Terquavion Smith

NBAGL All-League, Defensive, Rookie Teams Announced

The NBA announced all of the major All-NBA G League teams on Thursday (All Twitter links found here), including the First Team, Second Team, Third Team, All-Defensive Team, and All-Rookie team.

Several current and former NBA players are among the honorees. Here is the full list of winners for the 2023/24 season.

All-NBA G League First Team:

All-NBA G League Second Team:

All-NBA G League Third Team:

G League All-Defensive Team:

G League All-Rookie Team:

* Denotes two-way contract

^ Denotes standard contract

Sixers Re-Sign Ricky Council To Two-Way Contract

12:12pm: Tubelis has been waived in order to open up a two-way slot for Council, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).


11:53am: The Sixers have agreed to a new two-way contract with rookie shooting guard Ricky Council, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The signing is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

Council, who played two college seasons at Wichita State before transferring to Arkansas for his junior year in 2022/23, averaged 16.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 34.1 minutes per game (36 games) for the Razorbacks last season. His 27.0% mark on three-point tries left something to be desired, but he was considered one of the top prospects to go undrafted this year.

Following June’s draft, Council quickly latched on with Philadelphia on a two-way deal, playing for the club in Summer League and the preseason before being cut last Friday. The Sixers had to release a two-way player in order to convert Javonte Smart‘s Exhibit 10 deal to a two-way contract.

We don’t know exactly what Philadelphia’s thinking is in waiving Council only to bring him back five days later. However, it’s worth noting that the terms of Terquavion Smith‘s and Azuolas Tubelis‘ two-way deals called for them to have 50% of their full salaries guaranteed if they weren’t waived on or before the first day of the regular season. Council’s previous contract didn’t include those same terms.

It’s possible the Sixers always wanted to retain Council but didn’t want to deny Smith or Tubelis a payday of approximately $205K (each player had already been guaranteed $75K of his $560K two-way salary). Keeping both of those players through opening day on Tuesday ensures they’ll get their salary bumps, which won’t count against Philadelphia’s cap. I’d expect one of them – rather than Smart – was cut to make room for Council, though that hasn’t yet been confirmed.

Sixers Notes: Springer, Wings, Hines, T. Smith, Harden

Jaden Springer, the 28th overall pick in the 2021 draft, has only appeared in 18 NBA games in his first two professional seasons, logging just 95 total minutes in those contests. The Sixers guard began making his case in the team’s preseason opener on Sunday for more playing time in year three, racking up 14 points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists in 24 minutes of action.

“I’m just proud of him, man,” Tyrese Maxey said after the game, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s been working the last three years. I told him, ‘This year, it’s time. We’re probably going to need you. We’re going to need you to step up and play bigger and older than what you are.’ … So I’m proud of him.”

While Springer hasn’t had a regular role at the NBA level, he had a strong season with the Delaware Blue Coats (Philadelphia’s G League affiliate) in 2022/23, earning Finals MVP honors for the NBAGL champions.

The Sixers will have until October 31 to make a decision on Springer’s $4.02MM rookie scale team option for the 2024/25 season. Although that cap hit is pretty team-friendly, it would cut into Philadelphia’s projected cap room for next summer. Maintaining that cap flexibility has been a priority for the front office, so Springer’s option isn’t a lock to be exercised.

Here’s more on the 76ers:

  • With Jalen McDaniels, Matisse Thybulle, and Georges Niang no longer on the roster, a handful of new and returning players are fighting for minutes on the wing, as Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer details. Danuel House and Furkan Korkmaz, who were out of the rotation for much of last season, are among those in the mix, along with newcomers like Kelly Oubre and Danny Green.
  • Within a wide-ranging conversation with Mizell, Sixers assistant coach Rico Hines praised guard Terquavion Smith, who took part in Hines’ pickup games at UCLA this summer after signing a two-way contract with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent.  “I think he has a world of talent, and I think the sky’s the limit for him to continue to grow and get better,” Hines said. “He’s a kid that had first-round talent if he would have come out, probably, a year ago. But whatever the case may be, he fell to us and we’re lucky to have him. For us, it’s just continuing to coach him and getting him better. But I thought he raised a lot of eyebrows in there from veteran guys saying, ‘Man, who is this kid?’ Because they didn’t know him.
  • Although James Harden has been a full participant in Sixers’ last few practices, it’s unclear whether he’ll make his preseason debut on Wednesday, per head coach Nick Nurse, who says the team continues to take a “day by day” approach with the star guard. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer has the story.

Players Who Signed July 1 Are Now Eligible To Be Traded

The peak of the NBA’s transactions season has calmed down after an active start to July, but a few more players have become eligible to be traded on the final day of the month, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 30-day trade restriction window has expired for draft picks who signed their contracts on July 1, along with six players who inked two-way contracts on that date.

The designation won’t matter for those at the very top of the draft, as the Spurs and Trail Blazers obviously won’t consider trading Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, respectively. However, it could come into play for a few others, especially if more big-name players are on the move as the summer winds down.

In addition to those top-three picks, first-rounders who signed on July 1 are the Magic’s Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the PacersJarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, the Trail BlazersKris Murray and the Heat’s Jaime Jaquez. The No. 18 pick out of UCLA, Jaquez has been mentioned as a potential asset in a trade to bring Damian Lillard to Miami.

Two-way players who signed on July 1, according to NBA.com’s transactions log, are the SixersTerquavion Smith and Ricky Council, the Heat‘s Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea, the Trail Blazers Ibou Badji and the RocketsTrevor Hudgins.

Most veteran free agents who signed this summer won’t become eligible to be traded by their teams until December 15 or January 15, depending on their circumstances. Those signings didn’t become official until July 6 or later because of the NBA’s summer moratorium.

Sixers Add Council, Tubelis, Smith On Two-Way Deals

JULY 17: The two-way deal for Tubelis is official, the team announced in a press release.


JULY 1: The Sixers have officially signed Council and Smith.


JUNE 23: The new CBA will allow for three two-way contracts and the Sixers wasted no time filling those spots.

Philadelphia are offering contracts to three undrafted players. Arkansas guard Ricky Council IV will take one of those spots, Shams Charania of The Athletic and The Stadium tweets. Arizona big man Azuolas Tubelis and North Carolina State Terquavion Smith are also being signed on two-way deals, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com tweets.

Council, a 6’6” guard, averaged 16.3 points for the Razorbacks last season after transferring from Wichita State. His spotty perimeter game (3o.3% on 3-point tries in his college career) hurt his draft stock.

Tubelis, a three-year starter for the Wildcats, averaged 19.8 points and 9.1 rebounds last season. Smith averaged 17.9 points and 4.1 assists for the Wolfpack in his sophomore season.

Additionally, the Sixers are signing Arizona State forward Marcus Bagley on an Exhibit 10 contract. Bagley played only five games the past two seasons due to injuries and a suspension.

Sixers Officially Sign Terquavion Smith, Ricky Council To Two-Way Deals

The Sixers have officially completed a pair of two-way contract agreements that were reported shortly after the 2023 draft ended last week, having put out a press release confirming that they’ve signed undrafted rookies Terquavion Smith and Ricky Council to two-way deals.

Smith earned All-ACC honors as a sophomore at NC State this past season after averaging 17.9 points and 4.1 assists in 33.6 minutes per game across 34 appearances. The 6’4″ guard was a 35.2% three-point shooter in his two college seasons.

Council, who began his college career at Wichita State, transferred to Arkansas for his junior year in 2022/23 and averaged 16.1 PPG in 36 games (34.1 MPG) for the Razorbacks. The 6’6″ wing declared for the draft as an early entrant.

Teams will be permitted to carry three players on two-way contracts for the first time in 2023/24, and the Sixers had a clear idea after the draft about how they wanted to fill those slots. Besides reaching deals with Smith and Council, they also agreed to sign Arizona State’s Azuolas Tubelis. His signing hasn’t been finalized yet, but there’s no reason to believe it won’t be.

The 76ers opted not to tender two-way qualifying offers to last season’s two-way players, Louis King and Mac McClung, making them unrestricted free agents.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Wizards, Hornets, Curry, Hawks

Bradley Beal‘s future in Washington has become a popular subject of speculation around the NBA since it was revealed that new Wizards president of basketball operations Michael Winger has been given the power to launch a rebuild if he so chooses, Brian Windhorst stated during a Tuesday appearance on ESPN’s Get Up (YouTube video link).

“Michael Winger said he has not made up his mind yet,” Windhorst said. “But that indecision has led teams to keep a very close eye on the Wizards. They not only have Beal, but big free agents Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis.”

As Windhorst observes, if Winger and the Wizards were to consider moving Beal, trade negotiations would be complicated by the fact that the guard has a full no-trade clause and could veto any deal to an unfavorable destination. That will restrict Washington’s ability to maximize its return for the three-time All-Star.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • Winger is at the top of the Wizards‘ new front office hierarchy, but he fully intends to delegate to his top lieutenants when it comes to draft preparation, as he tells Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “I hope not,” Winger replied when asked if he intends to go on the road to scout players in his new role. “If I’m doing that, something has gone terribly wrong with Travis (Schlenk) and Will (Dawkins). They’re just much better than I am.”
  • Asked whether he’d consider joining the Hornets in free agency, Seth Curry didn’t rule out the possibility of signing with his hometown team, according to Sam Albuquerque of The Greenville News. Curry was born in Charlotte, where his father Dell Curry played for 10 seasons and is currently a color commentator on Hornets broadcasts. “You always think about it,” Seth said. “Growing up a Hornets fan, watching my dad play, you always think about one of us wearing that No. 30 Hornets jersey in the modern era. But like I always say, you never know in this league.”
  • The Hawks, who hold the 15th and 46th overall picks in next week’s draft, are continuing their busy pre-draft workout schedule this week. Malcolm Cazalon (KK Mega), Bryce Griggs (Overtime Elite), Uros Plavsic (Tennessee), JT Shumate (Toledo), Terquavion Smith (NC State), and K.J. Williams (LSU) visited the team on Tuesday, with Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State), Jarkel Joiner (NC State), David Singleton (UCLA), and Malachi Smith (Gonzaga) set to join Jamarius Burton and Osun Osunniyi at Wednesday’s workout.

Southeast Draft Notes: Miller, Hornets, Council, Smith

The Hornets hold the No. 2 pick and Alabama forward Brandon Miller will work out for them on Tuesday, Ashley Stroehlein of WCNC tweets. Miller and G League guard Scoot Henderson are the top contenders to be chosen at the No. 2 spot. It was previously reported that Miller was scheduled to work out for Charlotte on Tuesday and the plans obviously didn’t change. In fact, he has already arrived in Charlotte.

We have more draft-related news from the Southeast Division:

Draft Notes: Black, Whitehead, Henderson, Hornets, Porter

In an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Arkansas guard Anthony Black describes himself as an unselfish player who’s willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win. Black displayed impressive passing skills during his freshman year with the Razorbacks, but he said he can defend, rebound and score as well.

Black, who grew up admiring Gilbert Arenas and Kobe Bryant, compares himself to Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey among current players. Like Giddey, Black is exceptionally tall for a point guard and he uses his 6’7″ height to his advantage.

“I think it helps in my reads,” Black said. “I watch a lot of film, so I’m watching some of the film from the season and some of my reads I’m making just looking straight. There’s a defender, but he’s not tall enough to block it. I can read the back line of the defense a lot easier, I feel like, than a smaller guard who could be guarded by someone with some length and disrupt the passing lane.”

There’s more on the draft:

  • The second surgery needed by Duke forward Dariq Whitehead wasn’t caused by a re-fracture of his right foot, tweets Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. A source tells Wasserman that Whitehead has met with several teams picking late in the lottery as well as teams with multiple first-round selections. He hasn’t been able to work out, but he’s gone through film sessions and met with head coaches, executives and medical personnel.
  • The Hornets haven’t set a date for their workout with Scoot Henderson, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The G League Ignite guard visited the Trail Blazers over the weekend and indicated that he will only work out for Portland and Charlotte. Boone notes that workout days usually aren’t publicized far in advance, and Henderson lives in Georgia so it wouldn’t take him long to get to the Hornets’ facility.
  • The Hornets are hosting a workout today with Texas’ Timmy Allen, Baylor’s Adam Flagler, Florida’s Alex Fudge, Michigan State’s Joey Hauser, Southern Utah’s Tevian Jones and North Carolina State’s Terquavion Smith (Twitter link).
  • Craig Porter Jr. has already conducted workouts with the Mavericks, Warriors, Celtics, Pistons, Magic and Cavaliers, and he has upcoming sessions with the Clippers, Wizards, Nuggets and Knicks, according to a tweet from Global Scouting. The Wichita State guard is a potential late second-round pick.

Central Notes: LeVert, Mitchell, Pacers’ Workouts, Vucevic

A short-term contract might work for both the Cavaliers and one of their free agents, Caris LeVert, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines. LeVert settled into the role of sixth man as the season went along and he wants to re-sign.

Cleveland won’t find a better player with its $12.2MM mid-level exception, according to Fedor, so it makes sense for the Cavs to bring back LeVert and then use the exception to add another rotation piece.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Donovan Mitchell recently expressed on social media his frustration at not being All-NBA First Team. In an “Sideline Stroll w/Ros” interview (video link), Mitchell spoke about the perceived snub in greater detail. “I just felt I should have been First Team,” he said. “So that’s one of my goals next year, is to be First Team. And I felt like I was good enough. But obviously the media members did not.” Mitchell did make the Second Team.
  • The Pacers will host six draft prospects on Monday, including Indiana University star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, according ot a team press release. Emmanuel Akot (Western Kentucky), Tyree Appleby (Wake Forest), Chris Livingston (Kentucky), Terquavion Smith (NC State) and Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona) will join him at the Pacers’ practice facility.
  • The Bulls are looking to lock up Nikola Vucevic for the next three seasons, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. A report that an extension was being discussed with the center, who will otherwise be a free agent next month, surfaced on Wednesday. The Bulls are apparently not looking to take “big swings” this summer and Cowley disagrees with that strategy for a franchise wallowing in mediocrity.