Javonte Cooke Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Contract Details: Rookie Extensions, Wallace, Cooke, Nesmith

October 21st, 2025 at 3:43pm CST by Luke Adams

There are no surprises in the official terms of the last few rookie scale extensions signed ahead of Monday’s deadline, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. The salary figures reported for Nuggets guard Christian Braun (five years, $125MM), Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (four years, $100MM), and Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (four years, $90MM) were all accurate down to the dollar, with no player or team options, trade kickers, or partial/non-guarantees.

While the extensions for Braun and Sharpe are structured with 8% annual raises and increase from year to year, Daniels’ deal with Atlanta is worth a flat $25MM per season. It’s the same structure the team used a year ago when it signed Jalen Johnson to a five-year, $150MM rookie scale extension that has annual cap hits of $30MM. In each case, the Hawks appear happy to sacrifice a little short-term cap flexibility for greater maneuverability down the road.

Here are more details of some of the contracts recently signed around the NBA:

Keaton Wallace‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Hawks is partially guaranteed for $318,217, Hoops Rumors has learned. Wallace would be assured of earning his full $2,296,274 salary if he remains under contract through January 7.
Javonte Cooke‘s new two-way contract with the Trail Blazers covers two years, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Portland had Cooke in camp on an Exhibit 10 contract and could’ve converted him directly to a one-year, two-way deal, but chose to waive him and re-sign him in order to tack on that extra year.
Aaron Nesmith‘s two-year, $40.4MM extension with the Pacers includes a 7.5% trade kicker, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Blazers Sign Javonte Cooke To Two-Way Contract

October 20th, 2025 at 1:29pm CST by Eli Cohen

October 20: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

October 19: The Trail Blazers have agreed to sign free agent guard Javonte Cooke to a two-way contract, agent Jerry Dianis tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Cooke, a 6’6″ guard who went undrafted in 2023, played three games with the Blazers during preseason, averaging 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per contest.

Portland released Cooke on Friday and Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report stated at the time that the Blazers were still considering the 26-year-old for a two-way spot. Cooke was previously on a non-guaranteed camp deal.

The 26-year-old took an unusual path to the NBA. A Division-II basketball player in college who finished his career at Winston-Salem State, Cooke has played in the G League as well as the Canadian Elite Basketball League since leaving college. He made 42 appearances for the Oklahoma City Blue last season, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 28.2 minutes per game while converting 42.4% of his shots from the floor, including 33.5% of his three-point attempts.

Cooke will join Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko as the third and final two-way player for Portland. The team had a two-way opening, so no corresponding move is necessary to re-sign Cooke.

Roster Moves: A. Scott, Cooke, Council, Carey, Hunter

October 17th, 2025 at 7:29pm CST by Rory Maher

The Celtics have signed wing Aaron Scott to an Exhibit 10 contract, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Scott went undrafted earlier this year, making him an unrestricted free agent.

After spending three college seasons at North Texas, Scott transferred to St. John’s for his senior year. In 36 appearances with the Red Storm in 2024/25, he averaged 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 27.2 minutes per game. His shooting slash line was .389/.293/.813.

While those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, college coaches who spoke to The Athletic in June viewed Scott as a “deep sleeper” who could potentially work his way onto an NBA roster at some point.

Here are a few more transactions from around the NBA:

The Trail Blazers have waived Javonte Cooke, the team announced in a press release. He had been signed to an Exhibit 10 deal for training camp and preseason. A 6’6″ shooting guard, Cooke has played primarily in the G League since 2022, with a stint in Canada for the Brampton Honey Badgers in 2024. The 26-year-old made 42 appearances for the Oklahoma City Blue last season, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28.2 minutes per game while converting 42.4% of his shots from the floor, including 33.5% of his three-point attempts.
Portland’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, acquired Cooke’s returning rights in a trade with the Blue earlier this week. While that would typically signify a player is headed to the NBAGL to open the season, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report hears the Blazers are still considering Cooke for their vacant two-way spot, so there’s a chance he could re-sign with Portland (Twitter link).
The Rockets have signed a trio of free agents, according to Smith, who tweets that the team has added Vernon Carey Jr., Ricky Council IV and Tyrese Hunter. All three players will soon be waived, sources tell Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). High-flying wing Council spent the past two years with Philadelphia. He was waived by the 76ers in late July and was reportedly going to sign with the Nets, but that deal fell through. Carey, a 24-year-old center, was the No. 32 overall pick of the 2020 draft. He holds three years of NBA experience and last played professionally in Turkey. Hunter, a 6’0″ guard, went undrafted out of Memphis in June. As a senior last season, he averaged 13.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.5 SPG in 32 games (34.0 MPG), posting a shooting line of .415/.401/.774.
With the possible exception of Cooke, all of these players will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they’re released and spend at least 60 days with their respective clubs’ G League affiliates.

Northwest Notes: SGA, Bailey, Dillingham, Miller, Cooke

October 14th, 2025 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t see himself playing until he’s 40 like current stars LeBron James and Chris Paul, he said within a GQ Sports cover story, per Yang-Yi Goh (subscription required).

“I definitely think I can,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I won’t, though. A hundred percent.”

The reigning MVP just turned 27 in July, so he certainly has time to change his mind between now and the final years of his NBA career. However, he went on to explain that family considerations would be the main reason why he doesn’t think he’d want to extend his playing days that long.

“I won’t want to miss that much of my kid’s life,” he told Goh. “I won’t want to be away and miss his first basketball game every year, his first soccer game, football game, piano lesson, chess lesson, whatever it is. And there’s a certain point in your career where you reach your peak.

“I don’t fault guys for still playing. They love the game. But I just feel like I play this game, ultimately, to see what the best version of me can be. Once I figure that out and I start going down, then it’s like, Okay, well, what am I playing for now? As soon as that happens, I’ll be on the first ship out.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Jazz rookie Ace Bailey is dealing with “some tendonitis” in both of his knees, Will Hardy said after the No. 5 overall pick was removed from Monday’s game vs. Portland. However, Utah’s head coach didn’t sound overly concerned about the issue. “He’s not going to be getting imaged or anything like that,” Hardy told reporters, including Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). “It’s just trying to take care of him. He was a little sore during his second stint (on the court).”
After playing a limited role as a rookie, second-year Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham is working on making the adjustments necessary to earn more regular minutes in 2025/26, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune details. “I want to play,” Dillingham said. “So whatever I got to do to play, whatever (head coach Chris Finch) wants me to do — pass the ball, pick up (on defense), I’m just gonna have to do.” Finch offered more details on what he and the staff have told Dillingham to focus on: “Be ready to make shots off the ball, particularly when you’re playing out there alongside guys like Julius and Ant who are going to have the ball in their hands a lot. Keep it simple and use your speed, which is what we need you to do and what you have naturally comes to you.”
Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller, who suffered a finger injury early in training camp, was cleared for full-contact, five-on-five basketball activities on Monday, the team announced in a press release. Miller started on Monday against the Guangzhou Loong Lions and played well in a Minnesota blowout, racking up 15 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
The Oklahoma City Blue and Rip City Remix have completed a trade, tweets Rylan Stiles of SI.com. The Thunder‘s G League affiliate acquired the returning rights for Isaac Nogues and Henri Drell, along with a 2026 second-round pick, from the Trail Blazers‘ affiliate, in exchange for Javonte Cooke‘s returning rights. Cooke signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Portland two weeks ago, while Nogues and Drell are currently playing overseas.

Blazers Sign MarJon Beauchamp, Liam Robbins, Javonte Cooke

September 30th, 2025 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have added three players to their training camp roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed forward MarJon Beauchamp, center Liam Robbins, and guard Javonte Cooke.

Portland now has 20 players under contract, leaving a single opening on the team’s 21-man preseason roster.

Beauchamp, who will turn 25 next month, was the 24th overall pick in the 2022 draft. The 6’7″ forward has appeared in 135 regular season games for the Bucks, Clippers, and Knicks since entering the league, averaging 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .430/.354/.718. He was traded from Milwaukee to L.A. at February’s trade deadline, then finished the season on a two-way contract with New York after being waived by the Clippers.

Robbins, 26, spent most of the 2024/25 season on a two-way deal with the Bucks, but logged just total 57 minutes across 13 outings and was waived in February. The seven-foot center went undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2023.

Cooke, a 6’6″ shooting guard, has played primarily in the G League since 2022, with a stint in Canada for the Brampton Honey Badgers in 2024. The 26-year-old made 42 appearances for the Oklahoma City Blue last season, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 28.2 minutes per game while converting 42.4% of his shots from the floor, including 33.5% of his three-point attempts.

In all likelihood, Beauchamp, Robbins, and Cooke all signed non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts, which can be converted into two-way deals before the regular season or line up players to earn bonuses worth $85,300 if they spend at least 60 days with their team’s G League affiliate.

Southeast Notes: Da Silva, Wagner, Bitadze, Knueppel, McNeeley, Heat

July 21st, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Magic forwards Tristan Da Silva and Franz Wagner have been named to Germany’s preliminary roster for this summer’s EuroBasket tournament, according to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

Wagner is one of the top players for Germany, which finished third at the competition in 2022. NBA veterans Dennis Schröder and Daniel Theis are also on the 16-man roster, which must be cut down to 12 for the tournament. Magic assistant coach Randy Gregory will serve as an assistant coach.

Orlando center Goga Bitadze will play for the Republic of Georgia at the event. The tournament will take place Aug. 27-Sept. 14 in Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Hornets won the Las Vegas Summer League title and Kon Knueppel was named the tourney’s MVP. In doing so, Knueppel proved he had much to offer than just his ability to knock down jumpers, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer writes. Late first-round pick Liam McNeeley played with a chip on his shoulder and he could prove to be a steal at No. 29 overall, Boone adds.
The Heat essentially have one two-way contract available. Did any of the unsigned players on their Summer League roster earn that deal? The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang identifies five players — center Dain Dainja, forwards Javonte Cooke and Myron Gardner and guards Erik Stevenson and Bryson Warren — who deserve consideration for that spot.
How does the current Heat roster stack up against their Eastern Conference peers? Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald believes that Miami could finish anywhere from fifth to 10th in the East and identifies Cleveland and New York as the only clubs clearly better than the Heat, unless Philadelphia’s top players are healthy.

Heat Notes: Lineups, Jakucionis, Summer League, Askins

July 20th, 2025 at 8:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Heat haven’t had as active an offseason as some teams, but their moves have opened up some interesting options for head coach Erik Spoelstra, Ira Winderman writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Winderman speculates that Miami’s opening night starting lineup will likely feature Tyler Herro and Norman Powell in the backcourt alongside Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware, and Bam Adebayo.

However, he notes the unit’s lack of play-making, which could result in either Nikola Jovic taking the place of Ware or Davion Mitchell replacing Powell to add some more ball movement. Ware moving to the bench would also help firm up the center depth, which Winderman points to as a current weak spot on the depth chart, though Vladislav Goldin, who is on a two-way deal, played well in Summer League.

There’s also the question of which reserves becomes prioritized, with Simone Fontecchio, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Pelle Larsson among the candidates for rotation minutes. Winderman predicts that Jaquez will continue to get opportunities, especially because of his ability to slide into the starting unit if Wiggins were to be traded.

We have more from the Heat:

While rookie Kasparas Jakucionis‘ time in Summer League had some strong moments as well as clear areas for improvement, the Heat feel that the most important thing is that they came away knowing what comes next, writes Anthony Chiang for the Miami Herald. “We got to learn him, he got to learn us. We got some stuff on tape. And now we have seven, eight weeks to get him better, to get him ready for the start of the season and to improve his skills,” said Summer League head coach Eric Glass. “It’s important to have that learning process and help him understanding as a 19-year-old what it’s going to be like to play professional basketball against grown men in the NBA.” Jakucionis struggled with his shot and with turnovers, but excelled at getting to the free throw line. He will now head back to Lithuania before returning to Miami in early August.
The Heat are known for excavating diamonds from the rough when it comes to team-building, but this year’s Summer League didn’t offer the team the usual hope at unearthing hidden talent, writes Winderman. That said, Winderman points to Bryson Warren, Dain Dainja, Ki ra Lewis Jr., Javonte Cooke, Erik Stevenson, and Myron Gardner as players who had some real positive moments for the team.
Before the Heat had Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade, or Udonis Haslem, there was Keith Askins, Winderman writes in a profile of the team’s senior director of college and pro scouting. The undrafted forward has been in the organization for 35 years, first as a player, than an assistant coach, and now in the position of senior director of college and pro scouting. “I hope to find someone that’s extremely talented of that mindset, that they’ve got to prove themselves every day,” Askins said of the type of player he looks for. “And if they feel like every day they come out they’ve got to prove they’re the best, man we’re going to have a stud.” Winderman describes Askins traveling from Slovenia to the Bahamas to American colleges nowhere close to being considered blue blood programs. “We all try to get it right. Sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. But you can never say we’re not working hard,” Askins says.

Dennis Smith Jr. Among Players At Sixers’ Minicamp

June 5th, 2025 at 6:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dennis Smith Jr. is participating in the Sixers‘ two-day veterans minicamp this week, sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

The 27-year-old guard is hoping to return to the NBA after a one-year absence. After failing to catch on with anyone prior to the start of the season, Smith signed a G League contract in mid-December. He was hoping to be claimed by the Austin Spurs, but wound up with the Wisconsin Herd and never played for them.

Smith headed to Europe in mid-January, signing with Real Madrid for the rest of the season. He reportedly wasn’t in top condition when he arrived in Spain and only appeared in two games. He left after about a month in hopes of being picked up by an NBA team with a roster opening, but that didn’t happen so now he’s hoping to work his way back into the league through offseason auditions.

Smith spent time with six teams during his seven NBA seasons. He was selected by Dallas with the ninth pick in 2017, but was traded to New York midway through his second season. He was sent to Detroit two years later and then had one-year stints with Portland, Charlotte and Brooklyn.

Smith was an extremely explosive and athletic guard coming into the league, but shooting issues prevented him from ever reaching stardom. He’s averaging 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 326 NBA games with career shooting splits of .407/.298/.674.

Other minicamp participants include Eugene Omoruyi, Malcolm Hill, Adama Sanogo, Alondes Williams, Malik Williams, Armando Bacot, Javonte Cooke, Judah Mintz and Leaky Black, Pompey adds (Twitter link).

Thunder Sign, Waive Javonte Cooke

October 12th, 2024 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 12: Cooke has been released, according to the Thunder, putting him in line to receive his Exhibit 10 bonus as long as he spends at least 60 days with the Blue.

OCTOBER 11: A few weeks after the deal was agreed to, the Thunder announced that they’ve signed Cooke.

SEPTEMBER 24: The Thunder have agreed to sign free agent guard Javonte Cooke to an Exhibit 10 contract, agent Jerry Dianis tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Cooke, who finished his college career at Winston-Salem State in 2022, has spent the past two seasons playing in the G League for the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s affiliate. In 48 Showcase Cup and regular season games for Iowa in 2023/24, he averaged 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 33.1 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .441/.363/.759.

Cooke also played in the Canadian Elite Basketball League this spring for the Brampton Honey Badgers before joining the Timberwolves’ Las Vegas Summer League team for a second consecutive July.

Iowa traded Cooke’s G League returning rights to the Oklahoma City Blue earlier this month. Assuming he returns to the NBAGL this fall and spends at least 60 days with the Blue, the 6’6″ guard will earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary.

Timberwolves Sign, Waive Brian Bowen II, Javonte Cooke

October 21st, 2023 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

12:04pm: As expected, Bowen and Cooke have been waived, the Timberwolves announced (via Twitter).

10:22am: The Timberwolves have added a pair of players to their preseason roster, announcing in a press release that forward Brian Bowen II and guard Javonte Cooke have signed with the team.

The Wolves didn’t specify the terms of the deals, but in all likelihood, they’re Exhibit 10 contracts, designed to get Bowen and Cooke bonuses worth up to $75K if they report to the Iowa Wolves and then spend at least 60 days with Minnesota’s G League team. Barring something unexpected, the two players are good bets to be cut later today.

Bowen, who played for Minnesota’s Summer League team in July, has some NBA experience, having appeared in 12 games for Indiana from 2019-21. The 25-year-old played for Iowa in 2021/22, averaging 14.9 points and 8.6 rebounds in 32.1 minutes per game across 27 appearances, with a shooting line of .452/.280/.785.

Cooke, 24, went undrafted last year out of Winston-Salem State and spent his first professional season playing for Iowa. In 41 games (19.4 MPG) with the Timberwolves’ NBAGL team, he averaged 7.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.6 APG on .424/.319/.650 shooting. His agreement with Minnesota was initially reported in September.

The T-Wolves’ roster consists, for the time being, of 19 players.