Carlik Jones

Summer League Commitments: Bulls, Hawks, Mavericks, Magic

The Bulls have agreed to a summer league deal with point guard Carlik Jones, a source told Hoops Rumors. Jones signed 10-day contracts with the Mavericks and Nuggets this past season. He averaged 22.1 points per game with Dallas’ G League affiliate, shooting an efficient 46% from the floor.

Jones, 24, was also named to the All-NBA G League Third Team and NBA G League All-Rookie Team. He played for the Mavericks in summer league last year after going undrafted.

Here are some other summer league commitments to share:

  • The Hawks have received a summer league commitment from Chris Clemons, a league source told Hoops Rumors. Clemons averaged 21.3 points per game with the Celtics’ G League affiliate this season, which included a 52-point outing. The 5’9″ point guard was one of the top scorers in the G League this season.
  • Free agent guard Jalen Lecque has accepted a summer league invite from the Mavericks, a source told Hoops Rumors. The 22-year-old averaged 16.8 points per game with the Wisconsin Herd this season, shooting 42%. He holds experience with the Suns and Pacers.
  • Free agent forward Emanuel Terry has committed to playing summer league with the Magic, according to a source. Terry, 6’9″, holds brief NBA experience with the Suns and Heat. He averaged 15.6 points and 8.4 rebounds with the Stockton Kings this year.

Jazz Notes: Far From Contending, Mini-Camp, Prospect Workouts

All four of the 2021/22 Conference Finalists — the Warriors, Mavericks, Celtics and Heat — proved how far the Jazz are from contending for a championship, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News opines.

Todd notes that head coach Quin Snyder, whose status remains uncertain for next season, said Utah was very close to competing at the highest level at his end-of-season press conference.

This year, I thought that our record didn’t necessarily reflect what we could do in the playoffs. I felt like we were this close to having a spark and kicking it in and finding that unity, that extra secret sauce, and taking off. And obviously that didn’t happen,” Snyder said, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Todd disagrees. Even assuming the Jazz had advanced past Dallas in the first round (they lost in six games), Todd is doubtful the Jazz would have been able to take the Suns to seven games in the second round, as Dallas was able to do.

She also doesn’t think the Jazz would have fared any better than the Mavs did against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, if they’d gotten past Phoenix.

Ultimately, the Todd believes the flawed roster was too much to overcome, and Utah’s front office will have a tough job improving it this summer.

Here’s more from Utah:

Eastern Notes: Knicks, R. Williams, Isaac, Portis

The Knicks held a free agent mini-camp this week, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link), who says a number of players with NBA experience were in attendance.

Guards Devon Dotson and Chris Clemons, swingman DaQuan Jeffries, forwards Louis King and George King, and big men Alize Johnson and Reggie Perry were among the players who participated in the Knicks’ mini-camp, per Zagoria. John Petty, Craig Randall, Carlik Jones, Aaron Henry, and A.J. Lawson also took part.

The Knicks won’t necessarily sign any of the free agents who attended the mini-camp, but it gave them a chance to see some of the talent that’s out there as they mull possible Summer League and training camp invites.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Celtics big man Robert Williams, who is still listed as questionable for Game 6 on Friday, was diagnosed with a bone bruise in his left knee after colliding with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3, head coach Ime Udoka said today. Williams’ injured knee is the same one he had surgery on in March, but that procedure isn’t the cause of his current absence. “There’s no problems with the surgery at all,” Udoka said, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “It’s just that specific hit that he took (in Game 3).”
  • Because of the injury-related language and games-played requirements in Jonathan Isaac‘s contract with the Magic, his $17.4MM annual salaries for the next three years are now partially guaranteed instead of fully guaranteed, as Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets. Isaac has missed two straight seasons due to an ACL tear, but there’s no indication that the Magic are considering waiving him, which is the only way they could avoid paying his full salaries.
  • Bobby Portis only shot 4-of-14 from the floor in the Bucks‘ Game 5 win on Wednesday, but he grabbed 15 rebounds and made the sort of crucial hustle plays the team values, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Averaging a double-double (11.3 PPG, 10.4 RPG) so far this postseason, Portis is once again displaying his value ahead of possible free agency. He holds a $4.6MM player option for 2022/23.

NBA G League Announces 2021/22 All-NBAGL Teams

Rockets two-way player Trevelin Queen, who was named the NBA G League MVP and the G League Finals MVP this season, has added two more honors to his impressive 2021/22 résumé.

Queen headlined this year’s All-NBA G League First Team and also earned a spot on the NBAGL’s All-Defensive team, as the league announced today in a press release.

The complete list of the 2021/22 All-NBA G League teams, along with the All-Rookie and All-Defensive squads, is below. Players who finished the season on NBA contracts are noted with an asterisk (*), while those on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).


All-NBAGL First Team

All-NBAGL Second Team

All-NBAGL Third Team


NBAGL All-Rookie Team

  • Charles Bassey (Delaware Blue Coats) *
  • Luka Garza (Motor City Cruise) *
  • Carlik Jones (Texas Legends)
  • Mac McClung (South Bay Lakers) ^
  • Micah Potter (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

NBAGL All-Defensive Team

  • Charles Bassey (Delaware Blue Coats) *
  • Braxton Key (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
  • Tacko Fall (Cleveland Charge)
  • Shaquille Harrison (Delaware Blue Coats)
  • Trevelin Queen (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) ^

All 19 players who earned a spot on one of the G League’s All-NBAGL, All-Rookie, or All-Defensive teams this year were on some form of standard, two-way, or 10-day NBA contract during the 2021/22 season.

Of those 19, Tillman is the only player who has yet to make his NBA debut, as he didn’t appear in any games after signing a 10-day deal with Atlanta in December.

Nuggets Sign Carlik Jones To 10-Day Deal

2:42pm: Denver has officially inked Jones to his 10-day hardship contract, the team announced in a press release. Jones’ deal with Dallas hadn’t been set to expire until the end of the day, so the Mavs presumably terminated it a little early.


12:02pm: The Nuggets are planning to sign Carlik Jones to a 10-day contract under the hardship exception, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.

Jones has been on the Mavericks’ roster under a 10-day deal, which will expire tonight. The point guard has made three short appearances with Dallas.

Denver currently has four players in league protocols.

Jones went undrafted earlier this year after transferring from Radford to Louisville for his senior season. He put up 16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 19 games (37.5 MPG) in 2020/21 for the Cardinals and made the All-ACC First Team.

Jones spent training camp this fall with the Mavs, then reported to the Texas Legends, where he started all 10 games he played for Dallas’ G League team. He averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .451/.324/.875 shooting in 30.8 minutes per contest.

Mavericks Sign Carlik Jones To 10-Day Deal

DECEMBER 23: Jones’ 10-day contract with the Mavericks is now official, the team announced today (via Twitter). It will run through January 1.


DECEMBER 22: The Mavericks are calling up guard Carlik Jones from their G League affiliate, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Jones is getting a 10-day deal via a hardship exception.

A 6’1″ guard, Jones went undrafted earlier this year after transferring from Radford to Louisville for his senior season. He put up 16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 19 games (37.5 MPG) in 2020/21 for the Cardinals and made the All-ACC First Team.

Jones spent training camp this fall with the Mavs, then reported to the Texas Legends, where he has started all 10 games he has played for Dallas’ G League team. He has averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .451/.324/.875 shooting in 30.8 minutes per contest.

Dallas has now completed two hardship signings and has reportedly lined up three more, even though the team only has four players currently in the health and safety protocols. The NBA’s new rules allow clubs to sign a replacement for each player who enters the protocols.

That could mean that another Mavs player will enter the protocols today or that one of the team’s previously-reported agreements has fallen through — we’ll have to wait for more clarity.

Mavericks Waive Tyrell Terry, Carlik Jones, Feron Hunt

The Mavericks announced in a press release that they have waived Tyrell Terry, Carlik Jones, and Feron Hunt.

Terry, the 31st overall pick of the 2020 draft, was on a guaranteed contract worth more than $3.3MM over the next two seasons, including a bit more than $1.5MM this season. If no team claims him off waivers, Dallas will be responsible for the full amount of the guaranteed money left on his deal.

Terry played just 11 games as a rookie last season, missing significant time due to personal reasons. He had been away from the team during preseason action as well, reportedly due to a family matter.

The 21-year-old had a strong freshman season with Stanford in 2019/20, putting up 14.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.2 APG (32.6 MPG) in 31 games, with a shooting line of .441/.408/.891. Many analysts considered him one of the best shooters in the 2020 draft, but had reservations about his slender frame and defense.

Jones and Hunt were undrafted rookies on Exhibit 10 contracts, and could see time with the Texas Legends, the Mavericks’ G League squad, if they’re not picked up by other teams. If they stick with the Legends for at least 60 days, they could earn bonuses of up to $50K. Both players played all four preseason contests with the Mavericks.

The moves bring the Mavericks to a full 15-man roster, with both two-way contracts filled. Terry being waived likely means that both Moses Brown and Frank Ntilikina made the team.

Mavericks Sign Feron Hunt, Carlik Jones

AUGUST 21: The Mavericks have officially signed Hunt and Jones, per a team press release. The signings of Onu and Omoruyi were previously completed.

The Mavs training camp roster is now finalized at 20 players. Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but they’re almost certainly Exhibit 10 contracts.


JULY 30: The Mavericks didn’t have a pick in Thursday’s draft, but they’ve been busy lining up deals with a handful of rookies who went undrafted in last night’s event.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Oregon’s Eugene Omoruyi and Louisville’s Carlik Jones have agreed to sign with Dallas, while Jeremy Woo of SI.com says (via Twitter) that Shawnee State’s EJ Onu has reached an agreement on a camp deal with the Mavs.

Omoruyi, who transferred to Oregon for his senior year after beginning his college career at Rutgers, averaged 17.1 PPG and 5.4 RPG on .473/.376/.765 shooting in 28 games (30.6 MPG) in 2020/21. The 6’6″ small forward earned All-Pac 12 First Team honors.

A 6’1″ guard, Jones also transferred for his senior year, making the move from Radford to Louisville. He put up 16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 19 games (37.5 MPG) for the Cardinals and made the All-ACC First Team.

Onu, a 6’11” forward who was the 24th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s list of undrafted players, helped lead Shawnee State to a NAIA championship this spring.

SMU’s Feron Hunt also tweeted that he’s joining the Mavericks, and his marketing firm congratulated him on signing with Dallas, but it’s unclear if that’s just for Summer League or if he’ll be with the club for training camp. Hunt, a 6’8″ forward, declared for the draft after a junior year in which he recorded 11.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG in 16 games (28.2 MPG).

Pacific Notes: Ayton, K. Jones, Lakers, Warriors

Deandre Ayton, fresh off of his first NBA Finals appearance with the Suns, is eligible for a five-year, $168MM max contract that would kick in at the start of the 2022/23 season, and Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic takes a look at what could be next for the big man.

Ayton’s career lows in PPG and APG were a result more of the context of adding Chris Paul and reorganizing the offense, rather than any regression on Ayton’s end, Rankin writes. In fact, Ayton’s growth as a team-first player willing to do whatever it takes for the success of the Suns adds even more appeal for the club as it decides if it will offer him a max deal.

If sacrificing is leading the wins and where we are today, I’ll sacrifice everything, you know what I’m saying,” Ayton said. “Everything (Paul’s) told me has led up to here, so why stop now?

We have more news from the Pacific Division:

Southeast Notes: Dragic, Heat, Unseld, Hornets

Goran Dragic has been with the Heat for over six seasons, and has played some of the best basketball of his career in Miami. He was arguably the third-best player during the Heat’s run to the Finals last season before a foot injury limited him to two games against the Lakers. But the 35-year-old point guard is coming off an injury-plagued season and owed over $19MM next season.

According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Heat don’t want to trade Dragic this offseason. But if a deal for a star presents itself, the team would be willing to do so.

We have more news from around the Southeast Division:

  • The Heat have traded away both their picks in this year’s draft, but that hasn’t stopped team president Pat Riley for setting the edict to the scouting department to find and secure useful players from the draft, writes Winderman. “We don’t have any picks, but I can guarantee you we’ll probably get a couple of good players out of this year’s draft, somehow,” Riley said at the end of the season. The Heat have a track record of landing productive players like Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson despite scant draft resources. They’ll try to repeat history this year.
  • Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald looks at how the Olympics experience could help the Heat‘s Nigerian trio of Gabe Vincent, KZ Okpala and Precious Achiuwa. Team Nigeria has been dominant during exhibition games, but if they don’t make the medal round, it’s possible the three young players will be back in Las Vegas for Summer League, looking to build off the momentum and confidence they’ve gained from this experience.
  • Wes Unseld Jr. is not just a familiar name, he’s also an experienced coach who has paid his dues, writes Fred Katz in a piece for The Athletic on the Wizards’ newest head coach. Katz writes that Unseld sold the Wizards based not only on his track record, but also on ideas for how to better utilize star Bradley Beal and last season’s lottery pick Deni Avdija.
  • The Hornets are working out six prospects today, per a tweet from the team: Derrick Alston Jr., Ian Dubose, Romeao Ferguson, Ariel Hukporti, Carlik Jones, and Ruot Monyyong. The Hornets have the 56th and 57th picks in the draft, the range in which most of said prospects may be available.