2021 after playing his college ball at Duke and has played almost exclusively for the Memphis Hustle in the G League since then. In 2023/24, the 6’9″ forward averaged 19.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 32.6 minutes per game across 28 NBAGL outings for Memphis’ G League team, posting an excellent shooting line of .507/.400/.786.
Hurt’s strong play for the Hustle earned him a pair of 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies in January and February. He saw a little playing time for the injury-plagued club, but struggled to make an impact at the NBA level, recording 4.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 14.1 MPG on .353/.250/1.000 shooting. The Grizzlies didn’t re-sign him after his second 10-day contract expired in March.
Hurt is the third former NBA player who has joined the Phoenix since the 2024 offseason began. The club also added guard Derrick Walton, who played for the Heat, Clippers, and Pistons from 2017-22, and former Spurs and Raptors forward Joe Wieskamp.
Tyus Jones Signs With Suns
JULY 29: Jones’ deal with the Suns is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
JULY 27: Free agent point guard Tyus Jones has agreed to sign with the Suns, agent Kevin Bradbury tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, Jones will sign a one-year, minimum-salary contract.
Jones confirmed his decision in a statement to ESPN, as Wojnarowski relays (via Twitter).
“The chance to play for the Phoenix Suns made the most sense on a lot of levels to me and my family – beginning with the way (Suns owner) Mat Ishbia and the front office recruited me to how coach (Mike Budenholzer) showed me how I can significantly impact a team that has a real opportunity to challenge for an NBA title as their starting point guard,” Jones said.
“My agent (Bradbury) walked me and my family through multiple free agent offers and sign-and-trade proposals at a number of different financial levels but the Suns’ opportunity is where I can best maximize my value for a return to free agency next year as well as give myself a chance to be part of what I think will be a special team and season.”
A nine-year veteran, Jones was long considered one of the NBA’s top backup point guards while playing in Minnesota and Memphis. He got the chance with the Wizards in 2023/24 to become a full-time starter and made good on that opportunity by establishing new career highs in field goal percentage (48.9%), three-point percentage (41.4%), points per game (12.0), and assists per game (7.3) while continuing to take excellent care of the ball (he has never averaged more than 1.0 turnover per game).
We ranked Jones 15th overall on our list of top 50 free agents entering the offseason, but it quickly became clear that there wouldn’t be an opportunity for him to be the starting point guard on a contending team while earning a salary in the neighborhood of the $14MM he made last year in D.C.
Jones’ statement to Wojnarowski, which mentions that he expects to start in Phoenix, suggests that he’ll at least meet two of those three criteria. While he’s accepting a major pay cut, he’s in position to play a significant role on a team that has championship aspirations.
[RELATED: Tyus Jones Expected To Start At Point Guard For Suns]
The Suns’ three stars – Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal – are all relatively ball-dominant, but none of them are true point guards, so the team entered the offseason seeking a veteran who could organize the offense. Prior to signing Jones, Phoenix – which could only offer minimum-salary contracts while operating above the second tax apron – also added point guard Monte Morris on a one-year deal.
Jones will earn $3,003,427 on his minimum-salary contract, while the Suns will carry a cap hit of $2,087,519. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who confirmed earlier today that the Suns were eyeing Jones, tweets that the 28-year-old chose Phoenix over the Hawks and Grizzlies.
The expectation is that, after trading David Roddy for E.J. Liddell, the Suns will waive Liddell in order to create room on the projected 15-man roster for Jones. As Bobby Marks of ESPN points out (via Twitter), Phoenix is saving about $727K in the Roddy/Liddell swap and would remove another $1.41MM from its cap if Liddell is waived using the stretch provision.
Those two moves would essentially cancel out the impact of Jones’ deal on the Suns’ 2024/25 cap, providing crucial savings for a team whose salary is so far over the luxury tax line.