Jaylen Nowell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Checking In On Early 2024/25 Roster Battles

September 14th, 2024 at 11:03am CST by Tristan Tucker

Each year, a handful of teams prefer to bring in players to battle it out for the last remaining spots on a given roster. Let’s take a look at a few training camp battles that are already brewing ahead of October.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have been busy in recent weeks, filling out their training camp roster with proven talent. The Bulls have 15 players on standard contracts, but Onuralp Bitim‘s deal is non-guaranteed. In addition, Chicago has two open two-way slots. The Bulls have four players — Talen Horton-Tucker, Kenneth Lofton Jr., E.J. Liddell and Marcus Domask — signed to training camp deals.

Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted to two-way contracts at any time. Horton-Tucker is the only player of that batch who is ineligible for a two-way contract, since he is at five years of NBA service. That gives the Bulls a handful of options for their opening night roster.

In essence, Bitim and Horton-Tucker seem to be battling it out for the Bulls’ 15th roster spot, while Lofton, Liddell and Domask all appear to be candidates for the team’s open two-way slots. Of course, if the Bulls opt to move on from Bitim on a standard deal, they could attempt to re-sign him to a two-way deal. They could also just carry 14 players on the standard roster to begin the year.

New York Knicks

As we detailed Saturday morning, Landry Shamet and Chuma Okeke appear to be battling for the Knicks’ 15th roster spot. Of course, there’s no guarantee that either player will make the roster, but each has a decent case to make the team.

Shamet is a proven three-point shooter while Okeke is a versatile forward who is a previous 16th overall pick. The Knicks will likely assess in training camp what their biggest need is and keep the player who best fits that niche heading into the year.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers have a handful of players on non-guaranteed or partially contracts heading into the season. However, previous reporting seems to indicate that the team’s final roster spot will come down to either Kendall Brown or Cole Swider.

Brown is an athletic forward who was the 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He has spent the last two seasons with the Pacers but has also appeared in just 21 total games. Meanwhile, the Pacers signed Swider to a training camp contract this offseason that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language. Swider is a known three-point shooter who spent last season with the Heat and helped Miami to a summer league championship this offseason.

James Wiseman and James Johnson each have partially guaranteed salaries with the Pacers.

The others

Other teams across the league are poised to either carry just 14 players on standard deals to begin the year or already have their 15-man rosters determined. However, some of those teams have unsettled two-way roster slots.

The Heat have their standard roster filled out, but summer standout Isaiah Stevens is on an Exhibit 10 deal. It seems like Stevens will battle Dru Smith — who currently holds a two-way deal — outright for that spot.

The Hornets have Moussa Diabate and KJ Simpson on two-way deals but have another spot open. Keyontae Johnson could be an option for that spot. Charlotte also has a potential opening on the 15-man roster, with four players signed to Exhibit 10 deals and another agreed to.

The Wizards also have an open two-way slot. Washington signed Leaky Black, Kira Lewis and Jaylen Nowell to Exhibit 10 contracts, but only Black is eligible for a two-way deal. The Wizards also have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, with Jared Butler and his non-guaranteed deal possibly on the outside looking in unless they make a trade.

The Clippers have RayJ Dennis, Kai Jones and Elijah Harkless signed to Exhibit 10 deals. The team also has an agreement with Kevon Harris for another such spot. With only Jordan Miller and Trentyn Flowers on two-way contracts, all of Dennis, Jones, Harkless and Harris are eligible for the team’s third.

G League Moves: Kings, Wizards, Cavs, Jazz, Hawks, More

September 12th, 2024 at 5:21pm CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA trade market has been quiet since July, NBA G League teams have been active in recent days, swapping returning player rights and draft picks ahead of the 2024/25 season.

A player’s G League returning rights are only valuable in certain situations. If a player is on a standard or two-way contract with an NBA team, those returning rights mean little, since the player will play for his NBA’s team affiliate when he reports to the G League. Even for players not on NBA rosters, returning rights offer no assurances for G League teams — the player could opt to play in Europe, Australia, Asia, or in another non-NBAGL league.

However, most G League trades made at this point in the year are completed with the knowledge that at least one of the players involved in the deal intends to sign an NBAGL contract and report to the team acquiring him. And in some cases, the trades represent the start of a greater opportunity for a player.

For instance, last summer, Trevelin Queen (Osceola Magic) and Alondes Williams (Sioux Falls Skyforce) were among the players who had their returning rights acquired by new teams. Queen and Williams initially signed training camp contracts with the NBA parent clubs (Orlando and Miami), but were eventually promoted to two-way deals and finished the 2023/24 season in the NBA.

Here are some details on the latest trades completed in the G League:

The Stockton Kings, Capital City Go-Go (Wizards), and Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers) finalized a three-team deal that sent Jules Bernard‘s returning rights to Cleveland, the rights to Dexter Dennis and Justin Powell to Stockton, and NBA veteran Jaylen Nowell to Capital City, per a press release from the Kings. Nowell has reportedly agreed to a camp deal with the Wizards.
Stockton followed up that deal by reaching a separate agreement with the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz‘s affiliate (press release). The Kings acquired the rights to Jayce Johnson and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for the rights to Dane Goodwin.
The College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks‘ G League affiliate, sent the returning rights to Miles Norris and Joel Ayayi to the Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies) in exchange for Michael Devoe‘s rights and the Indiana Mad Ants’ 2025 first-round pick.
The Skyhawks subsequently flipped that 2025 Mad Ants first-rounder to the San Diego Clippers for Joey Hauser‘s rights (Twitter links). Hauser is reportedly joining the Hawks this fall on an Exhibit 10 deal.
The Mexico City Capitanes – the G League’s only unaffiliated team – has made a pair of trades. The Capitanes sent Ethan Thompson‘s rights to the Osceola Magic in exchange for the rights to D.J. Wilson and a 2024 first-round pick (Twitter link), then acquired Greg Brown‘s returning rights from the Texas Legends (Mavericks) in exchange for the rights to Phillip Wheeler and a 2025 second-round pick (press release).

Wizards Sign Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, Leaky Black

August 30th, 2024 at 6:45am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 30: Over a month after agreeing to terms with them, the Wizards have officially signed Lewis, Nowell, and Black, having listed all three players as part of their 21-man training camp roster.

AUGUST 28: The Wizards have reached contract agreements with free agents Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, and Leaky Black, league sources tell Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Robbins and Charania, all three players will sign Exhibit 10 contracts with Washington and will be given an opportunity to compete in training camp for regular season roster spots.

Lewis, 23, was the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, but only appeared in 131 games across his first four NBA seasons due in large part to injuries, including a torn ACL he suffered during the 2021/22 season. The 6’1″ guard has averaged 5.2 points and 1.8 assists in 13.3 minutes per game for the Pelicans, Raptors, and Jazz. Last season, he was traded three times – from New Orleans to Indiana to Toronto to Utah – before reaching unrestricted free agency when the Jazz declined to issue a qualifying offer.

Nowell, a 6’4″ shooting guard, spent his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota from 2019-23, averaging 9.1 points per game on .447/.322/.798 shooting in 184 appearances for the Timberwolves. Despite showing promise as a scorer, Nowell was unable to find a regular NBA job last season — he was waived by Sacramento ahead of opening night, then signed two 10-day contracts apiece with the Grizzlies and Pistons during the season. The 25-year-old spend most of the 2023/24 campaign with the Stockton Kings in the G League.

Black, 25, spent his rookie season with the Hornets after going undrafted out of UNC in 2023. The 6’6″ forward saw limited action in 26 NBA games while on a two-way contract with Charlotte. He played a larger role for the Greensboro Swarm in the NBAGL, posting averages of 7.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 24.8 MPG across 25 total Showcase Cup and regular season outings. His two-way deal covered two seasons, but he was waived by the Hornets about four weeks ago.

Exhibit 10 contracts allow players to earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived by their NBA teams and then spend at least 60 days with the club’s G League affiliate, so it’s possible Lewis, Nowell, and/or Black will end up playing for the Capital City Go-Go. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted to two-way contracts prior to opening night, but Lewis and Nowell have more than three years of NBA service and are therefore ineligible to be two-way players.

The Wizards currently have 16 players on standard contracts (15 guaranteed), with a pair on two-way deals. While Black figures to be in the mix for the team’s open two-way slot, it will be an uphill battle for Lewis or Nowell to make the standard regular season roster unless Washington intends to trade or waive a player with a guaranteed contract.

Isaiah Thomas Works Out For Bucks

July 17th, 2024 at 6:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent guard Isaiah Thomas was one of several players who attended a workout with the Bucks today in Las Vegas, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link).

At 35, Thomas is looking for another NBA opportunity after finishing last season with Phoenix, where he saw limited playing time in six games. He signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Suns in March and was given a standard deal through the end of the season.

Thomas was a two-time All-Star in Boston, but he has bounced around the league over the past seven years and hasn’t played regularly since appearing in 40 games with Washington in the 2019/20 season.

At his peak, Thomas was an explosive scorer who averaged 28.9 PPG during the 2016/17 season and finished fifth in the MVP voting. At 5’9″, he relied on his quickness and ball-handling skills to get off shots over much taller players. However, he hasn’t been the same since suffering a hip injury during the 2017 playoffs.

Other players at today’s workout, according to Charania, were Justise Winslow, Hamidou Diallo, Will Barton and Jaylen Nowell.

The Bucks reached an agreement on Tuesday with free agent Gary Trent Jr., which will give them 15 standard contracts once it’s finalized. That includes Andre Jackson on a partially guaranteed deal, so Milwaukee has some flexibility if wants to add another player. The team is limited to offering minimum-salary contracts to outside free agents because it’s operating over the second tax apron.

Pistons Sign Jaylen Nowell To Second Hardship Deal

April 13th, 2024 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 13: Nowell’s signing is official, the Pistons announced in a press release.

APRIL 12: The Pistons will re-sign Jaylen Nowell to a second hardship contract following the expiration of his first 10-day deal, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Nowell’s initial contract will expire after Friday’s game, so Detroit figures to re-sign Nowell on either Saturday or Sunday in advance of Sunday’s regular season finale. Since it will be completed using a hardship exception, the deal will technically be considered a 10-day contact, but it will expire immediately after Sunday’s game.

A 24-year-old shooting guard who spent his first four NBA seasons with the Timberwolves from 2019-23, Nowell was on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies earlier in the season, but has spent most of the year out of the NBA. He has performed well for the Pistons since signing with the team last week, however, averaging 8.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game and making 57.9% of his field goal attempts across three appearances off the bench.

The Pistons qualified for a hardship exception because they have four players (Isaiah Stewart, Ausar Thompson, Quentin Grimes, and Stanley Umude) who are out for the season. That allows them to carry an extra player beyond the 15 on their standard roster, but they won’t have any form of Bird rights on Nowell this offseason as long as he’s signed to a hardship contract and not a standard deal.

Pistons Notes: Flynn, Nowell, Weaver, Williams, Fontecchio, Wiseman, Grimes

April 3rd, 2024 at 11:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons guard Malachi Flynn became the unlikeliest player to score 50 points in a game this season, coming off the bench to reach that mark in Wednesday’s loss at Atlanta, writes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. It was an out of character scoring explosion for Flynn, who came into the night averaging 5.8 PPG in 17 games with Detroit since being acquired from New York at the trade deadline.

“It’s tougher to put (in perspective) because you want to win. But it definitely feels good,” Flynn said. “I think in a couple days I’ll be able to put it into perspective.” Flynn added that it’s been a long time since he’s come close to 50 points, telling reporters, “I almost did in high school. I had 49 and my coach took me out. I still have a grudge.”

Flynn played 34 minutes and shot 18-of-25 from the field, 5-of-9 from three-point range and 9-of-12 from the foul line. His outburst set a franchise record for the most points by a reserve and fell one short of the NBA record held by Jamal Crawford. Flynn will be a free agent this summer, and the Pistons can make him restricted with a $5.8MM qualifying offer.

There’s more on the Pistons:

Jaylen Nowell‘s 10-day contract makes him the 31st player on the roster this season, which ties an NBA record set by this year’s Grizzlies, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. With the team experiencing numerous injuries, Nowell may get a shot at consistent playing time. “I expect him to come in and try to acclimate,” coach Monty Williams said. “He’s a guy that’s scored in segments of his career. I watched him in Minnesota a little bit, and had to scout against him. We know he can score the ball. He’s been around. I don’t want to put it out there what we want from him, we just feel like guys like that, who are hungry and looking for opportunities, allow for us to have more bodies with all the guys we’ve lost this year. But it’s also a chance for a guy to come in and help us win games.”
The Pistons’ nightmarish season raises questions about general manager Troy Weaver’s future with the franchise, Edwards states in a mailbag column. While he admits any outcome is possible, Edwards’ guess is that Weaver will remain with the team, but a president of basketball operations will be hired to make final decisions on personnel. Edwards also isn’t convinced that Williams will return, even though he signed a record-setting six-year, $78.5MM contract last summer.
Of the Pistons’ potential restricted free agents, Simone Fontecchio is likely to be back next season, but James Wiseman may not return and Flynn likely won’t, Edwards adds. Fontecchio has been impressive since being acquired from Utah at the deadline, and Edwards sees him as part of the team’s future unless he’s needed for a major trade. Edwards notes that the front office gave Wiseman numerous opportunities, but he hasn’t produced the way they’d hoped. He’s headed for free agency, and it will take a $7.7MM qualifying offer to make him restricted.
Edwards also isn’t certain about Quentin Grimes‘ future with the Pistons. Grimes, who is under contract for $4.3MM next season, had a knee injury when he was acquired from the Knicks and only appeared in six games with Detroit. He should return, Edwards writes, but that’s not a lock, especially if someone besides Weaver is calling the shots.

Pistons Sign Jaylen Nowell To 10-Day Contract

April 3rd, 2024 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 3: The Pistons have officially announced their 10-day deal with Nowell, confirming the move in a press release (Twitter link). The contract will run through next Friday, April 12, paying Nowell a salary of $124,425.

APRIL 2: The Pistons intend to sign free agent swingman Jaylen Nowell to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

After showing promise as a scorer across four seasons with the Timberwolves, Nowell was unable to find a full-season spot on an NBA roster last fall. He signed a non-guaranteed deal with Sacramento, but was waived by the team before the regular season tipped off and ended up spending much of the season with the Stockton Kings in the G League.

In 28 regular season NBAGL games for Stockton, Nowell averaged 17.4 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.6 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per contest, posting a shooting line of .441/.385/.868. He also had a brief stint in Memphis earlier in the season, appearing in nine games for the Grizzlies over the course of two 10-day contracts.

Both of Nowell’s 10-day deals in Memphis were completed via hardship exceptions and it appears that will be the case in Detroit as well. A hardship exception, which allows a team to carry one or more extra players beyond its standard 15, is granted when the team has at least four players who have missed three consecutive games and are expected to remain sidelined for two more weeks.

Quentin Grimes, Isaiah Stewart, Ausar Thompson, and Stanley Umude all meet that criteria for the Pistons, so the club will be able to add Nowell to their roster as a 16th man.

Since all four of those players have been ruled out for the season, Detroit will continue to qualify for a hardship exception beyond the expiration of Nowell’s 10-day contract, so he could be re-signed to a second deal — or the team could sign another player on a hardship contract to close out the season.

Southwest Notes: Brooks, Morant, Nowell, Green, Bassey

December 14th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Dillon Brooks doesn’t know what kind of reception to expect when he returns to Memphis on Friday, but he’s been looking forward to it ever since he signed with the Rockets this summer, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Brooks’ new team has beaten the Grizzlies twice already, including on Wednesday night, but both games were played in Houston. He knows the atmosphere will be different in front of the fans at FedEx Forum.

“I can’t wait to get back out there playing,” Brooks said. “This has been circled out there on my schedule.”

For six seasons, Brooks was a fiery part of a brash Grizzlies team, clashing with opponents and challenging teammates to raise their intensity level. However, after saying last month that he felt like a “scapegoat” for the team’s playoff loss to the Lakers, he’s not sure how Memphis fans will receive him.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I miss the Forum. I just can’t wait to get out there, shoot on the court and see what it’s all about. We’ll see what happens.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Ja Morant, who may be nearing the end of his suspension, will speak to the media Friday morning, Cole tweets. If commissioner Adam Silver agrees to reinstate Morant after 25 games, he will be eligible to return Tuesday at New Orleans.
With the Grizzlies facing a roster crunch ahead of Morant’s return, they’re not likely to keep Jaylen Nowell, whose second 10-day contract expired Wednesday. Nowell called his time with the organization “a blessing,” according to Cole (Twitter link). “They accepted me, and I’m real thankful for that,” he said. “I definitely think that these guys are going to pick it up and be one of the best teams in the West, for sure.”
Rockets coach Ime Udoka is proving that he’s willing to bench anyone who isn’t performing up to expectations, notes Kelly Iko of the Athletic. Jalen Green sat out the entire fourth quarter for the second straight game on Wednesday amid a poor shooting night and questionable decision making. “Play harder like the group that was in,” Udoka responded when asked about his advice for Green. “It starts with effort. Continuing the play through it. Learn from those things, but it’s not always a result of what they don’t do. It’s more so the other lineup and what they’re doing.”
Spurs teammates say Charles Bassey is in good spirits despite suffering a season-ending ACL tear, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “He is resilient,” Collins said. “He has come back from stuff before. He is a very positive guy. But we are going to miss him.”

Roster Decisions Looming For Grizzlies

December 12th, 2023 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

For much of the season, the Grizzlies have been permitted to carry multiple players beyond the 15 that NBA teams are typically allowed to have on their standard rosters.

Memphis first qualified for an extra roster spot five games into Ja Morant‘s suspension, when the team was able to move him to the suspended list for the remaining 20 games of his ban, opening up a roster spot that the Grizzlies used to sign Bismack Biyombo.

[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Roster Counts]

A series of injuries resulted in two more additional roster spots for the Grizzlies — they qualified for a pair of hardship exceptions as a result of having players sidelined due to medium- or long-term ailments.

One of those hardship exceptions expired earlier in the month, forcing Memphis to part ways with guard Shaquille Harrison, but the team is still carrying Jaylen Nowell on a hardship deal in addition to Biyombo. It’s just a matter of time though until the Grizzlies will be required to get back down to 15 players.

Let’s take a closer look at the key roster decisions facing the club…

Nowell and the hardship exception:

Nowell’s second 10-day contract with the Grizzlies runs through Wednesday, meaning he’ll be eligible to play in one more game for the team. Once it expires, Memphis could ask the NBA for another 10-day hardship exception, but it’s unclear whether such a request would be granted.

To receive a hardship exception, a team must have at least four injured players who have missed at least three consecutive games and who are expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.

The Grizzlies are currently missing Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke, Marcus Smart, and Luke Kennard. Adams’ and Clarke’s injuries are long-term, with Adams expected to miss the entire season and Clarke unlikely to return until well into 2024. But Smart’s and Kennard’s returns appear much closer.

When Smart first went down with a left foot sprain, Memphis announced that he was expected to miss three-to-five weeks — that was three-and-a-half weeks ago. As for Kennard, the Grizzlies announced nine days ago that he could be back in about two or three weeks. Those recovery timelines may have changed, but if the Grizzlies are expecting either Smart or Kennard back within the next week or two, they won’t qualify for a hardship exception.

Assuming that’s the case, Memphis will have to either let Nowell walk when his 10-day contract expires tomorrow night or waive someone else in order to re-sign him.

Nowell has been playing fairly regular minutes since joining the club, but as Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets, he logged just eight minutes on Monday and didn’t play in the second half, which suggests that the Grizzlies are unlikely to move off one of their players on guaranteed contracts in order to keep him around.

Biyombo, Morant, and the suspended list:

All indications are that Morant remains on track to be activated next Tuesday ahead of the Grizzlies’ game in New Orleans, their 26th of the season. When that happens, someone will have to be waived to make room for the All-Star guard.

Biyombo, whose one-year, $5MM contract is only partially guaranteed for $1MM, is the most obvious candidate from a financial perspective, since everyone else on the roster has a fully guaranteed 2023/24 salary. But the big man has helped shore up a thin frontcourt following Adams’ season-ending surgery, and Shams Charania reported this week that Memphis would like to hang onto him.

If the Grizzlies do keep Biyombo, Kenneth Lofton Jr. seems likeliest to be waived, according to Herrington (Twitter link). The second-year forward was promoted from a two-way deal to a standard contract near the end of last season, but he hasn’t established himself as a consistent contributor this fall, averaging just 2.6 points per game on 37.8% shooting in 15 appearances (6.6 MPG). And while Lofton has two years left on his contract after this season, both are non-guaranteed.

Waiving a player on a guaranteed contract isn’t the only way the Grizzlies would be able to retain Biyombo (and/or Nowell). A trade could do the trick too, and Charania reported that Memphis has been engaged in talks with teams around the NBA. The trade market usually isn’t too active at this time of the year, but moving a minimum-salary player like Lofton wouldn’t be too complicated, and more options will open up on Friday, when several dozen players across the league become trade-eligible.

Jaylen Nowell Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Grizzlies

December 4th, 2023 at 11:51am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

DECEMBER 4: Nowell’s second 10-day contract is official, the Grizzlies announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 3: Guard Jaylen Nowell is signing another 10-day deal with the ailing Grizzlies, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Memphis was granted another hardship exception to re-sign Nowell on this short-term contract, Woj notes.

Across his five contests with the club, the 6’4″ shooting guard has been averaging 6.2 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 1.4 APG. He’s logging 18.8 MPG off the bench for an injury-plagued Memphis team.

Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets that combo guard Shaquille Harrison, another 10-day hardship signing, is most likely done in Memphis, at least for now.

Seven Grizzlies are currently sidelined with long-term ailments. Nowell has helped make up for the absences of wings Luke Kennard, Ziaire Williams and Marcus Smart. Point guards Ja Morant and Derrick Rose are also on the shelf. Morant is healthy, but remains suspended for the next six contests.

At a lowly 5-14, Memphis is suffering from all these absences. The team is currently the No. 14 seed in a deep Western Conference.