Freddie Gillespie

Mavericks Sign Nate Hinton, Freddie Gillespie

DECEMBER 1: The Mavericks have officially signed Hinton to his two-way contract, the club confirmed today (via Twitter). Gillespie’s deal is also official, per the Mavs (Twitter link).


NOVEMBER 19: The Mavericks have agreed to sign undrafted Houston shooting guard Nate Hinton to a two-way contract, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link).

Dallas has also reached a contract agreement with undrafted Baylor big man Freddie Gillespie, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Terms of Gillespie’s deal weren’t specified — he’ll either get the Mavs’ other two-way deal or come to a camp on a standard contract, perhaps with an Exhibit 10 clause.

Hinton and Gillespie both rank among ESPN’s top 20 prospects who didn’t get drafted on Wednesday night — Hinton at No. 4 and Gillespie at No. 19.

Hinton declared for the draft after averaging 10.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG with a .387 3PT% as a sophomore in 2019/20. Gillespie, meanwhile, averaged 9.6 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in his senior season at Baylor, earning Big 12 All-Defense honors.

It was an eventful draft night for the Mavs, who also nabbed Josh Green, Tyrell Terry, and Tyler Bey, and sent Seth Curry to Philadelphia in a deal for Josh Richardson.

And-Ones: Edwards, Gillespie, Westphal, Williams

Georgia freshman guard Anthony Edwards is the lukewarm favorite to be chosen with the No. 1 overall pick this offseason but opinions about his game vary widely, as Sam Vecenie of The Athletic notes. In a poll of eight college coaches, some believe Edwards will be a perennial All-Star in the mold of Bradley Beal. One of the coaches that Vecenie spoke to believes he might be nothing more than an average role player. Edwards’ ability in pick-and-rolls makes him at least a top-five player in this class, Vecenie concludes.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Baylor power forward Freddie Gillespie has interviewed with half of the teams in the league, including his hometown Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Gillespie is considered a marginal second-round prospect. He’s currently ranked No. 73 overall by ESPN and 15th among players at his position.
  • Hall of Fame guard Paul Westphal has been diagnosed with brain cancer, former ESPN Sports Reporters host Mike Lupica tweets. The 69-year-old Westphal, who was inducted last year, also coached Phoenix, Seattle and Sacramento after his playing career ended in 1984.
  • Victor Williams has been named CEO of NBA Africa, according to a league press release. Williams, an investment banking executive with extensive experience growing businesses across the U.S. and Africa, will be based in the league’s Johannesburg office. In this newly-created role, Williams will oversee the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Africa.