Tristen Newton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Tristen Newton Signs Qualifying Offer From Timberwolves

August 1st, 2025 at 5:05pm CST by Eli Cohen

Restricted free agent guard Tristen Newton has signed his two-way qualifying offer from the Timberwolves, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

Newton, who was the 49th pick in the 2024 draft, split time between the Pacers and Wolves last season, playing five games in Indiana and three in Minnesota.

He spent the majority of his season in the G League, where he averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 assists, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game in 20 outings for the Iowa Wolves. In five Summer League appearances this offseason, Newton averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 47.6% from three.

The Wolves signed Enrique Freeman to a two-way deal earlier today, and already have 2025 second-round pick Rocco Zikarsky and second-year center Jesse Edwards occupying two-way slots, meaning someone will have to be waived to accommodate Newton’s return.

The expectation is that Edwards will be waived following the addition of Freeman, along with rookie big men Zikarsky and first-round pick Joan Beringer.

Timberwolves Expected To Waive Jesse Edwards

August 1st, 2025 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

After reaching an agreement to sign forward Enrique Freeman to a two-way contract, the Timberwolves are expected to waive center Jesse Edwards from his own two-way deal, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Wolves don’t need to cut Edwards in order to make room on the roster for Freeman, so it’s not clear if the move will happen right away or later in the offseason. But after Minnesota added a pair of rookie big men in Joan Beringer and Rocco Zikarsky in this year’s draft, Edwards no longer appears to be in the team’s plans going forward, as Krawczynski explains.

Waiving Edwards would also create a two-way opening for Tristen Newton, a 2024 second-round pick who still has a qualifying offer on the table from the Wolves. Zikarsky and Freeman will occupy the club’s other two-way slots.

A Dutch-born seven-footer who played his college ball at Syracuse and West Virginia, Edwards joined the Timberwolves on a two-way deal last July after going undrafted. The 25-year-old appeared in just two NBA games, but played a major role for the Iowa Wolves in the G League, averaging 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game across 34 total outings.

Edwards was tendered a two-way qualifying offer in June and accepted it almost immediately. By signing that QO, he secured a partial guarantee worth $85,300, which won’t count against Minnesota’s cap.

QO Updates: J. Walker, A. Mitchell, Two-Ways, Mann

June 30th, 2025 at 8:29am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers opted not to tender forward Jabari Walker a qualifying offer prior to Sunday’s deadline, reports Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Twitter link). As a result, Walker will become an unrestricted free agent.

Walker put up solid numbers in a limited role for Portland last season, averaging 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game, with a .515/.389/.690 shooting line, across 60 appearances. However, his playing time dropped off significantly from the previous year, a signal that the Blazers were prioritizing other young players over the 22-year-old.

Meanwhile, the Thunder issued Ajay Mitchell a qualifying offer, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), who notes that it’s a procedural move for Oklahoma City, since the second-year guard has already agreed to sign a three-year, $9MM contract with the team. The QO will just ensure he’s a restricted free agent when free agency opens — he’ll be able to officially finalize that new deal on July 6.

The following players who finished the 2024/25 season on two-way contracts also received qualifying offers ahead of Sunday’s deadline, per Smith (unless otherwise indicated):

Branden Carlson, Thunder (link)
Jesse Edwards, Timberwolves (link)
Tyson Etienne, Nets (link)
Trentyn Flowers, Clippers (link)
Mac McClung, Magic (link)
Tristen Newton, Timberwolves (link)
Oscar Tshiebwe, Jazz (link via Tony Jones of The Athletic)

In each of these cases, the player’s qualifying offer is equivalent to another one-year, two-way deal, with a small portion (approximately $85K) guaranteed.

While a rival team could technically sign any of these players to an offer sheet during free agency, we essentially never see that happen with two-way free agents. Most of them end up either accepting their two-way QOs or agreeing to new standard contracts with their current teams.

While it’s possible that news of a qualifying offer slipped through the cracks within the last 24 hours, it appears that RealGM’s official transaction log is up to date with all of the QOs that were issued prior to Sunday’s deadline.

If that’s the case, one notable player who didn’t receive a qualifying offer is Hornets guard Tre Mann. His QO would have been worth about $6.96MM, but if Charlotte didn’t put it on the table, that means he’s on track to be unrestricted when free agency opens later today.

[UPDATE: Mann didn’t receive a qualifying offer, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms (via Twitter).]

We’ll publish our full recap of 2025’s qualifying offer decisions later this morning.

Timberwolves Claim Tristen Newton, Waive Daishen Nix

January 3rd, 2025 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 3: The Timberwolves have officially confirmed the moves in a press release.

JANUARY 2: The Timberwolves have claimed shooting guard Tristen Newton off waivers, cutting guard Daishen Nix to create room on their roster for the newcomer, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype first reported (via Twitter) that Minnesota was claiming Newton, who was waived on Wednesday by the Pacers. At the time of Newton’s release, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files indicated that the rookie guard had asked Indiana to let him go.

The 49th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of UConn, Newton logged just eight total minutes across five appearances for the Pacers this season after signing a two-way contract with the club in July.

He has spent most of his rookie year to date with the Indiana Mad Ants, the Pacers’ G League affiliate, averaging 16.4 points, 6.7 assists, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 35.8 minutes per game across 14 total Tip-Off Tournament and regular season outings. His shooting line for the Mad Ants was .401/.396/.692.

Newton will remain on his two-way contract with the Timberwolves, who now control his NBA rights and could convert him to the 15-man roster or negotiate a longer-term standard deal with him later in the season, if they so choose. If he plays out the rest of the 2024/25 campaign on his two-way pact, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer.

As for Nix, he’s in his final year of two-way eligibility after having spent four seasons with the Rockets and Timberwolves from 2021-25. He has appeared in just three games for Minnesota so far this season after making 96 total NBA appearances across his first three seasons.

Like Newton, Nix has seen more action in the G League, averaging 22.1 PPG, 7.3 APG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.9 SPG in 10 games in the Tip-Off Tournament. He recently missed time due to an ankle sprain.

Pacers Waive Tristen Newton, Sign RayJ Dennis To Two-Way Deal

January 3rd, 2025 at 11:32am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JANUARY 3: Dennis’ two-way deal with the Pacers is now official, according to a press release. He will be eligible to play in up to 29 games with the NBA team between now and the end of the regular season.

JANUARY 1: The Pacers have waived two-way player Tristen Newton, the team announced in a press release. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files reports that the move was believed to be Newton’s preference.

Indiana selected the 6’5″ guard out of the University of Connecticut with the No. 49 overall pick in this summer’s draft, and ultimately signed him to a two-way deal. He appeared in just five games for the Pacers at the NBA level, averaging just 1.6 minutes per night.

Across 10 games for the Pacers’ NBAGL affiliate, the Indiana Mad Ants, Newton averaged 17.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.3 steals per contest, with a shooting line of .424/.414/.688.

Newton was a core player on a pair of consecutive NCAA champions with the Huskies. Last year, he was honored as the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and a consensus All-American First Teamer.

Sources inform Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter) that the Pacers are signing free agent guard RayJ Dennis to a new two-way deal to replace Newton. Dennis has been plying his trade as an affiliate player for the Clippers’ G League affiliate, the San Diego Clippers.

In 16 bouts with San Diego, Dennis has averaged 16.4 points, 6.1 dimes, 3.4 boards and 1.3 swipes per game on .461/.346/.810 shooting. The 6’2″ guard went undrafted out of Baylor following an All-Big 12 Second Team stint with the Bears.

Pacers Sign Tristen Newton To Two-Way Deal

July 27th, 2024 at 11:52am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers have signed second-round pick Tristen Newton to a two-way contract, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).

The floor leader for national champion UConn, Newton appeared in five Summer League games in Las Vegas, averaging 9.0 points, 4.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 21.6 minutes.

Newton, 23, started all 40 games for the Huskies this past season and averaged 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists. He was taken with the 49th overall pick in the draft.

Newton was one of four UConn starters selected in the draft. He’ll provide more backcourt depth for Indiana.

Newton joins Quenton Jackson, who was re-signed this weekend, on two-way deals. That leaves Indiana with one more available two-way spot. The team still has one unsigned second-round pick (Enrique Freeman) and has a two-way qualifying offer out to Oscar Tshiebwe.

Ten 2024 Draft Picks Have Yet To Sign NBA Contracts

July 24th, 2024 at 7:44am CST by Luke Adams

Of the 58 players who were selected in last month’s draft, 48 have signed their first NBA contracts since the start of July. As our tracker shows, the breakdown is as follows:

First-round picks signed using the rookie scale exception: 30
Second-round picks signed using the second-round pick exception: 13
Second-round picks signed to two-way contracts: 5

That leaves 10 players from the 2024 draft class who have yet to sign with their respective NBA teams. Here are those players:

Utah Jazz: Kyle Filipowski, F/C, Duke
San Antonio Spurs: Juan Nunez, G, Ratiopharm Ulm
Atlanta Hawks: Nikola Djurisic, G, Mega Basket
San Antonio Spurs: Harrison Ingram, F, UNC
Indiana Pacers: Tristen Newton, G, UConn
Indiana Pacers: Enrique Freeman, F, Akron
Dallas Mavericks: Melvin Ajinca, G, Saint-Quentin
Golden State Warriors: Quinten Post, C, Boston College
Boston Celtics: Anton Watson, F, Gonzaga
New York Knicks: Kevin McCullar, G/F, Kansas

Of these 10 players, one has already signed a non-NBA contract — French team ASVEL Basket announced earlier this week that it has added Ajinca to its roster, so it appears he’ll become a draft-and-stash prospect, spending at least one season overseas before joining the Mavericks.

That’s likely the path Nunez will follow as well. While nothing is official yet, a report earlier this month stated that the Spanish point guard is expected to sign with Barcelona on a deal that will give him an NBA out during the 2025 offseason. The Spurs haven’t been operating as if they expect Nunez to be on their roster next season, having filled their 15-man roster with players on standard contracts.

Djurisic is the other international prospect in this group and his plans for 2024/25 remain unclear. He fractured his left foot during Summer League play and the injury is expected to sideline him until at least late September, putting him behind schedule in his offseason workouts.

The Hawks don’t appear to have room on their 15-man roster for Djurisic at this point (they have 15 players on guaranteed deals, plus Bruno Fernando on a non-guaranteed contract), though they do have a two-way slot open. We’ll see if the plan is to have Djurisic take that spot or if he’ll continue playing overseas for another season.

The Jazz have space on their 15-man roster for Filipowski and I expect him to sign a three- or four-year contract sooner or later. Completing that move would cut into Utah’s cap room a little, so the club will likely handle its other offseason business to make sure it doesn’t need that room for other purposes — Filipowski can be signed using the second-round exception whether team salary is over or under the cap. The Jazz also have yet to formally finalize reported deals with Drew Eubanks and Johnny Juzang, which is another sign they’re keeping all options open with their cap room.

The other six unsigned second-rounders – Ingram, Newton, Freeman, Post, Watson, and McCullar – all look to me like obvious candidates for two-way contracts. As we detailed on Tuesday, the Spurs, Pacers, and Knicks each have multiple open two-way slots, while the Celtics have one open spot, so there’s nothing standing in the way of their draftees filling those openings.

It’s worth noting that Indiana has two-way qualifying offers on the table for two players (Quenton Jackson and Oscar Tshiebwe), so there won’t be room for those two guys and Newton and Freeman on two-way deals. With 14 players on standard contracts, the Pacers could give one of those four players a 15-man spot if they want to retain all of them.

The Warriors, meanwhile, don’t currently have an open two-way slot for Post. One of their two-way players – Pat Spencer – is a carry-over from last season, so his grip on a two-way spot might be weaker than more recent signees like Reece Beekman and Daeqwon Plowden, but Spencer had a strong Summer League showing, so I’m not necessarily assuming Post will take his spot.

For what it’s worth, Post was born and raised in the Netherlands before playing college basketball in the U.S., so spending a season in Europe wouldn’t be a total curveball for him. Still, at age 24, he’s probably NBA-ready. A standard contract isn’t an option for Post for now, since the Warriors are right up against their first-apron hard cap and can’t afford to sign a 15th man. That could change if they make a trade, but for now, his best hope of opening the season with Golden State would be for the team to waive one of its two-way players.

While it’s rare for U.S.-born players to be stashed overseas, it’s not unheard of, so that’s also a possibility for some of the other unsigned players from the back half of the second round.

Another potential option would be signing a G League contract that allows the player’s NBA team to retain his rights while not dedicating an 18-man regular season roster spot to him. There’s often at least one player per draft class who takes that route. Mojave King did it in 2023, Gui Santos did it in 2022, and two Nets draftees (RaiQuan Gray and Marcus Zegarowski) did it in 2021. McCullar, a late pick who is still recovering from a knee injury he sustained at Kansas, might be a candidate for this path.

Grizzlies To Acquire No. 53 Pick Cam Spencer From Wolves

June 28th, 2024 at 10:33am CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 28, 10:33am: The Timberwolves will acquire a future second-round pick from the Grizzlies to move down from No. 53 to No. 57, and cash considerations from the Raptors for No. 57, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

JUNE 27, 5:16pm: The Timberwolves are swapping the No. 53 pick to the Grizzlies for the No. 57 pick, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium tweets. Minnesota will then send the No. 57 pick to the Raptors, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

UConn shooting guard Cam Spencer was taken with the No. 53 and he’ll now join the Grizzlies. Spencer played a key role in UConn’s championship run this past season, averaging 14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists after transferring from Rutgers. He also played three seasons at Loyola Maryland. Spencer shot 44% from beyond the 3-point arc for the Huskies and knocked 41.7% of his 3s in 132 college games.

He’s the fourth UConn player to get selected in this draft. Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan were chosen in the lottery and Tristen Newton was also selected in the second round.

Cameroon big man Ulrich Chomche was chosen at No. 57 and he’ll join Toronto. He spent this past season with the NBA Academy Africa. He only played three games during the Basketball Africa League qualifiers, in which he averaged 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal per game. Overall, he averaged 8.5 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 blocks in 26 games last season.

He’s the first player from the NBA Academy to be drafted.

Minnesota, in a cap-saving move, agreed to trade shooting guard Wendell Moore Jr. and the 37th pick to Detroit earlier in the day. The Pistons used that pick to select forward Bobi Klintman.

Essentially, the Timberwolves made three deals to trade out of the second round.

Atlantic Notes: Randle, LaVine, Sixers, Newton, Nets, Stevens

June 20th, 2024 at 8:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the latest episode of the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast (YouTube link), Knicks forward Julius Randle spoke about the frustrating process of trying to rehab his right shoulder injury during the second half of the 2023/24 season in the hopes of making it back for the playoffs, only to ultimately opt for season-ending surgery.

“I’m rehabbing for two-and-a-half months, knowing my shoulder ain’t good,” Randle said (hat tip to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “So it’s a situation where it’s like, ‘Do I play and know that I’m going to miss six or seven months after we’re done playing?’ So I’m probably not playing until the next year. And I’m not good. So can I help the team? I don’t think I can get a rebound. I can’t fall. I feel like if I fall my shoulder is going to come out. So I’m dealing with that.

“I’m also dealing with the part like I feel selfish, like I’m letting the guys down. Then it came to the point where I don’t even want to be around because I’m trying to work to come back but I feel like I’m a distraction. I feel like an outcast. I’m like, let me just stay away, they’re doing great, let me just be around and support when I can. So I had to get out of my own way of my own ego and be like, all right, once I made that decision, deal with it, and keep moving and support the best way you can. But that s–t was tough.”

Randle underwent surgery on his troublesome shoulder in early April, with the Knicks announcing that he would be reevaluated in five months. That would put his evaluation on track for early September, with no guarantee that the star forward will be ready for training camp a few weeks later. However, Randle suggested he feels good about the progress he’s made — and about his chances of being ready to go in the fall.

“I’m getting there. It’s a process. It’s something that’s going to take a long time. I knew that going into it,” he said. “But I’m ahead of schedule, I’m feeling good. I’m healthy. I’ll be ready when the season starts.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reported earlier today that the Sixers are among the teams that have talked to the Bulls about Zach LaVine, then reiterated that report in a story published this evening following Chicago’s Alex Caruso/Josh Giddey trade agreement with Oklahoma City. However, a league source tells Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link) that Philadelphia isn’t interested in pursuing LaVine.
UConn’s Tristen Newton was among the prospects who took part in the Sixers‘ pre-draft workout on Thursday, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Newton is the No. 66 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Eben Novy-Williams and Scott Soshnick of Sportico provide more information on the minority stake that Julia Koch and her family are buying in BSE Global, the parent company of the Nets. The deal will include $688MM in cash, per Sportico, with much of that money being put toward outstanding debts.
Brad Stevens coached a number of the players who helped lead the Celtics to a title this spring and acquired several of the others. Michael Pina of The Ringer takes a look at the role the head-coach-turned-executive played in Boston winning its record-setting 18th championship.

Central Notes: Caruso, Pacers Workout, Haliburton, Bucks

June 17th, 2024 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have fielded numerous inquiries and proposals regarding guard Alex Caruso, says Will Gottlieb of AllCHGO.com. According to Gottlieb, Chicago was offered multiple protected first-round picks ahead of this year’s trade deadline, with the Warriors among the teams who made a strong offer for Caruso. One of those proposed deals included a 2024 pick that ended up being a top-10 selection, per Gottlieb.

However, the Bulls have thus far resisted moving Caruso, with ownership pushing the front office to continue competing for the postseason rather than undergoing a major rebuild. Caruso is extension-eligible this summer.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Pacers are holding a pre-draft workout on Tuesday with some potential second-round picks in the mix. They’ll host Nikola Djurisic (Serbia), Allen Flanigan (Mississippi), Isaac Jones (Washington State), Tristen Newton (Connecticut), Donta Scott (Maryland), and Santiago Vescovi (Tennessee). Shooting guard Djurisic is ranked No. 41 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list, with forward Jones (No. 57) and Newton (No. 68), point guard for national champion UConn, also among the top 75.
Coming off their run to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers now must focus on taking the next step, star guard Tyrese Haliburton told Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. “It was a great year for us as a team, me individually, of course, but we know there’s another step for us to go, and obviously not satisfied with just Eastern Conference Finals. We want to do a lot more,” he said.
The Bucks currently hold the No. 23 and 33 picks in the draft. What type of players should they target? The Athletic’s Eric Nehm and Sam Vecenie explore that topic, with Vecenie suggesting Indiana’s Kel’el Ware, Purdue’s Zach Edey and Dayton’s DaRon Holmes could get a long look with one of their selections as the club seeks a long-term option at the center spot. Vecenie also mentions numerous prospects at other positions.