Players who sign 10-day contracts aren’t assured of sticking around for very long, but some of them do. Saturday, Tim Frazier became the 10th player this year to sign for at least the rest of the season following a 10-day contract. Six of them had to pass through two 10-day contracts with their respective teams before they scored longer-term arrangements, and some, like Jordan McRae, signed 10-day contracts with multiple teams before landing greater security.
No one had to sweat through more 10-day deals to nail down a more permanent place on a roster than Sean Kilpatrick did. He signed two 10-days with the Nuggets and another two with the Nets, who richly rewarded him for his patience. Kilpatrick is the only 10-day signee to snag more than the minimum salary on a follow-up deal this year, as the Nets are paying him about twice the prorated minimum on the multiyear contract he signed earlier this month. He’s also the only 10-day signee this year with a fully guaranteed salary for next season.
Kilpatrick and others who signed multiyear deals are marked with asterisks below on this list of players who’ve parlayed 10-day contracts this year into deals that cover at least the rest of the season.
- Jeff Ayres, Clippers (two 10-day contracts) — minimum-salary signing for the rest of this season.
- *-Bryce Dejean-Jones, Pelicans (two 10-day contracts) — mid-level exception signing worth the minimum salary for the rest of this season, with non-guaranteed minimum salaries for next season and 2017/18.
- Jorge Gutierrez, Hornets (one 10-day contract) — minimum-salary signing for the rest of this season.
- Tim Frazier, Pelicans (one 10-day contract) — minimum-salary signing for the rest of this season.
- Ryan Hollins, Grizzlies (two 10-day contracts) — minimum-salary signing for the rest of this season.
- *-Sean Kilpatrick, Nets (two 10-day contracts; also had two 10-day contracts with Nuggets) — mid-level exception signing worth $221,176 for rest of this season, with fully guaranteed minimum salary for next season and non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2017/18.
- *-Jordan McRae, Cavaliers (one 10-day contract; also had two 10-day contracts with Suns) — minimum-salary signing for the rest of this season and next season, with a team option on next season.
- Greg Smith, Timberwolves (two 10-day contracts) — minimum-salary signing for the rest of this season.
- *-Axel Toupane, Nuggets (two 10-day contracts) — minimum-salary signing for the rest of this season and next season, with next season non-guaranteed.
- *-Alan Williams, Suns (one 10-day contract) — minimum-salary signing for the rest of this season and next season, with next season non-guaranteed (source).
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Sean Kilpatrick has certainly looked like an NBA player since he came to Brooklyn. I wonder why the Nuggets didn’t see it, or maybe they did and just didn’t think he was worth opening a roster spot for.