The Jazz have signed forward Oscar Tshiebwe to a two-way contract, according to a team press release. Utah opened up a slot by waiving Taevion Kinsey on Monday, which was confirmed in the press release.
Tshiebwe spent the 2023/24 season on a two-way deal with the Pacers after going undrafted. He appeared in eight NBA games and averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game.
Tshiebwe excelled at the G League level. He was named Rookie of the Year and All-NBA G League First Team after appearing in 23 regular season games (21 starts) for the Indiana Mad Ants and averaging 16.2 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 27.2 minutes per contest.
The Pacers had extended a two-way qualifying offer to Tshiebwe, which made him a restricted free agent and gave Indiana the right of first refusal. But all of the Pacers’ two-way slots are filled, so it appears they were willing to let him sign elsewhere.
Tshiebwe played for Indiana’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas last month, averaging 11.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in five games.
Tshiebwe was the unanimous National Player of the Year and Southeastern Conference Player of the Year for Kentucky as a junior in 2021/22. As a senior in 2022/23, he was a unanimous Second-Team All-America selection and led the nation in rebounding for a second straight season.
Good move but they need to get Kinsey back too
I really like what they are building
He’s 6’9″ and 260lbs. That’s a big boy! He better be able to box out just about anyone. If he’s boxing out a center then be sure to keep your back to them and back them way out of the paint. =)
Use your big butt like Moses Malone did
This fits Utah’s usual PF identity
A positive steal for the Jazz. I expect him to be converted to a full contract at some point.
The Pacers dropped the ball on this one.
If you think the Pacers “dropped the ball” by letting a 2-way player go, do a bit of research. The developmental window has closed. He’ll be 25 years old this season, and he, literally, has never scored outside of 8 ft in his college or G-League career. Think Bismack Biyombo, but with no lateral mobility.
Great rebounder at the G-League level, but he projects as a deep reserve that gets called up to the NBA when a team loses some bigs to injury. 0% chance he takes minutes from any of the Jazz’s developing bigs.