Xavier Sneed

Jazz Sign Xavier Sneed To Two-Way Contract

3:37pm: Sneed’s two-way deal is now official, the Jazz announced in a press release.


1:47pm: The Jazz are signing small forward Xavier Sneed to a two-way contract, agent Gary Durrant tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Utah has had an open two-way contract slot since waiving Malik Fitts last month, so no corresponding roster move will be necessary to complete the signing. Once the move is official, the Jazz won’t have any available two-way slots, but will still have one opening left on their 15-man roster.

Sneed, a 6’5″ wing who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, played in 13 games for the Greensboro Swarm last season and returned to the Hornets’ G League affiliate for a second go-round this year. In 31 career G League games, he has averaged 10.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in 25.6 minutes per contest.

The 24-year-old has improved his scoring efficiency significantly in his second NBAGL season. After making 36.0% of his field goal tries – including 27.9% of his threes – in 2020/21, he has knocked down 50.0% of his shots and 39.8% of his threes in ’21/22.

Sneed had a brief NBA cameo with the Grizzlies earlier this season, logging eight total minutes in two games during a hardship 10-day contract.

Grizzlies Sign Xavier Sneed To 10-Day Contract

The Grizzlies have completed another hardship signing, adding forward Xavier Sneed on a 10-day contract, the team announced today (Twitter link).

Memphis has now signed three players to 10-day deals in the last two days, having officially finalized agreements with Tyrell Terry and Shaq Buchanan on Sunday. The club currently has five players in the health and safety protocols.

Sneed, a 6’5″ wing who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, played in 13 games for the Greensboro Swarm last season and returned to the Hornets’ G League affiliate for a second go-round this year. In 27 total G League games, he has averaged 9.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 24.9 minutes per contest.

The 24-year-old has improved his scoring efficiency significantly in his second NBAGL season. After making 36.0% of his field goal tries, including 27.9% of his threes, in 2020/21, he has knocked down 50.5% of his shots and 39.0% of his threes in ’21/22.

Sneed’s new deal will run through January 5, covering Memphis’ next five games. He’ll earn $53,176 in his 10 days with the team.

Hornets Waive D.J. Carton, Xavier Sneed

The Hornets have cut a pair of training camp invitees, announcing today in a press release that D.J. Carton and Xavier Sneed have been placed on waivers.

Carton, a 6’2″ guard, played for one year at Ohio State before transferring to Marquette last season. He averaged 13 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game as a junior, then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Charlotte in August after going undrafted in July.

Sneed, who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, signed a training camp contract with Charlotte last offseason and then was waived at the end of the preseason. The 6’5″ wing played in 13 games (23.3 MPG) for the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League affiliate, averaging 8.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG with a .360/.279/.875 shooting line.

Both Carton and Sneed seem likely to end up playing for the Swarm this season.

Charlotte now has 16 players on guaranteed contracts and a pair of players on two-way deals. The club will need to trade or release at least one player on a guaranteed contract before the regular season begins. The Hornets may also continue to move players in and out of their two open roster spots in order to secure their G League rights and/or ensure they receive an Exhibit 10 bonus.

Hornets Sign Xavier Sneed

The Hornets have officially signed free agent swingman Xavier Sneed to a contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it seems likely to be a non-guaranteed pact that includes Exhibit 10 language. That would allow the Hornets to give Sneed a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived before the regular season begins and then spends at least 60 days with their G League team.

Sneed, who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, signed a training camp contract with Charlotte last offseason and then was waived at the end of the preseason. He played in 13 games (23.3 MPG) for the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League affiliate, averaging 8.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG with a .360/.279/.875 shooting line.

With the signing, Charlotte now has a full 20-man offseason roster, including 16 players with guaranteed salaries, two on Exhibit 10 deals (Sneed and D.J. Carton) and a pair on two-way contracts (Scottie Lewis and Arnoldas Kulboka).

In order to set their roster for the regular season, the Hornets will have to trade or release at least one player with a guaranteed salary, but that move doesn’t need to be completed until mid-October. However, the club also reportedly agreed to sign Cameron McGriff to an Exhibit 10 deal, so more transactions could be coming during the preseason.

Hornets Waive Four Players

The Hornets have waived Keandre CookJavin DeLaurier, Xavier Sneed and Kahlil Whitney, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell expects all four to be considered for the team’s G League affiliate in Greensboro once they clear waivers.

The moves leave Charlotte with an open roster spot and more than $4MM in cap room, Bonnell adds (Twitter link), and general manager Mitch Kupchak may opt to keep that flexibility through the trade deadline.

All four players were rookies with non-guaranteed contracts, so Charlotte won’t be on the hook for any money.

Hornets To Sign Xavier Sneed

The Hornets have reached a contract agreement with undrafted rookie forward Xavier Sneed, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Charlotte has reportedly filled its two-way slots, so Sneed’s deal is likely an Exhibit 10 deal. An Exhibit 10 contract provides players with an invitation to training camp and a guarantee of up to $50K if they are waived and later assigned to the team’s affiliate in the G League.

Sneed was a four-year player and three-year starter at Kansas State. As a senior, he averaged 14.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.8 SPG in 32.6 MPG. Sneed was an early entrant for the 2019 draft but withdrew his name in time to return for his senior campaign at KSU.

 

 

Draft Decisions: Coffey, Tucker, Dotson, Grimes, Nwora

There’s little time left before tonight’s 11:59 pm EST NCAA withdrawal deadline. Below are some of the latest decisions:

Staying in the draft:

Withdrawing from the draft:

As noted by Jonathan Givony of ESPN, Dotson, Nwora, and Grimes were ranked Nos. 59, 63, and 73 before their announcements.

Remember to check our early entrants list for a full list of all draft decisions.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Kings, Lakers, Franklin

The notion that the Warriors are a better team without Kevin Durant is silly and shouldn’t be taken seriously, Sam Amick writes for The Athletic.

Durant has missed Golden State’s last four games — all of which were wins — leading some to question how much better he truly makes the team. His absence has allowed Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and most notably Draymond Green to operate more with their surrounding cast, playing more up-tempo without their most talented player.

“We’re confident we can win (every time out), but we would much rather have (Durant) playing,” Curry said after Game 2, according to Amick. “So we’re going to hold the fort down till he gets back and go win another championship with our full squad. You know, him and DeMarcus (Cousins, who could return from his quad injury in this series), as well. We understand how great of players they are and how they raise our ceiling even higher.”

Multiple Warriors players have labeled Durant as the best talent on the team this season. The all-out recruitment of Durant, led by Green and others in 2016, kicked off because the team wanted another go-to scorer and all-around superstar on the wing.

Before suffering his strained calf against the Rockets, Durant was averaging a scorching 34.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in the playoffs. He shot 51% from the field and 42% from deep during those 11 contests.

There’s more today from the Pacific Division:

And-Ones: Early Entrants, Ball, Pierce, Diaw

After releasing a 233-player list of early entrants for the 2019 NBA draft on Tuesday, the league followed up today by adding a few more names to that list. According to an announcement from the league, “timely letters” were received from three more prospects who declared for the draft. Those players are as follows:

Leading up to the early entry deadline, there were reports that Cham, Lamb, and Sneed all intended to enter the draft, so it was a little surprising not to see them on the NBA’s official list this week. They’re on there now though, and the additions of those three names mean that this year’s early entrant total is up to 236 players, matching a record set in 2018.

As we noted on Tuesday, there were still several players who reportedly intended to declare for the draft as early entrants and aren’t on the NBA’s list, so they either had second thoughts or missed the deadline. The next deadline will arrive on May 29, when NCAA prospects will have to either withdraw from this year’s draft pool or officially forfeit their remaining college eligibility.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Alan Foster, a former associate of Lonzo Ball and the Ball family, is under FBI investigation, according to a report from Tania Ganguli and Richard Winton of The Los Angeles Times. The Bureau is looking into whether Foster defrauded the Ball family out of millions of dollars, according to Ganguli and Winton, who say the investigation has been going on for more than two months. Foster was already facing a lawsuit accusing him of embezzling over $2MM from Big Baller Brand for his personal use.
  • Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce has taken the place of Pacers head coach Nate McMillan as an assistant on Team USA’s coaching staff for 2019/20, according to a press release. McMillan withdrew due to scheduling conflicts, opening the door for Pierce to claim a spot on Gregg Popovich’s staff for the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics.
  • Longtime NBA forward Boris Diaw is reportedly poised to take over as the president of French team Levallois Metropolitans. The news was reported by Le Parisien, and relayed by Sportando and Eurohoops. Assuming it becomes official, Diaw will become the second notable NBA player to assume the role of team president for a French club, joining former teammate Tony Parker, who runs ASVEL Villeurbanne.

233 Early Entrants Declare For 2019 NBA Draft

The NBA has released the official list of early entrants for the 2019 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 233 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 175 are from colleges, while 58 are international early entrants.

That number falls just short of the previous record for early entrants, established in 2018. Last year, 236 early entrants declared for the draft, though ultimately only 91 of those prospects remained in the draft by the final deadline.

This year’s total of 233 early entrants also figures to shrink significantly by May 29 and again by June 10, the two key deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like that pool will remain crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants almost certainly exceeding 60, the number of picks in the draft.

Our list of early entrants is now up to date and can be found right here. Here are today’s updates:

College underclassmen:

The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our own list.

The following players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.

International players:

The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our list.

The following international players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.