Jay Scrubb

Magic Sign Jay Scrubb To Two-Way Contract

10:56am: The Magic have officially signed Scrubb, the team confirmed in a press release (Twitter link). According to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link), Scrubb’s two-way deal covers two seasons, running through 2023/24.


8:15am: The Magic have agreed to sign guard Jay Scrubb to a two-way contract, agent Corey Marcum tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

The 55th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Scrubb spent his first two professional seasons on a two-way contract with the Clippers. He appeared in just 22 games at the NBA level during that time, averaging 3.8 PPG on .390/.267/.800 shooting in 9.3 minutes per night.

After being waived by the Clippers during the 2022 offseason, Scrubb signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Magic in October. He didn’t make Orlando’s regular season roster, but became an affiliate player for the Lakeland Magic, the team’s G League affiliate.

Scrubb has had a big year in Lakeland, averaging 22.2 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 26 regular season NBAGL contests (31.0 MPG). He was even better in the Showcase Cup in the fall, putting up 24.6 PPG with a .505/.350/.768 shooting line in 17 appearances (32.8 MPG). The 22-year-old’s production in the G League has earned him a late-season look on a two-way deal.

The Magic have been sitting on an open two-way slot since promoting Admiral Schofield to their standard roster over a month ago, so no corresponding move will be necessary to sign Scrubb. Orlando had been one of three NBA clubs with an open two-way slot — Charlotte and Phoenix are now the only teams left in that group.

Magic Waive Devin Cannady, Jay Scrubb, Simi Shittu

The Magic have waived guards Devin Cannady and Jay Scrubb, along with big man Simisola Shittu, the team announced today in a press release.

Cannady finished the 2021/22 season in Orlando, signing a multiyear deal that kept him under contract with the team offseason. However, his ’22/23 salary was non-guaranteed, so he had an uphill battle to crack the regular season roster on a team that already had 15 players on guaranteed contracts.

Cannady averaged 10.0 PPG and 2.0 APG in five games (29.0 MPG) with the Magic last season, knocking down 15-of-37 three-pointers (40.5%) in those five appearances.

Scrubb and Shittu both signed their Exhibit 10 contracts within the last week, so it comes as no surprise that they’ve been released. There’s a good chance we’ll see both players suit up for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate, and it’s possible Cannady will join them — Lakeland still holds his returning rights.

The Magic now have a legal regular season roster, with 15 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. It’s unclear if the club intends to make any more moves between now and Monday’s roster deadline.

Magic Sign Morales, Scrubb; Waive Ford, Simpson

The Magic have added guards Alex Morales and Jay Scrubb, the team announced (via Twitter). Training camp invitees Aleem Ford and Zavier Simpson were waived to create room on the roster.

The Morales deal becomes official after first being reported in mid-August. The 24-year-old was voted NEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year last season with Wagner and took part in Summer League with the Warriors. Morales has an Exhibit 10 clause in his contract and could wind up with Orlando’s G League affiliate in Lakeland.

Scrubb spent the past two years with the Clippers after being selected with the 55th pick in the 2020 draft. He got into 18 games last season and averaged 2.7 PPG in limited minutes.

Ford and Simpson both had Exhibit 10 deals, so they may also be headed to Lakeland. They signed with Orlando in late September, shortly before the start of training camp. Both players saw action in the preseason, with Ford appearing in three games and Simpson getting into two.

Clippers Waive Jay Scrubb

The Clippers have waived shooting guard Jay Scrubb, the team officially announced today. Scrubb will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

The 55th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Scrubb spent his first two professional seasons in Los Angeles with the Clippers, appearing in a total of 22 NBA games during that time. His 2021/22 season came to an early end when he went under the knife in February, undergoing surgery to repair the plantar plate in his right foot.

Although he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Clippers when his two-way deal expired in June, Scrubb was re-signed to an Exhibit 10 contract. However, he spent less than three weeks back under contract with the team before being waived today.

If Scrubb doesn’t find a new home between now and the start of the season, he’ll be eligible to become an affiliate player for the Ontario Clippers, L.A.’s G League team. If he spends at least 60 days on Ontario’s roster, he’d receive a bonus of $50K.

The Clippers now have 17 players under contract.

Pacific Notes: Iguodala, Rollins, Lakers, Murray, Clippers

The Warriors only have 11 players on standard contracts so far, leaving at least three openings on their projected regular season roster. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, it’s possible one of those spots will be filled by Andre Iguodala.

Golden State hasn’t set any sort of deadline for Iguodala to make a decision on whether or not he wants to continue his playing career, so there will be a roster spot available for him if he decides he wants to continue playing, Slater explains.

Second-round pick Ryan Rollins also appears likely to claim one of the 15-man roster spots. He has a stress fracture in his foot, but Slater says there’s a belief he should be ready to go by training camp and he’ll likely receive a standard contract rather than a two-way deal.

Quinndary Weatherspoon, who received a two-way qualifying offer from the Warriors, is another player to watch, according to Slater, though he says the team’s preference would be to keep Weatherspoon on a two-way contract rather than a standard deal.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • While some rival scouts and executives questioned the Lakers‘ decision to use their taxpayer mid-level exception on Lonnie Walker and didn’t love the signing of Troy Brown, the general reaction to the team’s free agency moves has been positive, says Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. In particular, Los Angeles received “high marks” for getting centers Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones on minimum-salary contracts, according to Woike.
  • In an episode of The Void Podcast, Kevin O’Connor, J. Kyle Mann, and Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer make the case that the Kings made the right choice picking Keegan Murray over Jaden Ivey, suggesting that Murray is an ideal fit for Sacramento’s roster.
  • The contracts signed by Moses Brown, Jay Scrubb, and Xavier Moon with the Clippers are all Exhibit 10 deals, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means they’re one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-salary contracts which won’t count against the cap unless the player makes the regular season roster.

Clippers Sign Moses Brown, Xavier Moon, Jay Scrubb

The Clippers have reached agreements with Moses Brown, Xavier Moon and Jay Scrubb, and all three will be on the roster for training camp, tweets Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. The Clippers have confirmed the signings.

A report this morning indicated that L.A. had made an offer to Brown, who became an unrestricted free agent when the Cavaliers elected not to extend a qualifying offer of slightly more than $2MM. Brown appeared in 40 combined games with Dallas and Cleveland last season and has spent time with the Trail Blazers and Thunder as well.

Moon, who was on a two-way contract with the Clippers last season, also became unrestricted when he didn’t receive a qualifying offer. The 27-year-old, who has spent most of his career overseas, got into 10 games with L.A. as a rookie.

Scrubb, who filled the Clippers’ other two-way slot, also didn’t receive a qualifying offer. He has spent two seasons with the team, playing 22 combined games.

Lonnie Walker, Anfernee Simons Get QOs; Kevin Knox Doesn’t

The Spurs have issued a qualifying offer to guard Lonnie Walker, making him a restricted free agent, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The qualifying offer will be worth $6,311,564.

Unlike some of this summer’s top restricted free agents, Walker wasn’t a lock to receive that qualifying offer, given the up-and-down season the 23-year-old had in 2021/22. He averaged a career-high 12.1 PPG and 2.2 APG, but saw his shooting percentages dip to 40.7% from the floor and 31.4% on threes, well below his career rates. Furthermore, a report earlier today stated that Walker was unlikely to remain in San Antonio.

By issuing the qualifying offer, the Spurs are at least opening up a path for Walker to return, either by accepting the one-year QO or by negotiating a new deal with the team. However, McDonald says there’s an expectation that Walker will “fully” test the market.

Spurs swingman Joe Wieskamp also received a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, tweets McDonald. Because Wieskamp was promoted from his two-way deal to a standard contract last season, his qualifying offer will be worth approximately $1.8MM ($200K more than his minimum salary).

Here are a few more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:

  • The Trail Blazers have formally issued a qualifying offer to guard Anfernee Simons, making him a restricted free agent, the team announced in a press release. Simons’ QO is worth $5,758,552, but the 23-year-old is expected to negotiate a far more lucrative long-term deal. Multiple reports have suggested a four-year contract worth in the neighborhood of $80MM is possible.
  • Hawks forward Kevin Knox isn’t getting a qualifying offer and will become an unrestricted free agent, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Knox didn’t get regular minutes last season and his qualifying offer would have been worth $7,228,448, so it comes as no surprise that Atlanta is passing.
  • The Warriors aren’t giving qualifying offers to either Juan Toscano-Anderson ($2,126,991) or Chris Chiozza ($1,968,175), according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will be unrestricted free agents and are unlikely to remain in Golden State, Slater adds.
  • The Celtics have tendered a two-way qualifying offer to guard Brodric Thomas, making him a restricted free agent, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Boston hasn’t reached a deal to fill either of its two-way slots for next season yet, so Thomas could end up taking one of them.
  • Two-way players Jay Scrubb (Clippers) and Trevelin Queen (Rockets) won’t receive qualifying offers and will become unrestricted free agents, according to reports from Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times and Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Queen, the 2021/22 NBA G League MVP, is expected to receive interest on the open market, per Haynes.

Free Agent Rumors: Ayton, Batum, Hartenstein, Clippers, Wizards

There has been no progress between the Suns and Deandre Ayton on a new contract, and a sign-and-trade appears to be the most likely outcome, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Sports Center (video link).

Ayton is a restricted free agent, giving Phoenix the opportunity to match any offer he receives, but that’s unlikely to happen, according to Woj. He explains that the Suns don’t value Ayton as a max contract player, but other teams do, which means that’s what he’ll likely receive when free agency begins Thursday afternoon.

Although he doesn’t mention any specific teams, Wojnarowski cites “several” potential destinations for Ayton on a max deal, with the Suns receiving some combination of players, draft picks and cap flexibility in return.

There’s more on the free agent market:

  • With Ivica Zubac‘s extension and an expected deal with John Wall out of the way, re-signing Nicolas Batum will be a priority for the Clippers, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Greif notes that Batum is very loyal to the organization and has turned down offers from other teams over the past two years to stay in L.A.
  • Jay Scrubb and Xavier Moon will likely compete for a two-way contract if the Clippers decide to re-sign them, Greif adds in the same piece. The team plans to give one of its two-way slots to second-round pick Moussa Diabate.
  • The Rockets have interest in bringing back free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Iko notes that Hartenstein, who started his career in Houston in 2018, is only 24 and fits well with the team’s current roster.
  • Kris Dunn and Pierriá Henry attended a Wizards mini-camp this week in hopes of winning a roster spot on a team searching for point guards, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Henry is an accomplished player in the EuroLeague, while Dunn, a lottery pick in 2016, is hoping to prove that he’s healthy after missing most of the past two seasons with injuries. “I feel like over the last two years, I didn’t have a leg, almost,” Dunn said. “Over the last couple of months, I’ve been doing a lot of rehab, and everything’s starting to work out perfectly.”

Clippers’ Lawrence Frank Talks Roster, Offseason, More

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday for his annual postseason press conference, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said the team will look to upgrade the roster this summer after a disappointing end to 2021/22, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group.

We’re going to have to look at areas of improvement,” Frank said. “We want to make sure that we maximize our opportunities and be able to do something that’s never been done in the history of this organization.”

The Clippers failed to advance to the playoffs after losing both of their play-in tournament games, partly due to the season-long absence of Kawhi Leonard (ACL recovery) and Paul George‘s elbow injury (as well as his positive COVID-19 result the day of the second play-in loss). Frank said the team’s inability to win a championship with its star wings has shown “how fragile the difference between winning and losing is,” but he’ll use the playoff absence as “fuel for a great offseason,” per Swanson.

Frank said he’s encouraged by Leonard’s recovery progress, but declined to give any timetables for a potential return.

Here’s more from Frank’s press conference, courtesy of Swanson:

  • L.A. holds the Bird rights to unrestricted free agent Robert Covington, who recently said he was intrigued by the idea of playing with Leonard and George. Frank said he was happy to hear that, because the team would like to bring him back. “RoCo was very, very good for us. I’m excited to hear that he likes it here. We look forward and we’d like to be able to keep him here.”
  • Isaiah Hartenstein is also a free agent, but the Clips only holds his Non-Bird rights. The big man surpassed Frank’s expectations this season. “We actually recruited Isaiah … we put a lot of effort into it,” said Frank, who noted Hartenstein’s qualities, including his play-making, paint protection, floater and chemistry with the team. “Now, did we think he was going to be able to deliver at this high a level? No.”
  • From a developmental perspective, the Frank said the season was a great success, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. “From a process standpoint [it] went better than expected,” Frank said, calling the development of the team’s young players a “huge silver lining.”
  • League sources tell Greif the team will look to add a point guard this summer, but Frank was coy when asked about the possibility. “The game now is played a little bit differently, there are some obviously elite point guards in the league, but a lot of teams are playing through their wings like we do,” Frank said. “So I look at it as do we have enough play initiators between Kawhi, PG, Norm [Norman Powell], Reggie [Jackson], Terance [Mann]? I don’t know; we’ll look at it. We’re not averse to it, but we’ll continue to evaluate and see if we have to address it.”
  • Frank is hopeful that Jason Preston (foot surgery) and Jay Scrubb (turf toe surgery) will be ready for Summer League, Greif relays.

Clippers’ Jay Scrubb Out For Season

Clippers guard Jay Scrubb will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair the plantar plate in his right foot, the team’s PR department announced (Twitter link). Scrubb suffered a turf toe injury necessitating the procedure, which occurred Wednesday in New York.

Scrubb, 21, was the 55th overall pick of the 2020 draft by the Nets. He was dealt to the Clippers the next day as part of a three-team trade that also brought Luke Kennard to Los Angeles.

Scrubb appeared in four games last season as a rookie and played in 18 contests this season, averaging a modest 6.7 MPG and 2.7 PPG.

Scrubb is on a two-way contract with the Clips. In four G League games with Agua Caliente this season, the team’s afilliate, Scrubb averaged an impressive 24.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.5 SPG on .450/.438/.667 shooting (27.5 MPG).

As a young two-way player on a deep team, Scrubb’s absence won’t have much of an impact on the Clippers’ rotation, but hopefully he will recover quickly.