- Pelicans big men Larry Nance Jr. (ankle) and Cody Zeller (back) took part in contact drills in practice on Thursday, while guard Jose Alvarado (ankle) was a limited participant, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com. New Orleans will be without Naji Marshall and Trey Murphy when the season gets underway, so having Nance, Zeller, and Alvarado available would help bolster the club’s depth.
The Pelicans have picked up their 2024/25 team options on Dyson Daniels and Trey Murphy, the team announced in a press release.
Neither player will be impacted in ’23/24, but their salaries for the following year are now locked in. Daniels will earn $6,059,520 in his third season, while Murphy will make $5,159,854 in his fourth.
A 6’8″ guard who was the No. 8 overall pick last year, Daniels averaged 3.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.3 APG on .418/.314/.650 shooting in 59 games as a rookie in ’22/23 (11 starts, 17.7 MPG). The 20-year-old Australian is known more for his strong defense than his offense at this stage of his career.
Murphy, meanwhile, will now be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer after having his fourth-year option exercised.
The No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Murphy emerged as a full-time starter for New Orleans in ’22/23. He averaged 14.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 31.0 MPG across 79 appearances (65 starts), posting an impressive shooting line of .484/.406/.905.
Unfortunately, Murphy is currently sidelined a torn meniscus in his left knee, which required surgery. He’s expected to miss 10-to-12 weeks, with a rough return timeline of mid-November.
The full list of ’24/25 rookie scale team option decisions can be found right here.
- The Pelicans have played poorly this preseason but they should toughen up when backup point guard Jose Alvarado returns. Alvarado has been sidelined by an ankle sprain but there’s optimism he’ll be back for the regular season opener next week. “He’s a big piece for our team, especially on the defensive side of the basketball,” forward Brandon Ingram told Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “He brings us energy. He’ll be good for our second group, just trying to run our second group.”
As our two-way contract tracker shows, 81 of the 90 available two-way slots available around the NBA are currently occupied, with nine still open as of Friday afternoon.
With the start of the season rapidly approaching, teams will begin cutting down their rosters en masse around October 21, which ensures players clear waivers before the start of the season on October 24. One way teams will manage their rosters before the season is by converting certain Exhibit 10 players to two-way contracts.
[Related: Checking In On NBA’s Two-Way Contract Slots]
Let’s take a look at each open two-way spot on a team-by-team basis and consider who could potentially fill those spots.
Brooklyn Nets
Open two-way spots: 1
The Nets are an interesting case because they don’t currently have anyone signed to the roster that makes sense as a two-way option.
They are reportedly signing Patrick Gardner to an Exhibit 10 deal, though that has yet to happen. Harry Giles, while technically eligible for a two-way deal, is not an option because he is signed to only an Exhibit 9 contract, which are ineligible to be converted if they don’t also include Exhibit 10 language.
For now, it seems as though Brooklyn will either keep the slot open to begin the year, claim someone on waivers from another team, or sign an outside option.
Dallas Mavericks
Open two-way spots: 2
Dallas waived Mike Miles on Saturday, giving them two open two-way contract spots. Two logical options to fill those spots, as we wrote, are training camp invitees Greg Brown and Dexter Dennis. Brown is still just 22 with two NBA seasons under his belt and was a consensus five-star prospect out of high school. Dennis averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds with Texas A&M in his final collegiate season.
The Mavericks also signed Taze Moore to a camp deal on Monday, who averaged 10.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals in his final collegiate season with Houston. All three appear to be in play for those final spots, though outside options are always possible.
Detroit Pistons
Open two-way spots: 1
The Pistons have one open standard spot, as well as their open two-way slot. It’s unclear what their plans are with those spots, but it’s possible they give both to players currently on their training camp roster. Stanley Umude, Tosan Evbuomwan, Buddy Boeheim, Zavier Simpson and Jontay Porter are signed to Exhibit 10 deals with Detroit.
Umude appears to have the inside track to a roster spot, whether standard or a two-way deal, given his play in the preseason. However, the Pistons are in a good position to claim a young player on waivers from another team if they chose to, so I’d expect them to at least explore that option.
New Orleans Pelicans
Open two-way spots: 1
The Pelicans also have one open standard spot in addition to their open two-way spot, but given their proximity to the tax, I’d expect them to keep their 15th standard spot open.
That leaves one two-way spot, and they have five players currently signed to Exhibit 10 deals in Jalen Crutcher, Izaiah Brockington, Trey Jemison, Tevian Jones and Malcolm Hill. Jemison, who was once reportedly eyed for a two-way with Phoenix, has been impressive in the preseason and a promotion to a two-way deal wouldn’t be surprising.
Orlando Magic
Open two-way spots: 1
Orlando has a talented crop of players signed to Exhibit 10 deals, including last year’s dunk contest champion Mac McClung. Joining McClung are Trevelin Queen, Brandon Williams and Miye Oni, all of whom have NBA experience.
The Magic traded for the G League rights to McClung and Williams earlier this offseason, which could indicate they don’t plan to convert either given that they have secured their potential G League services However, I expect both to have a chance to make the roster.
Phoenix Suns
Open two-way spots: 1
The Suns don’t have any players currently signed to training camp deals, so it’s hard to predict what they’ll do with these slots. Historically, Phoenix has used their two-way spots to sign players who are older and/or have NBA experience. Ish Wainright and Duane Washington are two such examples and they have Udoka Azubuike and Saben Lee already on board who both fit that bill.
Given that Phoenix is the only team without a G League affiliate for the upcoming season, it’d track that whoever they sign to fill that spot, if any player, would also fulfill that criteria.
San Antonio Spurs
Open two-way spots: 1
Charles Bediako is the only player the Spurs have signed to an Exhibit 10 deal as of Friday afternoon, so he could be a logical option to fill San Antonio’s last two-way contract. Bediako was ESPN’s fifth-best ranked undrafted free agent after the 2023 draft and eight of the top 10 signed two-way deals following the draft (Miles was later waived).
Washington Wizards
Open two-way spots: 1
The Wizards are in the process of cycling through Exhibit 10 players, so I’m not 100% convinced they move either Jules Bernard or Michael Foster Jr., their two current Exhibit 10 signees, to two-way slots. Bernard isn’t a bad bet though — he averaged 15.3 points for Washington’s affiliate Capital City Go-Go last season.
It’s also important to note that every player currently signed to a two-way deal isn’t necessarily a lock to make their team. With a modest contract guarantee, teams often swap out two-way players either before the season or during the course of the year. For example, Miles was waived earlier this week by the Mavericks despite holding a two-way deal.
Potential situations to monitor include Jay Scrubb of the Celtics, who is on a one-year two-way deal but is out for the season with a torn ACL; and Dru Smith of the Heat, whom Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel identified as a possible odd man out, though head coach Erik Spoelstra has spoken highly of him.
The Pelicans have waived Landers Nolley II in order to sign free agent guard Izaiah Brockington, the team announced in a press release.
NBA teams typically specify when they have signed players to two-way contracts, so it seems likely that Brockington signed an Exhibit 10 deal. He could receive a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived before the season starts and then spends at least 60 days with the Birmingham Squadron, New Orleans’ G League affiliate. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted into two-way deals.
Brockington missed nearly all of his rookie season in 2022/23 after sustaining a torn ACL during a pre-draft workout with the Pelicans last year. After going undrafted, New Orleans signed him to a two-way deal last September, but he was waived a couple weeks later.
The 24-year-old played four collegiate seasons for three teams. He started out at St. Bonaventure, spent two seasons with Penn State and finished up Iowa State. In ’21/22 with the Cyclones, Brockington averaged team-highs of 16.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG on a .447/.362/.775 shooting line.
Brockington made two brief cameos for the Squadron in March and suited up for the Pelicans during Summer League in Las Vegas.
Nolley, who went undrafted in June out of Cincinnati, was signed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal. He’s likely headed to Birmingham for his first pro season.
The Pelicans’ roster remains at 21 players under contract, which is the preseason maximum. They have one open two-way slot.
An MRI has indicated that Pelicans wing Naji Marshall suffered a bone bruise and a hyperextended right knee in a preseason fame, per a press release from the team.
The 6’7″ small forward injured his knee during the second quarter of the club’s 110-105 loss to the Hawks Saturday night. He was carted off in a wheelchair. After the game, head coach Willie Green told reporters that a hyperextension was the initial diagnosis, though he noted imaging was forthcoming.
The bone bruise is a bit more serious, and Marshall is set to be re-evaluated in two weeks, meaning he will miss at least the first couple contests of the Pelicans’ 2023/24 season.
Marshall enjoyed his highest-scoring season yet last year with the Pelicans, averaging 9.1 PPG, along with 3.6 RPG, 2.5 APG and 0.7 SPG. He will be missed, especially at a time when New Orleans is hurting for healthy bodies heading into the year.
New Orleans, which was relatively snake-bitten after a promising start last season with injuries to star forwards Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, has been without point guard Jose Alvarado and forward Larry Nance Jr. for its entire preseason due to ankle ailments. Last month, small forward Trey Murphy underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus, so he’ll be sidelined well into the season.
A hamstring strain that has bothered Nets forward Cameron Johnson since the start of training camp could force him to miss the rest of the preseason, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Coach Jacque Vaughn provided an update on Johnson’s status after the team’s annual public practice on Saturday.
“Cam Johnson. That’s the last piece,” Vaughn said. “I think at some point he’s really progressing. Maybe he joins practice at some point this week. Not sure about the game situation. I’m going to be extremely cautious. I’d rather have him available that first (regular season) game versus Cleveland (on Oct. 25), than to try to speed him along and play him in a preseason game. But (he’s had) no setbacks, which is good, and heading in the right direction.”
Johnson became part of the new foundation in Brooklyn after being acquired in the Kevin Durant trade in February. He averaged 16.6 PPG in 25 games with the Nets and was rewarded with a new four-year, $90MM+ contract this summer.
Vaughn also told reporters that Dennis Smith Jr. will miss “at least a week” after injuring his left ankle in Thursday’s game. Smith wore a walking boot at Saturday’s practice, according to Botte.
“It’s definitely an ankle sprain, and he’s got some bone bruising in there as well,” Vaughn said. “So we’ll see a week from now what he looks like, but luckily I think (there is) no ligament damage. So we’ll take that.”
There’s more injury news to pass along:
- Draymond Green participated in an individual workout during the Warriors‘ shootaround on Friday, according to Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News. Green will have his sprained left ankle reevaluated on Monday, Rubin adds, and there’s a chance he could play during the preseason depending on the results.
- Pelicans coach Willie Green believes Naji Marshall suffered a hyperextended right knee during Saturday’s game, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Marshall landed awkwardly after trying to block a shot midway through the second quarter and left the court in a wheelchair. “Looks to be fine,” Green said. “But we’ll get an MRI to see where he is.” Clark notes that New Orleans is already shorthanded as Jose Alvarado and Larry Nance Jr. haven’t played in the preseason because of ankle injuries and Trey Murphy has a torn meniscus.
- Lakers guard Gabe Vincent missed Friday’s game because of tightness in his back, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Cam Reddish remains unavailable after spraining his right ankle in a game last week.
The Pelicans have made a minor change to their preseason roster, signing free agent guard Jalen Crutcher, the team announced in a press release. New Orleans waived Liam Robbins to create a roster opening for Crutcher.
A former college standout at Dayton, Crutcher played four years for the Flyers prior to going undrafted in 2021. He has spent his first two professional seasons playing in the G League for the Greensboro Swarm — Charlotte’s affiliate — after signing Exhibit 10 deals with and then being waived by the Hornets.
A 6’2″ point guard, Crutcher appeared in 57 regular season games (39 starts, 32.7 MPG) with the Swarm from 2021-23, averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.8 APG and 3.0 RPG with an impressive .473/.430/.774 shooting slash line.
The Birmingham Squadron — the Pelicans’ NBAGL affiliate — acquired Crutcher’s returning player rights last month in a deal with the Swarm. That means the 24-year-old likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract with New Orleans, which would entitle him to a $75K bonus if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with the Squadron.
Robbins, a 7’0″ big man who went undrafted in June out of Vanderbilt, inked an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pelicans at the end of last month. It looked like he might be promoted to a two-way contract, but last week he unfortunately sustained a stress fracture in his right fibula and was ruled out indefinitely.
A.J. Dybantsa, a 6’8″ wing from Massachusetts and one of the top high school prospects in the country, intends to reclassify to the 2025 recruiting class, as Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com writes. Dybantsa had previously been the No. 1 player in ESPN’s 2026 recruiting rankings. Now, he becomes the favorite to be selected first overall in the 2026 NBA draft, according to Borzello.
As Borzello explains, Dybantsa, Cooper Flagg, and Cameron Boozer are widely considered the best high school prospects in the country. When ESPN asked 20 college coaches and NBA evaluators to rank the trio this summer, Dybantsa earned seven first-place votes and placed second behind Flagg, who is the frontrunner to be the top pick in the 2025 draft.
“Dybantsa is just the most complete,” one coach told ESPN. “Scores at all three levels. Super athletic. He’s the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft whenever he goes.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the league:
- Former Pelicans assistant Teresa Weatherspoon will be the next head coach of the WNBA’s Chiacgo Sky, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The former WNBA star was an assistant in New Orleans for four seasons before the team parted ways with her in June.
- In John Schuhmann’s general manager poll, two players received more votes than Magic forward Franz Wagner for this season’s top breakout candidate. However, Wagner sits atop the list compiled by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who spoke to 25 executives around the NBA and has shared the top nine vote-getters. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Rockets guard Jalen Green round out Scotto’s top three.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic lists a dozen under-the-radar NBA players whom he expects to have a real impact this season, including Celtics wing Oshae Brissett, Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, Thunder guard Vasilije Micic, and Pelicans forward Naji Marshall.
- The Capital City Go-Go have traded the returning rights to Isaiah Mucius to the Delaware Blue Coats along with a 2024 first-round pick and 2023 second-round pick in the G League draft. In exchange, the Sixers‘ G League affiliate has sent Michael Foster Jr.‘s returning rights to the Wizards‘ affiliate, the Go-Go announced today (via Twitter).
Just four-and-a-half minutes into his first game with the Rockets, Dillon Brooks provided a reminder of his occasional tendency to take his defensive tenacity a step too far, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). Brooks was ejected from Houston’s preseason opener with 7:27 left in the first quarter after officials determined he struck Pacers center Daniel Theis in the groin.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Brooks – who signed a four-year, $86MM deal with the Rockets in July – suggested his reputation was a factor in the quick hook he received on Tuesday.
“I tried to navigate a screen,” he said. “I might have tapped him below waist. But he got right back up. I don’t know. It’s weird that every time it happens to me, I get picked on. I guess it’s part of reputation.”
Asked if there’s a target on his back due to his past actions, Brooks didn’t dispute the idea.
“I don’t know. What’s my name?” he said, per Feigen. “The name is ‘Dillon the villain,’ so I guess.”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Asked about his goals for the 2023/24 season, Rockets guard Jalen Green provided a simple response, according to Feigen (subscription required): “Winning. Winning. Winning. … Winning is very important in the NBA. I haven’t done any of that. It’s time for that to change.”
- Following a promising offseason in which he invested heavily in his personal training staff, forward Zion Williamson and the Pelicans‘ new-look offense looked good in Tuesday’s opener, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Williamson had 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists in just 15 minutes of action. “You can condition,” head coach Willie Green said. “You can lift. You can do a ton of cardio. But the best basketball shape is to play basketball.”
- Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins offered a minor update on Tuesday on injured guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the team’s first two preseason games due to ab soreness. “It’s day-to-day. It’s kind of light core work right now,” Jenkins said (Twitter link via Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com). “Just being smart, anticipate a little bit more ramp up as week goes on.”
- In a conversation with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Spurs wing Keldon Johnson spoke about his desire to become a better defender, what his role will look like in 2023/24, and his first impressions of Victor Wembanyama.
- In case you missed it, you can vote on the 2023/24 win totals for all five Southwest teams right here.