Jazz second-round pick Nigel Williams-Goss will begin his professional career overseas. Serbian team KK Partizan Belgrade announced in a press release that it has signed the rookie guard to a two-year contract (English link via Sportando).
With 15 players already on guaranteed contracts, the Jazz didn’t have room on their regular-season NBA roster for Williams-Goss, who was the 55th overall pick in this year’s draft. Many players drafted in that neighborhood have agreed to two-way contracts with their new NBA clubs, and Williams-Goss was said to be a candidate for a two-way opening in Utah. However, it appears either he or the Jazz decided to go in another direction.
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According to international basketball reporter David Pick (via Twitter), KK Partizan will pay Williams-Goss $130K, which is a significantly higher salary than he would have earned on a standard G League contract — if he had signed a two-way deal, the base value would have been $75K, though he could have exceeded that figure with NBA call-ups. Williams-Goss’ new contract in Serbia will include a $500K buyout for the 2018 offseason if the Jazz want to bring him stateside at that point, according to Pick.
Williams-Goss, who left Gonzaga after his junior year, was a key contributor for a squad that appeared in the Final Four for the first time this spring, falling to UNC in the championship game. The young point guard averaged 16.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 1.7 SPG in 2016/17 for the Zags.
Should have stayed in school
He’s a good defender. Could have probably got a roster spot on a team with fewer PGs. Should be good for him to get minutes overseas, earn some money, and then look to make a roster in a year or 2