Lakers Rumors: THT, Westbrook, Reaves, Nunn, Carmelo
Before the Lakers traded Talen Horton-Tucker to the Jazz in the Patrick Beverley deal, the Pacers expressed interest in the 21-year-old wing, Michael Scotto said in the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast.
As Scotto explains, the Pacers were interested in pursuing a deal that sent Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, and Daniel Theis to the Lakers in exchange for Russell Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and Los Angeles’ 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. However, L.A. has been reluctant to include both of those first-rounders in any deal not involving Kyrie Irving, and wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about swapping Horton-Tucker for Theis.
Although Horton-Tucker is off the table, Indiana remains one of the two most likely landing spots for Westbrook, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who says a deal involving the Pacers and Westbrook could involve just one of Hield or Turner — the Pacers still have $30MM+ in cap room and could take on Westbrook’s $47MM+ expiring contract without sending out both players. Still, Buha believes that Utah is a more viable destination for Westbrook than Indiana.
Here’s more on the Lakers from the HoopsHype podcast:
- Scotto has gotten the impression that Austin Reaves and the Lakers have mutual interest in continuing their relationship beyond the 2022/23 season. Reaves will be a restricted free agent next summer and will be seeking a pay bump on his minimum-salary contract.
- While Kendrick Nunn has been around the Lakers’ facility and has been working out, his ramp-up process has been slowed than anticipated, according to Buha. Nunn said a month ago that he feels 100% healthy, but the acquisition of Beverley gives the team some extra insurance at point guard.
- A reunion between Carmelo Anthony and the Lakers remains possible, in Buha’s view, but he believes the veteran forward is more likely to land elsewhere. L.A. still needs more shooting, which Anthony could provide, but also wants to continue to upgrade its perimeter defense, which isn’t one of Carmelo’s strengths.
Knicks Agree To Extend RJ Barrett, Complicating Donovan Mitchell Talks
The Knicks and forward RJ Barrett are finalizing a four-year rookie scale contract extension that could be worth up to $120MM, agent Bill Duffy tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The exact base value of Barrett’s new deal isn’t yet known, but Ian Begley of SNY.tv reports (via Twitter) that there are bonuses tied to All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive selections. In other words, it sounds like the former No. 3 overall pick would have to play at a very high level to earn the full $120MM.
A former star at Duke, Barrett has steadily increased his scoring average in his three NBA seasons with the Knicks, registering a career-high 20.0 PPG in 70 games (34.5 MPG) in 2021/22. He also contributed 5.8 RPG and 3.0 APG while shooting .408/.342/.714 last season. Those shooting marks were a step down from his career bests in ’20/21 (.441/.401/.746).
According to Wojnarowski, the Barrett extension will complicate the Knicks’ discussions with the Jazz about a potential Donovan Mitchell trade. Sources tell ESPN that those talks intensified over the weekend as the two teams made some progress, but there was still a gap between what each side was willing to do.
Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose set a Monday night deadline to either agree to a deal for Mitchell or commit to an extension for Barrett, per Wojnarowski, who notes that the “poison pill provision” will now almost certainly ensure that the former Blue Devil won’t be part of a package for Mitchell.
As we outline in our glossary entry, a player who signs a rookie scale extension but remains on his rookie contract has different outgoing and incoming salary-matching figures, which is referred to as a “poison pill” — in Barrett’s case, the gap between his outgoing and incoming figures will exceed $15MM, according to Wojnarowski. That would make it extremely challenging for both the Knicks and Jazz to send out and take back a legal amount of salary if Barrett is part of a package for Mitchell.
As Wojnarowski explains, Barrett was a “staple” in several of the proposals for Mitchell that the Jazz and Knicks discussed, with Utah highly valuing the 22-year-old. While New York had apparently been willing to include Barrett, the two teams were still at an impasse over the possible inclusion of Quentin Grimes and the number of unprotected first-round picks in the package, per ESPN.
It remains possible that the Knicks and Jazz will agree to a deal that doesn’t include Barrett, but that would require the Knicks to give up “far more” draft assets than they’ve been willing to surrender thus far, sources tell Wojnarowski.
For now, the two teams are backing off those trade talks, but the Jazz aren’t engaged in serious discussions with any other suitors about Mitchell, so neither they nor the Knicks have ruled out the possibility of resuming their talks before training camps begin in four weeks.
As Wojnarowski notes, Barrett’s extension will end an ignominious streak for the Knicks, as he’ll become the team’s first first-round pick since Charlie Ward in 1999 to sign a multiyear contract extension following his rookie deal.
Barrett will also become the fifth player to finalize a rookie scale extension this offseason. While his deal won’t be worth as much as the maximum-salary extensions signed by Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, and Darius Garland, it will exceed Keldon Johnson‘s four-year, $74MM contract.
Assuming Barrett’s new extension doesn’t include any options, it will keep him under team control through the 2026/27 season.
Contract Details: Koloko, Caboclo, Silva, Tillman, Watanabe, Spurs
As initially reported by Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca, the Raptors used exactly $1.5MM of their mid-level exception to sign rookie big man Christian Koloko to a three-year contract on Friday. With the second and third years worth the minimum, Koloko’s deal has a total three-year value of $5,239,563.
The first two years of that contract are fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned, with the third year non-guaranteed. Koloko’s salary for 2024/25 would become fully guaranteed if he hasn’t been waived within 48 hours of the 2024 NBA draft.
Here are a few more details on newly-signed contracts from around the NBA:
- The new one-year, non-guaranteed contracts for Bruno Caboclo (Celtics), Chris Silva (Hawks), and Justin Tillman (Nuggets) all include Exhibit 10 language. Silva’s and Tillman’s deals could be converted into two-way contracts, but Caboclo’s can’t, since he has too many years of NBA service to be two-way eligible.
- Yuta Watanabe‘s one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Nets includes an Exhibit 9 clause, but not an Exhibit 10. That essentially means that Watanabe is only in the mix to compete for a regular season roster spot and probably won’t be joining Brooklyn’s G League affiliate if he’s cut (he’s ineligible for a two-way deal).
- Alize Johnson‘s non-guaranteed contract with the Spurs is an Exhibit 9, but not an Exhibit 10. Tommy Kuhse‘s deal is an Exhibit 10, so he could have it converted into a two-way deal or could become an affiliate player for the Austin Spurs.
Super-Max Candidates To Watch In 2022/23
The Designated Veteran extension, as we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, is a relatively new addition to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. It allows players with seven, eight, or nine years of NBA service, who would normally be eligible for a maximum starting salary of 30% of the cap, to qualify for a “super-max” contract that starts at 35% of the cap, a level normally reserved players with 10+ years of experience.
A player who has seven or eight years of NBA service with one or two years left on his contract becomes eligible for a Designated Veteran extension if he meets the required performance criteria and hasn’t been traded since his first four years in the league. A Designated Veteran contract can also be signed by a player who is technically a free agent if he has eight or nine years of service and meets the required criteria.
The performance criteria is as follows (only one of the following must be true):
- The player was named to an All-NBA team and/or was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
- The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.
Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker, and Karl-Anthony Towns have all signed super-max extensions this offseason. Jokic qualified for his Designated Veteran extension when he earned his first MVP award in 2021, while Booker and Towns became eligible when they made All-NBA teams in 2022.
There aren’t as many obvious candidates to meet the Designated Veteran criteria in 2022/23, but there are still a handful of players worth keeping an eye on. Here’s a look at some super-max candidates to watch during the ’22/23 season:
Jaylen Brown / Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Brown has never made an All-NBA team, but he was an All-Star in 2021 and received All-NBA votes in 2022, so he could very well be in the mix in 2023.
Brown’s situation is an interesting one — he’s unlikely to sign a standard contract extension before reaching free agency because the maximum raise (20%) on his 2023/24 salary ($30,723,214) would fall well short of his projected maximum salary for the 2024/25 season as a free agent.
Meeting the super-max criteria would change that equation, making Brown eligible for a far more substantial raise on a DVE. But would the Celtics be willing to commit to a five-year super-max contract for their second-best player? The NBA hasn’t issued a cap projection for ’24/25 yet, but if we assume a $143MM cap (a $10MM bump on the projected $133MM cap for ’23/24), a five-year DVE that begins in 2024 would be worth $290MM+.
Tatum, meanwhile, made the All-NBA First Team in 2022, putting him in a very good position to maximize his earnings.
Because he’ll only have six years of NBA service under his belt at the end of the 2022/23 season, Tatum won’t have enough experience to sign a super-max extension next offseason. But if he makes another All-NBA team, he will have met the performance criteria, having earned All-NBA honors in two of the three years before he gains the necessary service time for a DVE.
That’s what happened with Jokic — he met the performance criteria in 2021, but couldn’t sign his super-max extension until he met the service time criteria in 2022. Another strong season from Tatum could put the Celtics forward in the same boat.
Pascal Siakam / Fred VanVleet (Raptors)
Siakam and VanVleet aren’t among the NBA’s top tier of superstars, but they’re certainly in the second or third tier. Siakam has actually already earned two All-NBA nods, making the Second Team in 2020 and the Third Team in 2022, while VanVleet made his first All-Star team earlier this year. An All-NBA spot for either of them in 2023 would make them super-max eligible next offseason.
Of course, even if one or the other qualifies for a DVE, I’m somewhat skeptical that the Raptors would offer Siakam or VanVleet a full super-max deal. Those contracts are typically reserved for franchise players, and Scottie Barnes may be on track to become that guy in Toronto.
It still makes sense for Siakam and VanVleet to wait to see if they become super-max eligible before they sign extensions. Meeting the performance criteria would give them a ton of extra leverage when they negotiate their next contracts, even if the Raptors aren’t willing to go the DVE route.
Both Siakam and VanVleet have two years left on their respective contracts, though VanVleet could reach unrestricted free agency in 2023, since his final year is a player option.
Brandon Ingram (Pelicans)
An All-Star in 2020, Ingram would need to take another big step forward to become a legitimate All-NBA candidate. And that won’t be easy if Zion Williamson‘s return and a full season of CJ McCollum cut into his scoring numbers.
As is the case with the Raptors and Siakam/VanVleet and the Celtics and Brown, it’s also unclear whether the Pelicans would be eager to put a super-max offer on the table for Ingram even if he qualifies, since he may not be the player the team is building around.
Still, Ingram – who has averaged at least 22.7 points per game in each of the last three seasons – is worth mentioning because he’d be eligible for a four-year super-max contract extension that begins in 2025/26 if he were to make an All-NBA team in 2023.
The rookie scale extension recipients
Ja Morant, Darius Garland, and Zion Williamson have all signed five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extensions this offseason that project to start at 25% of the 2023/24 cap. Based on an estimated $133MM cap, those deals would be worth $192.85MM.
However, all three extensions include Rose Rule language. This is another form of the super-max — unlike the Designated Veteran contracts, which start at 35% of the cap instead of 30%, a player who meets the Rose Rule criteria receives a starting salary worth 30% of the cap rather than 25%.
The performance criteria for a Rose Rule salary increase are essentially the exact same as for a Designated Veteran bump, but must be achieved by the end of the player’s four-year rookie contract. That means Morant, Garland, and Williamson would have to make the All-NBA team in 2023 in order to increase the projected value of their respective extensions to $231.42MM over five years — an All-NBA berth in 2024 or 2025 would be too late.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) writes, while Morant and Garland will earn the Rose Rule bump if they make any of the three All-NBA teams, it’s unclear if that’s the case for Zion as well or if he needs to make the First Team to qualify for the 30% max.
Of these three players, Morant – who was an All-NBA Second Teamer in 2022 – is the best bet to be part of that group of 15 again next season.
The rest
While there are other veteran players who could technically qualify for the super-max this season, none are particularly compelling candidates. Jamal Murray would meet the performance criteria with an All-NBA nod, but that’s a lot to expect from the Nuggets guard, who missed the entire 2021/22 season due to a torn ACL.
Pacers big man Myles Turner is an intriguing dark horse candidate, since he’s capable of entering the Defensive Player of the Year discussion, and winning that award would make him super-max eligible. But the odds of him staying with the Pacers all season, earning DPOY honors, and then signing a super-max deal with Indiana as a free agent are… slim, to say the least.
Ben Simmons, Dejounte Murray, and Domantas Sabonis are among the players who can no longer qualify for a DVE because they’ve been traded while on their second contracts. Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo are among those who don’t have enough service time under their belts yet and would need to earn an All-NBA spot in 2024 to qualify — and again, that would hinge on them remaining with their current teams, which appears increasingly unlikely for Mitchell.
Raptors Waive Svi Mykhailiuk
1:00pm: The Raptors have officially waived Mykhailiuk, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
11:06am: The Raptors are waiving Svi Mykhailiuk, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says the veteran shooting guard will seek a “fresh start” with a new club.
Currently suiting up for Ukraine’s national team, Mykhailiuk spent the 2021/22 season with the Raptors after signing a two-year, minimum-salary deal with the team last almost exactly one year ago.
The 25-year-old, who previously spent time with the Lakers, Pistons, and Thunder, played a modest role in Toronto, averaging 4.6 PPG and 1.6 RPG on .389/.306/.865 shooting in 56 regular season appearances (12.8 MPG).
Following his down year, Mykhailiuk exercised his player option for 2022/23, but his spot on the Raptors’ roster for the coming season always appeared tenuous. Toronto has a number of viable candidates for back-end spots on its 15-man regular season squad and has enough breathing room below the luxury tax line to eat Mykhailiuk’s $1,878,720 guaranteed salary and carry another player without becoming a taxpayer.
Once Mykhailiuk is officially waived, the Raptors will have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Dalano Banton, D.J. Wilson, and Justin Champagnie also vying for roster spots on partially guaranteed deals.
Additionally, Toronto still has two-way qualifying offers out to David Johnson and Jalen Harris, despite having filled its two-way slots with Jeff Dowtin and Ron Harper Jr. — it remains possible that Johnson and/or Harris will factor into the 15-man roster competition. Gabe Brown is also in the picture, but he’s on an Exhibit 10 contract and would probably need to have a huge preseason to earn real consideration for a regular season roster spot.
If the Raptors officially cut Mykhailiuk this afternoon, he’ll clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, assuming he goes unclaimed.
Pre-Camp Roster Snapshot: Central Division
Hoops Rumors is in the process of taking a closer look at each NBA team’s current roster situation, evaluating which clubs still have some moves to make and which ones seem most prepared for training camp to begin.
This series is meant to provide a snapshot of each team’s roster at this time, so these articles won’t be updated in the coming weeks as more signings, trades, and cuts are made. You can follow our roster counts page to keep tabs on teams’ open spots as opening night nears.
We’re continuing our pre-camp Roster Snapshot series today with the Central Division. Let’s dive in…
Chicago Bulls
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 15
- Players on Exhibit 10 contracts: 2
- Players on two-way contracts: 1
- Restricted free agents: 1
- Malcolm Hill (two-way)
The roster situation in Chicago looks pretty straightforward. The 15 players on guaranteed contracts are all good bets to open the season on the 15-man roster, and Hill is probably the frontrunner to fill the second two-way spot.
Barring a surprise, the main lingering question is whether the Bulls will remain committed to having Lewis fill one of their two-way slots after he suffered an ACL injury.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 13
- Players on non-guaranteed standard contracts: 2
- Players on two-way contracts: 2
- Restricted free agents: 1
Sexton’s restricted free agency is the only major issue the Cavaliers have yet to resolve. They reportedly have a three-year, $40MM offer out to Sexton, who is seeking a larger payday — the Cavs seem unlikely to increase that offer, since they’re only about $13MM below the luxury tax line and are committed to staying out of tax territory.
If Sexton returns, either on that three-year offer or on his qualifying offer, the Cavs will have 16 players on standard contracts and could trade or release a player with a guaranteed salary in order to carry both Stevens and Wade. Osman and Windler are among the candidates to be the odd man out in that scenario.
Detroit Pistons
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 17
- Players on two-way contracts: 2
- Players who have reportedly reached contract agreements: 2
- Micah Potter (Exhibit 10), Stanley Umude (Exhibit 10)
The Pistons have to trade or waive two players on guaranteed contracts before opening night. Walker is the most obvious candidate to be one of them — a report nearly two months ago indicated he and the team were close to finalizing a buyout agreement, but Detroit may be hanging onto him to see if his expiring contract can be used in a trade.
Lee and McGruder are among the candidates to be the other roster casualty, with Lee perhaps more at risk — it would be an unusual move for the Pistons to sign McGruder to a fully guaranteed contract in free agency only to release him a couple months later.
Indiana Pacers
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 13
- Players on non-guaranteed standard contracts: 1
- Players on Exhibit 10 contracts: 1
- Unsigned draft picks: 1
- Kendall Brown (No. 48)
- Players who have reportedly reached contract agreements: 4
- Eli Brooks (Exhibit 10), Tevin Brown (Exhibit 10), Jermaine Samuels (Exhibit 10), Fanbo Zeng (Exhibit 10)
After having their offer sheet for Deandre Ayton matched, the Pacers have a ton of cap room available and continue to explore various ways to use it. There’s also still a possibility Indiana will make a trade involving Hield and/or Turner, so the roster is far from set.
If no trades are forthcoming, the Pacers would have three roster spots to fill — one on their projected 15-man squad, along with a pair of two-way deals. Brown – one of this year’s last remaining unsigned draftees – seems more likely to end up on a two-way contract than a standard deal, but Indiana could go either way with him, depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 14
- Players on non-guaranteed standard contracts: 1
- Players on Exhibit 10 contracts: 1
- Players on two-way contracts: 2
- Restricted free agents: 1
- Players who have reportedly reached contract agreements: 1
- Iverson Molinar (TBD)
If a rival suitor were interested in making a serious play for Nwora, it probably would’ve happened by now, so a return to Milwaukee is the likeliest outcome for his restricted free agency. If he re-signs, he’d fill the final open spot on the Bucks’ 15-man roster — and with both two-way slots filled, the team’s roster would look pretty set.
NBA Free Agents Who Have Joined International Teams
With a new crop of rookies entering the NBA this fall, there won’t be enough room for all of the free agents who finished the 2021/22 season on NBA teams to find new jobs in the league.
Some of those players who are left on the outside looking in will retire. Many others will find work around the world, in one of the many professional basketball leagues in Europe, Asia, Australia, or South America.
As our free agent tracker shows, there have been 15 players so far who were on an NBA roster when the season ended in April and have since joined an international team.
That list of 15 doesn’t include players like Semi Ojeleye or James Ennis, who played in the NBA in 2021/22 but weren’t under contract with a team at the end of the season. We’ve been keeping tabs on many of those players and their new teams throughout the offseason, but the players listed below were all NBA free agents this spring.
Here are the details on where those players are headed:
Australia
- Melbourne United: Rayjon Tucker, Bucks (story)
China
- Zhejiang Golden Bulls: Moses Wright, Mavericks (story)
France
Germany
- Bayern Munich: Isaac Bonga, Raptors (story)
- Bayern Munich: Cassius Winston, Wizards (story)
Greece
- Panathinaikos: Georgios Kalaitzakis, Thunder (story)
- Promitheas Patras: Arnoldas Kulboka, Hornets (story)
Italy
- Virtus Bologna: Gabriel Lundberg, Suns (story)
Lithuania
- Zalgiris Kaunas: Ignas Brazdeikis, Magic (story)
Philippines
- Bay Area Dragons: Myles Powell, Sixers (story)
- Note: The Dragons normally play in Hong Kong, but are temporarily based in Manila in the Philippines due to COVID-19 restrictions in Hong Kong.
Spain
- Barcelona: Tomas Satoransky, Wizards (story)
- Baskonia: Markus Howard, Nuggets (story)
- Valencia: Jared Harper, Pelicans (story)
Turkey
- Fenerbahce: Nemanja Bjelica, Warriors (story)
- Fenerbahce: Carsen Edwards, Pistons (story)
With dozens of veterans still unsigned just four weeks before NBA training camps begin, it’s a safe bet that we’ll be adding a few more names to the above list before the season tips off in October.
Lakers Notes: Westbrook, THT, Beverley, Schröder
It remains very possible that the Lakers move Russell Westbrook in a trade before the 2022/23 season begins, but if Rob Pelinka and his front office can’t find a deal they like, new head coach Darvin Ham is determined to “carve out a real role” for Westbrook, Marc Stein writes at Substack.
Sources tell Stein that the Lakers have thus far resisted the idea of taking the John Wall route with Westbrook and having him sit at home while he remains under contract with the team. The Rockets took that approach with Wall last season and spent the season exploring the trade market before eventually reaching a buyout agreement with the veteran point guard this summer, when he had one year left on his contract. Westbrook is entering the final year of his own deal.
As Stein observes, there were indications on social media last week that the Lakers are prepared to incorporate Westbrook if he’s not traded in the coming weeks. LeBron James tweeted that he expects his teammate to “go off” this season, and the Lakers’ official Twitter account included Westbrook in a series of videos and photos of players’ offseason workouts.
Here’s more from Stein on the Lakers:
- League sources tell Stein that the Lakers initially resisted the idea of trading Talen Horton-Tucker for Patrick Beverley when they started to discuss a potential deal with the Jazz in July, since L.A. wants to get younger and more athletic this season. However, after LeBron signed an extension, the club seemed more willing to shift into win-now mode, Stein writes, which made Beverley a better fit than Horton-Tucker.
- Stein, who first reported last Tuesday that the Lakers were giving “legit consideration” to the idea of signing Dennis Schröder, says it’s unclear whether the acquisition of Beverley eliminates Schröder as a possibility. The team has a good deal of depth at point guard for the time being, with Westbrook, Beverley, and Kendrick Nunn all in the mix, but if Westbrook is traded, that might re-open the door for Schröder.
- In case you missed it, we outlined on Friday why it will be challenging for the Lakers to include meaningful protections on their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks if they trade them.
Markieff Morris, Nets In Advanced Discussions
The Nets are engaged in “advanced” discussions with free agent forward Markieff Morris, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Morris, who will turn 33 this Friday, was limited to just 17 appearances last season in Miami due to a neck injury that sidelined him for much of the year, but he has a strong overall NBA résumé, having appeared in over 700 regular season games for six teams since entering the league in 2011.
In his last full season, Morris averaged 6.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 61 games (19.7 MPG) for the Lakers in 2020/21. He’s known for his toughness and defensive versatility, and can also stretch the floor a little on offense — he has posted a .341 career 3PT%.
Brooklyn’s interest in Morris was reported last week, with a subsequent report from Stein indicating that the division rival Sixers also had an eye on the veteran forward.
Morris’ last couple contracts have been minimum-salary deals and he seems unlikely to earn a raise after losing most of the 2021/22 season to an injury. As such, he and the Nets could be discussing whether the team’s offer would be fully guaranteed and/or what sort of role he might play in Brooklyn.
The Nets currently have 12 players on fully guaranteed standard contracts, with Edmond Sumner on a partially guaranteed deal and Yuta Watanabe on a non-guaranteed pact.
Spurs Sign Tommy Kuhse
AUGUST 26: The deal for Kuhse is now official, the Spurs have revealed in a press release.
AUGUST 25: The Spurs have agreed to sign free agent guard Tommy Kuhse, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).
Kuhse, 24, spent his five-year college career at Saint Mary’s, averaging 12.2 PPG, 3.7 APG, and 3.7 RPG on .494/.450/.808 shooting in 34 games (30.0 MPG) as a “super-senior” in 2021/22. He helped lead the team to a blowout victory over Indiana in the first round of this year’s NCAA tournament by racking up 19 points and six assists.
After going undrafted in June, Kuhse joined the Magic for the Las Vegas Summer League last month and performed admirably in his three appearances, averaging 17.3 PPG on .583/.400/1.000 shooting in just 23.2 minutes per contest.
Terms of Kuhse’s deal weren’t disclosed, but given the crowded state of the Spurs’ roster and the fact that he’s an undrafted rookie, the contract seems likely to be non-guaranteed. If it includes Exhibit 10 language, it would create a path for Kuhse to be converted to a two-way deal or to earn a bonus worth up to $50K if he becomes an affiliate player for the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League team.
The Spurs currently have 18 players officially under contract, including 14 on guaranteed salaries. Keita Bates-Diop and Tre Jones are on standard deals that aren’t fully guaranteed, while Dominick Barlow and Jordan Hall are the team’s two-way players. San Antonio has also reportedly reached deals with Alize Johnson and Kyler Edwards.