DeJon Jarreau

DeJon Jarreau Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Grizzlies

MARCH 20: The Grizzlies have officially re-signed Jarreau, the team’s PR department tweets.


MARCH 19: Shooting guard DeJon Jarreau will sign a second 10-day hardship contract with the Grizzlies, sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Jarreau made a quick impact on an injury-riddled Memphis club upon being promoted from the Grizzlies’ NBAGL affiliate, the Memphis Hustle. He averaged 5.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 3.4 APG across the five contests he played while on his initial 10-day deal with the team, posting a shooting line of .333/.375/.667.

Jarreau’s first 10-day contract will expire on Tuesday night, but the Grizzlies won’t let him hit the free agent market yet, keeping him around for at least 10 more days. A rest-of-season deal to keep him in Memphis beyond that is unlikely, since the team has a full 15-man standard roster.

The Grizzlies qualify for a hardship exception because they have at least four players who have been out for three or more games and project to miss at least two more weeks.

Grizzlies Sign DeJon Jarreau To 10-Day Deal

MARCH 10: The Grizzlies have officially signed Jarreau to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

The deal will run through March 19, covering Memphis’ next five games, and will be worth $103,550.


MARCH 9: The Grizzlies are promoting guard DeJon Jarreau from their G League affiliate and will sign him to a 10-day contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Jarreau, who won the AAC Defensive Player of the Year award in his final college season at Houston in 2021, had brief stints with the Pacers and Rockets as a rookie, but has spent most of his professional career in the G League. He has played for four separate NBAGL clubs since 2021, including the Memphis Hustle in 2023/24.

In 36 total Showcase Cup and regular season games this season for the Hustle, Jarreau has averaged 14.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 25.0 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .468/.313/.777. As Wojnarowski notes, he has played some of his best basketball as of late, putting up 21.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 8.6 APG in his past 10 games.

The Grizzlies have a full 15-man roster, with Wenyen Gabriel also under contract via the hardship exception. A team qualifies for a hardship exception – granting an extra roster spot temporarily – if it has four players who have missed three or more consecutive games due to injury or illness and are expected to remain out for at least two more weeks.

Memphis appears to have six players who fit that bill: Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, Derrick Rose, and Ziaire Williams. Unless the Grizzlies expect one of those players back within the next couple weeks, they could qualify for up to three hardship additions — Jarreau will be the club’s second hardship addition, Wojnarowski confirms, so no corresponding cut will be necessary to make room for him.

As our 10-day contract tracker shows, Jarreau will be the eighth player to sign a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies this season.

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Trail Blazers, Heat, Rockets, Sixers, I. Thomas, More

The league continues to be battered by players entering and exiting the health and safety protocols. If any of the players entering the protocols registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, they’ll remain sidelined for at least six days or until they can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Here are the latest updates from around the NBA:

Rockets Add DeJon Jarreau On 10-Day Deal

4:45pm: Jarreau has signed a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, according to a team press release.


3:41pm: The Rockets are set to sign former Houston Cougars guard DeJon Jarreau, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link). Berman adds that Jarreau will be suiting up with Houston and available to play tonight against the Lakers.

Jarreau, most recently a two-way player with the Pacers, was cut by the club earlier this month to make room for fellow undrafted rookie guard Terry Taylor. Jarreau appeared in just one NBA game during his stint with the Pacers.

The 6’5″ rookie shooting guard played in 10 contests for the Pacers’ NBAGL affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, this season. In 20.9 MPG, he averaged 9.7 PPG on .407/.381/.588 shooting, along with notching 4.3 APG and 3.9 RPG.

Given that the Rockets have 15 guaranteed contracts on their books and both two-way contract slots occupied, the deal is most likely a 10-day contract using a hardship exception.

The Rockets currently have guards D.J. Augustin, Kenyon Martin Jr., and Garrison Mathews, as well as small forward Jae’Sean Tate, all in the league’s COVID-19 protocols.

Pacers Sign Terry Taylor To Two-Way Contract, Cut DeJon Jarreau

The Pacers are signing undrafted rookie Terry Taylor to a two-way contract, agents BJ Bass and Cam Brennick tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The team has confirmed the move, announcing in a press release that former Houston Cougars guard DeJon Jarreau has been waived to open up a two-way slot for Taylor, whose deal is official.

A 6’5″ wing, Taylor had a big senior year in 2020/21 for Austin Peay, averaging 21.6 points and 11.1 rebounds in 27 games (37.0 MPG). He saw his three-point percentage dip to just 27.9%, but he made 35.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc in his first three college seasons and still made 52.1% of his total shots from the floor as a senior.

Taylor’s performance in college earned him a training camp invitation from the Pacers. While he didn’t earn a spot on the regular season roster, he joined the Fort Wayne Mad Ants – Indiana’s G League affiliate – and has gotten off to a great start, averaging 19.5 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.3 BPG on 67.9% shooting through 11 games (33.5 MPG).

Jarreau, meanwhile, has put up more modest numbers in 10 games (20.9 MPG) for Fort Wayne, recording 9.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.9 RPG with a .407/.381/.588 shooting line. He appeared briefly in just one game for Indiana.

Duane Washington holds the other two-way spot on the Pacers’ roster.

Pacers Sign DeJon Jarreau To Two-Way Deal

August 24: The Pacers have made the two-way signing of Jarreau official, per a team press release. The club also confirmed that Brimah has been waived in a corresponding move.


August 21: Free agent guard DeJon Jarreau will sign a two-way contract with the Pacers, a source tells Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.

Jarreau had an impressive performance with the Heat‘s Summer League team and was considered a strong candidate to sign with Miami. However, it wasn’t clear if the Heat were planning a two-way or Exhibit 10 deal for Jarreau, so he intends to take the offer from Indiana.

Jarreau, 23, is coming off a Final Four season with Houston in which he was named Defensive Player of the Year in the American Athletic Conference and the Most Outstanding Player in the Midwest Regional. He joined the Heat after going undrafted and put up 11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game in Las Vegas.

The Pacers already have a two-way deal in place with rookie shooting guard Duane Washington, so Jarreau would fill the other slot. Amida Brimah technically holds that spot for now, but Indiana doesn’t intend to bring him back. A qualifying offer to Cassius Stanley, who played 24 games last season, was withdrawn last week. It would have amounted to another two-way contract with a $50K guarantee.

Heat Notes: Oladipo, Jarreau, Lowry, Nunn

Dr. Jonathan Glashow, who performed the surgery on Victor Oladipo‘s right quadriceps tendon in May, believes the Heat guard could return sooner than expected. As Bobby Marks of ESPN writes, Glashow thinks the former All-Star could be cleared for contact by November.

“I repaired the quad tendon and did it a little differently than (he had) it done before,” Glashow said. “The quad wasn’t really hooked up. It was torn, and I reattached it. I was amazed he was playing with what he had. I’m very optimistic that I could clear him in six months, by November. I think he’s going to play really well again. … (The surgery) went extremely well, and it’s healing beautifully. I’m confident he’ll play next year.”

Oladipo re-signed with Miami on a one-year contract at the veterans minimum. The new deal allows the Heat to retain his Bird rights for a possible larger deal next summer.

There’s more from Miami:

  • The Heat told Summer League standout DeJon Jarreau they were planning to sign him, but they were still debating whether to offer a two-way contract or an Exhibit 10 deal, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jarreau has reportedly opted to accept a two-way offer from the Pacers. Miami would like to have Marcus Garrett fill one of its two-way openings, Jackson confirms, but the signing was delayed when Garrett changed agents. A training camp competition will likely determine the other two-way slot.
  • Miami will need Kyle Lowry to help make up for its loss of three-point shooters, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Lowry shot 39.6% from beyond the arc with the Raptors last season and is a career 36.8% shooter from long distance. Miami lost several of its top three-point threats, including Kendrick Nunn (38.1% last season), Goran Dragic (37.3%) and Andre Iguodala (33.0%). Taking their place, along with Lowry, will be P.J. Tucker (33.6%) and Markieff Morris (31.1%). Winderman states that Max Strus and Gabe Vincent will also be important to Miami’s three-point game.
  • In case you missed it, the Heat are under fire from new NBPA president CJ McCollum for waiting until August 3 to withdraw their qualifying offer to Nunn.

Southeast Notes: Garrett, Jarreau, Wizards

Rookie free agent Marcus Garrett has been expected to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Heat. The undrafted Kansas guard is now a candidate for a two-way spot but there’s a holdup, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Garrett is in the midst of changing representation and cannot do anything with any team for at least a week, Jackson adds.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Heat also have an interest in signing undrafted University of Houston guard DeJon Jarreau, another summer league standout, Jackson tweets. However, it’s not certain whether Miami will offer a two-way or Exhibit 10 deal to Jarreau, who averaged 11.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 5.8 APG in Las Vegas.
  • The Wizards’ rotation is filled with questions in the aftermath of the Russell Westbrook trade. The Athletic’s Fred Katz and John Hollinger take a closer look at how things may shake out.
  • In case you missed it, Terry Rozier is signing a four-year extension with the Hornets. Get the details here.

Heat Notes: Jarreau, Okpala, Stewart, Yurtseven

A strong Summer League performance has made DeJon Jarreau a leading candidate to grab one of the Heat‘s open two-way slots, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. A thigh contusion forced Jarreau to miss the two games in Sacramento, but he was among the team’s best players in Las Vegas, averaging 11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists.

The 23-year-old guard played for Miami this summer after going undrafted out of Houston and finds himself in an open competition for a two-way deal. Both of last season’s two-way players, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent, have received standard contracts.

“With DeJon, it’s just his makeup,” said Summer League coach Malik Allen. “He finds a way to put his imprint on the game … He has the vision and it’s just a matter of trying to harness the things that we see so he can keep growing and getting better as an NBA point guard.”

There’s more on the Heat:

  • KZ Okpala went from the playoffs to the Olympics to the Summer League, and now he’s focused on trying to expand his role in his third NBA season, Chiang notes in a separate story. However, Okpala’s path to more minutes appears blocked after Miami added P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris in free agency. Okpala is heading into the final season of a three-year, $4.2MM contract.
  • The Heat see potential in D.J. Stewart, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract on Tuesday, Chiang adds. The undrafted guard out of Mississippi State is likely to end up with the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls. “There is something there. He’s long. He’s got good athleticism. He’s competitive,” Allen said. “And offensively he’s got a little ways to go, but just continuing to develop. … He’s just one of those great intangible guys that has a lot of potential to keep growing in that type of role.”
  • Omer Yurtseven‘s impressive Summer League showing may give him a chance to become Miami’s backup center, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. That job currently belongs to veteran Dewayne Dedmon, but Winderman expects Yurtseven to see spot duty early in the season to determine which frontcourt combinations are most effective.

Southeast Notes: J. Johnson, Cooper, Westbrook, K. Jones, Jarreau

Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper were both considered risky picks on draft night, but the Hawks‘ rookies appear to be much less of a gamble after strong showings during Summer League, writes Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports. Johnson slipped to No. 20 after playing just 13 games at Duke and leaving school early to prepare for the draft. Cooper fell to No. 48 after a freshman season at Auburn that was delayed 11 games because of eligibility issues.

Both could be steals based on their early performances in Las Vegas, Peek observes. Johnson has been one of the most versatile players in the league and excels in the open court. Cooper has been a reliable playmaker and has eased concerns about his outside shooting.

“This isn’t just Summer League for me,” Cooper said. “Any game where I put on a jersey and represent something way bigger than me in the Hawks, it’s something I don’t take lightly.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard wasn’t planning to trade Russell Westbrook this summer, but he changed course when the opportunity arose to send him to the Lakers, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “I had a heart-to-heart with Russell and it was important to him that I knew and the Wizards knew he wants to play here,” Sheppard said. “If there was ever an opportunity with the Lakers, that would be the one place. I look at his Hall-of-Fame career and all he did for us, certainly, for me, I will try to help a guy as long as it helps the Wizards. In this case, we could do a deal and it did help the Wizards.”
  • Hornets rookie Kai Jones is confident enough to become the first Charlotte player to wear No. 23 since Michael Jordan became owner of the franchise, notes Jonathan M. Alexander of The Charlotte Observer. The 6’11” power forward is getting plenty of his attention in Las Vegas for his athleticism and dunking prowess. “I think until you see him out there with (LaMelo Ball) and the entire group, we won’t have a true sense of what he can be for our program,” coach James Borrego said. “He’s working through our Summer League right now and trying to figure it out along the way, but he’s a tremendous athlete.”
  • The Heat weren’t able to trade for a draft pick to select DeJon Jarreau, but they wound up with the Houston guard anyway and like what they have seen during Summer League, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Jarreau, who may be in contention for one of Miami’s two-way contracts, posted 10 assists in a game this week.