Skylar Mays Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Add Skylar Mays On Two-Way Contract

January 8th, 2024 at 8:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

8:03pm: The signing has been announced in a team press release, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets.

4:38pm: The Lakers are adding Skylar Mays on a two-way deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

Mays was waived on Saturday by the Trail Blazers before his contract became fully guaranteed. Mays’ contract was partially guaranteed for just $850K and would have become fully guaranteed for approximately $1.86MM if he hadn’t been waived.

Mays will now draw a two-way salary and provide depth at point guard for the Lakers.

Los Angeles had an open two-way slot after waiving Alex Fudge and D’Moi Hodge over the weekend. Colin Castleton and Dylan Windler, who was signed on Saturday, hold the other two-way spots.

Mays’ two-way deal with Portland was converted to a standard deal in October. The LSU product had some impressive performances in November while Portland’s roster was banged up, averaging 11.1 points and 6.4 assists in 26.3 minutes across nine games from Nov. 3-21. However, he fell out of the rotation when the Blazers got healthier and averaged just 11.1 minutes in eight appearances after that.

Trail Blazers Waive Skylar Mays, Ish Wainright

January 6th, 2024 at 10:22am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Trail Blazers waived guard Skylar Mays and forward Ish Wainright, according to a release from the team.

Neither Mays nor Wainright had full guarantees on their contracts and, facing a Jan. 7 deadline before those contracts became fully guaranteed, Portland decided to cut the pair loose.

As our tracker shows, Mays’ contract was partially guaranteed for just $850K and would have been guaranteed for approximately $1.86MM if not waived before Sunday. Wainright’s contract would have been guaranteed for roughly $1.93MM.

Because Wainright was on the roster for 75 days and will be on waivers for two more, the Blazers will carry a cap charge worth about $853K for his time spent on the team (77 days multiplied by a $11,080 salary per day), assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Mays joined the Blazers on a 10-day contract late into the 2022/23 season, appearing in six games (all starts) and averaging 15.3 points and 8.3 assists from late March through the end of the season. He signed a two-way deal in early October, which was converted to a standard contract in mid-November as Portland dealt with injuries to their ball-handlers.

The LSU product put up some impressive performances in November while Portland’s roster was banged up, averaging 11.1 points and 6.4 assists in 26.3 minutes across nine games from Nov. 3-21. However, he fell out of the rotation when the Blazers got healthier and averaged just 11.1 minutes in eight appearances after that.

Portland claimed Wainright on waivers just before opening night after the Suns cut ties with him after two seasons. The 29-year-old forward was one of the older players on the roster, behind only Malcolm Brogdon and Jerami Grant. However, Wainright only appeared in seven games with the Blazers, averaging 2.9 points in 6.6 minutes per night. His best moments with the team came in his last two appearances, in which he totaled 17 points, including five three-pointers.

Wainright has averaged 3.4 points per game in 112 career appearances with the Suns and the Trail Blazers.

Waiving Mays and Wainright opens up two standard roster spots for the Trail Blazers, bringing them below the threshold of 14 players. Teams are not permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than two weeks at a time — or more than 28 total days — so expect to see more moves for Portland soon.

While this theoretically opens up roster spots in the event a trade brings in more players than they send out, the trade deadline is still a month away, and the more likely short-term option is the Blazers making moves around the edges of the roster. A 10-day signing (or two) is one possibility.

For what it’s worth, players on two-way contracts see their deals fully guaranteed on Jan. 7 too. The Blazers have Duop Reath, Ibou Badji and Justin Minaya on two-way contracts. Reath, in particular, has earned a prominent role on the Blazers, averaging 8.3 points in 21 games. It’s possible he earns a standard deal now that Portland has two open roster spots.

Scoot Henderson To Miss 2-3 More Weeks With Ankle Injury

November 11th, 2023 at 5:32pm CST by Rory Maher

NOVEMBER 11: The Trail Blazers announced in a press release that Henderson will miss another two or three weeks while the bruising heals.

NOVEMBER 10: Trail Blazers point guard Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick of this year’s draft, is expected to miss a couple more weeks due to a right ankle bone bruise, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

As Charania notes, Henderson sprained his ankle on Nov. 1 against Detroit and has been sidelined ever since, missing the past three games with the injury.

If he returns in exactly two weeks, the 19-year-old will have missed 10 games — the Blazers play seven times over the next 14 days.

It’s normal for rookies — especially teenagers — to have slow starts to their NBA careers, and that certainly has been the case for Henderson.

Through five games (28.8 minutes), he’s averaging 8.8 points and 2.2 rebounds on a .346/.095/.857 shooting line, with nearly as many turnovers per game (4.0) as assists (4.6).

With guards Henderson, Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring strain) and Anfernee Simons (thumb surgery) all sidelined, head coach Chauncey Billups gave Skylar Mays extended run in Wednesday’s overtime loss to Sacramento and he played well, posting 18 points (on 8-of-15 shooting) and 11 assists in 37 minutes.

Mays, a former second-round pick, is on a two-way contract with Portland.

Blazers Convert Skylar Mays To Standard Contract

November 11th, 2023 at 1:25pm CST by Rory Maher

NOVEMBER 12: Mays’ promotion is official, the Blazers confirmed in a press release.

NOVEMBER 11: Trail Blazers guard Skylar Mays is receiving a promotion from his two-way deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Mays will be converted to a standard contract.

Portland’s backcourt has been hit hard by injuries early on in 2023/24, with Scoot Henderson (ankle), Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring strain) and Anfernee Simons (thumb surgery) all missing time. In their stead, head coach Chauncey Billups turned to Mays on Wednesday at Sacramento and he played well, recording 18 points (on 8-of-15 shooting), 11 assists (against three turnovers) and two steals in 37 minutes of action.

As Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report observes (Twitter link), the Blazers have an open standard roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary to promote Mays. Converting him will make Mays eligible to appear in every game for Portland — players on two-way deals can only be active for up to 50 games, Highkin notes.

Mays, who played four years of college ball at LSU, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft and spent his first two professional seasons with the Hawks. He was on two-way contracts until being promoted to Atlanta’s standard 15-man roster during the final week of the 2021/22 regular season.

The 26-year-old spent most of last season in the G League, but caught on with Portland at the end of ’22/23. He impressed the club in his six games, averaging 15.3 PPG on excellent .500/.462/.923 shooting splits, while also chipping in 8.3 APG, 3.2 RPG and 1.0 SPG. The Blazers signed him to a two-way deal on October 1.

Portland will reportedly use its newly created two-way opening to sign Jamaree Bouyea, as we detailed in a separate story.

Trail Blazers Sign Skylar Mays To Two-Way Deal

October 1st, 2023 at 5:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

7:49pm: The move is official, the Blazers announced in a press release.

3:45pm: The Trail Blazers are bringing back free agent combo guard Skylar Mays on a two-way deal, his agent Mark Bartelstein informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets that Mays has been working out at Portland’s practice facility throughout the offseason.

The 6’4″ vet appeared in just six contests with the Trail Blazers in 2022/23 after inking a 10-day deal. He put up big numbers in those games, averaging 15.3 PPG on excellent .500/.462/.923 shooting splits, while also chipping in 8.3 APG, 3.2 RPG and 1.0 SPG.

Mays was drafted with the No. 50 pick by the Hawks in 2020 out of LSU, but failed to carve out a major rotation role during his two seasons in Atlanta. He split most of the 2022/23 season between the Sixers’ NBAGL affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, and the Capitanes de Ciudad de México, before latching on in Portland.

Trail Blazers Sign Skylar Mays, Chance Comanche

April 9th, 2023 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have signed a pair of players ahead of Sunday’s regular season finale, announcing that they’ve brought back guard Skylar Mays (Twitter link) and added center Chance Comanche (press release).

The Blazers have a full roster, but they’re dealing with so many injuries that they’ve been granted three hardship exceptions — those exceptions allow the team to sign players to short-term deals without having to adhere to the usual roster limits.

Portland had been carrying Mays, Shaquille Harrison, and Justin Minaya on 10-day hardship contracts. Mays’ and Harrison’s deals expired overnight on Saturday, while Minaya’s runs through Sunday. The team re-signed Mays, but Harrison has joined the Lakers, so the Blazers used their third hardship exception to promote Comanche from the G League.

Mays, a 2020 second-round pick who spent his first two NBA seasons in Atlanta, averaged 14.2 points, 7.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per night during his first five games (all starts) as a Blazer.

Comanche, who will turn 27 on Friday, was a rotation player for the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, this season. The former Arizona Wildcat appeared in 32 regular season games and averaging 13.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in just 22.9 MPG.

Since they’re on hardship contracts, Mays, Comanche, and Minaya will all become free agents after today’s game and the Blazers won’t hold any form of Bird rights on them this summer. Portland is now carrying 20 players, with at least nine of them ruled out for Sunday’s game vs. Golden State due to injuries.

Trail Blazers Sign Skylar Mays To 10-Day Deal

March 30th, 2023 at 3:56pm CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 30: Mays’ 10-day contract with the Blazers is official, the team announced in a press release.

MARCH 29: The Trail Blazers plan to sign Skylar Mays to a 10-day contract, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Mays, a 6’4″ guard out of LSU, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft and spent his first two professional seasons with the Hawks. He was on two-way contracts until being promoted to Atlanta’s standard 15-man roster during the final week of the 2021/22 regular season.

In 61 total games for the Hawks, Mays averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.0 RPG on .469/.338/.882 shooting in 8.0 MPG. He became an unrestricted free agent last summer when Atlanta opted not to extend him a qualifying offer.

The Sixers signed and waived Mays during the preseason to secure his G League rights, and he spent a good chunk of ’22/23 with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate. In 18 games (27.3 MPG) during the fall Showcase Cup, he averaged 13.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.3 APG and 1.1 SPG, but struggled with his shooting, posting a .392/.333/.800 slash line. His numbers declined in 13 regular season games (19.2 MPG) with the Blue Coats, averaging just 7.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 3.8 APG on .364/.174/.923 shooting.

However, the 25-year-old has played well with the Ciudad de Mexico Capitanes, averaging 19.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 6.1 APG on .458/.341/.868 shooting in 16 regular season games (34.4 MPG).

The Blazers have a full 15-man standard roster at the moment, but they have several injured players, so Mays will likely be signed using the hardship exception, which allows teams to exceed the typical roster limit in special circumstances.

Sixers Sign, Waive Skylar Mays

October 12th, 2022 at 5:19pm CST by Luke Adams

5:19pm: Mays has been placed on waivers, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

2:10pm: The Sixers have signed guard Skylar Mays to a training camp contract, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log.

Mays, 25, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft and spent his first two professional seasons with the Hawks. He was on two-way contracts until being promoted to Atlanta’s standard 15-man roster during the final week of the 2021/22 regular season.

In 61 total games for the Hawks, Mays averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.0 RPG on .469/.338/.882 shooting in 8.0 MPG. He became an unrestricted free agent this summer when Atlanta opted not to extend him a qualifying offer.

The 76ers are likely signing Mays to secure his G League rights. Assuming he received an Exhibit 10 contract, he’d be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s NBAGL affiliate.

Mays will likely be waived soon, but remains on the Sixers’ roster for the time being, as the team’s official website shows. He’s occupying the 20th and final slot, which was open after Philadelphia signed and waived Patrick McCaw.

Hawks Notes: Offseason Priorities, Draft Workouts, More

May 4th, 2022 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta, Hawks president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said, unprompted, that the front office is committed this offseason to making roster changes in an attempt to improve the team after standing relatively pat a year ago.

“We made the decision last year to kind of run the same group back and we probably should’ve tried to upgrade as opposed to stay status quo,” Schlenk said. “This year, the way the season ended and played out, we’re certainly going to try to upgrade the roster moving forward into next season.”

Asked specifically about how much turnover the Hawks’ roster could experience, Schlenk suggested the club won’t be looking to re-sign all of its free agents.

“We have some guys that are free agents, we have some guys that have contract situations. We’ve got a guy eligible for a contract extension,” Schlenk said. “All that stuff plays into it. Every year, the only thing that’s really consistent in this league is change, so we anticipate that there will be some change, certainly with some of our free agents as we look to upgrade our roster.”

Delon Wright, Lou Williams, Gorgui Dieng, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Kevin Knox, and Skylar Mays will be free agents this offseason, while Danilo Gallinari has a small partial guarantee on his salary for 2022/23 and De’Andre Hunter will be eligible for a rookie scale extension.

Here’s more on the Hawks:

Schlenk said during his appearance on 92.9 The Game that the Hawks’ defense was a “big letdown” in 2021/22 and will be an area the club looks to address in the offseason. Schlenk added that having another reliable secondary ball-handler and shot creator to relieve the pressure on Trae Young will be a priority.
The Hawks announced in a press release that they’ve brought in 12 prospects this week, hosting six for a group workout on Monday and another half-dozen on Wednesday. Justin Bean (Utah State), Darius Days (LSU), Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech), Gaige Prim (Missouri State), Will Richardson (Oregon), and Cole Swider (Syracuse) were in earlier this week, while Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech), Garrison Brooks (Mississippi State), Jamal Cain (Oakland), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Allen Flanigan (Auburn), and Jaden Shackelford (Alabama) were part of today’s pre-draft workout.
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic examines 10 offseason questions facing the Hawks, including whether team owner Tony Ressler is willing to go into luxury-tax territory, whether the team can attract a second star, and what level of pressure head coach Nate McMillan is under.

Hawks Promote Skylar Mays To Standard Deal

April 7th, 2022 at 12:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hawks have promoted guard Skylar Mays to a standard contract from a two-way deal, the team announced. Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first to break the news (via Twitter).

Mays was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft after four seasons at LSU. He has spent the past two seasons on a two-way deal after signing Atlanta’s qualifying offer last summer to stick with the team.

As Chris Kirschner of The Athletic observes (Twitter link), promoting Mays means he’ll be eligible to play in the postseason. The Hawks are locked into a spot in the play-in tournament, but the Nos. 7-10 seeds in the East are still up for grabs.

The 24-year-old has appeared in 60 NBA games over the past two seasons with the Hawks, holding modest averages of 3.4 points and 1.0 rebound in 8.1 minutes per night. Mays made eight starts for the team’s G League affiliate (the College Park Skyhawks) this season, averaging 18.0 points, 4.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 33.6 minutes.

The Hawks now have 15 players on standard contracts and have one two-way spot open after promoting Mays. They currently hold a 42-38 record, the No. 9 seed in the East. Atlanta closes the season with road games against Miami on Friday and Houston on Sunday.