Elijah Harkless Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Notes: Juzang, Williams, Harkless, Markkanen

January 12th, 2025 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz‘s matchup with the Heat on Thursday gave them a first-hand look at the sort of player they envision as a model for third-year wing Johnny Juzang, writes Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Head coach Will Hardy referred to Heat forward Duncan Robinson as the “poster boy” for the type of unheralded prospect who earns a spot in the NBA with his reliable three-point shooting and length on defense. Like Robinson, Juzang went undrafted out of college, and Hardy said this week that he spoke to the former UCLA standout when he arrived in Utah about how he could stick in the NBA.

“We had a pretty honest conversation about what I felt like he needed to do to make it,” Hardy said. “He was sort of an all-around scorer in college, had the ball a lot. Johnny has two really great gifts. He can really shoot and he is in really good shape. We felt like him becoming a real threat from the three-point line, and making that the centerpiece, would allow him to stick.”

Juzang played sparingly while on a two-way contract during his first two seasons with the Jazz, appearing in just 38 total contests. But he showed enough to earn a multiyear deal this past offseason that includes a guaranteed $3.1MM salary in 2024/25.

The remaining three seasons on the 23-year-old’s contract are non-guaranteed, so he’ll have to continuing proving to Utah’s front office that he deserves his roster spot. He’s off to a promising start this season, having averaged 7.3 points per game with a .400 3PT% through 32 appearances (17.8 MPG), including 9.2 PPG with a .446 3PT% since the start of December.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

Juzang missed Saturday’s game in Phoenix due to a fracture in his right hand, but the club doesn’t believe that injury will require a lengthy absence. As Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune relays (via Twitter), the Jazz stated that once the inflammation subsides, they “anticipate he will be able to play with the fracture as pain tolerates.”
Saturday’s 13-point performance against Phoenix was a promising sign for rookie Cody Williams, who has badly struggled offensively in the first half of the season, Larsen writes for The Tribune (subscription required). Williams’ ball-handling and footwork still need work, but he has shown good touch near the basket out to about 15 feet, Larsen observes. His 13 points on Saturday represented a career high and he was a plus-7 across 22 minutes in a game Utah lost by eight points.
Elijah Harkless, who signed a two-way contract with Utah at the start of January, made his NBA debut on Saturday vs. the Suns, Larsen notes in the same story. While Harkless has been shooting the ball well this season in the G League, making 40.8% of his three-pointers, he’s best known for his defense. Asked last week by Larsen to introduce his game to Jazz fans, Harkless replied, “I’m competitive. Best on-ball defender on the planet.” He went scoreless with four rebounds in nine minutes on Saturday.
In case you missed it in our Community Shootaround discussion on Saturday, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was among the players labeled by scouts and executives who spoke to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link) as one of the season’s disappointments so far. “He’s probably not super motivated because the team is tanking,” one executive said of Markkanen, who signed a long-term extension with Utah in August. “But his numbers and his overall level is down across the board.”

Jazz Notes: Sensabaugh, Markkanen, George, Williams, Harkless

January 2nd, 2025 at 8:16pm CST by Luke Adams

After appearing in just 32 games during his rookie year with the Jazz, Brice Sensabaugh has already nearly matched that total in his second season, earning minutes off the bench in 26 of Utah’s 32 contests so far. Sensabaugh still isn’t playing a major role, but he has been more effective during his time on the court, making 45.0% of his shots from the field and 38.0% of his three-pointers after posting a .390 FG% and .296 3PT% last season.

Speaking to Grant Afseth of RG.org, Sensabaugh admitted that the learning curve has been steep as he continues to adjust to the NBA after thriving in his lone college season at Ohio State.

“The games come fast, and it’s all the best players in the world, so you really have to lock into the details,” Sensabaugh said. “Taking time to watch film with the coaches and preparing ahead of games is important. You play teams multiple times, so you adjust. Doing your work early on defense and being in the right spot helps you avoid playing from behind.”

Sensabaugh added that remaining in Salt Lake City during the 2024 offseason and working closely with the team’s coaching staff has helped him understand what he needs to do to earn minutes and what the Jazz want to see from him going forward.

“They’ve been transparent with what they want from us. We have a bunch of meetings and conversations outside of practice to clarify things,” Sensabaugh said. “Being around the whole summer and getting our real work in Utah has helped a lot, especially for the young guys. We know what the coaches want, and if we keep building together, I think we can be special for sure.”

Here’s more out of Utah:

Should the Jazz be worried about Lauri Markkanen‘s decline in shooting efficiency or Keyonte George‘s defense? In the view of Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, the latter is more concerning than the former, since Markkanen is facing more defensive attention than ever and has been forced to take more difficult shots. George, on the other hand, has statistically been the worst defensive player on the league’s worst defensive team — Utah’s league-worst 119.7 defensive rating drops to a team-worst 123.6 during George’s minutes. George has good size for a guard (6’4″, with a wingspan of nearly 6’8″) and should be better defensively, according to Larsen, who says it’s imperative that the 21-year-old improve on that end of the court.
Cody Williams‘ offensive numbers through his first 19 NBA games (3.5 PPG on .312/.238/.643 shooting) have been brutal, so it was encouraging to see him go off for a season-high 36 points on 13-of-21 shooting for the Salt Lake City Stars on Wednesday, writes Larsen. Larsen suggests it might be better for Williams’ development, at least for now, to have him taking 20 shots per game in the G League rather than “being along for the ride” at the NBA level.
The two-way contract that Elijah Harkless signed with the Jazz on Wednesday is for two years, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means it will cover not just the rest of the 2024/25 season but ’25/26 as well, giving Utah the option of hanging onto Harkless beyond this season without having to negotiate a new deal.

Jazz Sign Elijah Harkless To Two-Way Contract

January 1st, 2025 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 1: The Jazz have officially signed Harkless and waived Jones, according to a team press release.

DECEMBER 31: The Jazz have agreed to sign guard Elijah Harkless to a two-way contract, according to reports from Ian Begley of SNY.tv and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links).

Harkless, who went undrafted out of UNLV in 2023, has spent most of his professional career so far playing for the Clippers’ G League affiliate. He also had a stint in the Canadian Elite Basketball League with the Saskatchewan Rattlers this past spring.

In 18 Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games for the San Diego Clippers in 2024/25, Harkless has averaged 16.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.3 steals in 27.1 minutes per contest. The 6’3″ guard has posted a shooting line of .438/.362/.810.

The Jazz don’t currently have an open two-way slot on their roster, so they’ll have to waive one of their current two-way players – Micah Potter, Oscar Tshiebwe, or David Jones – in order to make room for Harkless.

A two-way player is typically limited to no more than 50 NBA appearances in a season, but that figure will be prorated for Harkless, since he’s signing well into the season. Assuming his deal is finalized on Tuesday on Wednesday, his rest-of-season limit will be 30 NBA games.

Jazz Waive David Jones

December 31st, 2024 at 5:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

JANUARY 1: Jones has officially been waived, according to a team press release.

DECEMBER 31: The Jazz will open a two-way spot for Elijah Harkless by waiving David Jones, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Scotto reported earlier today that Harkless will be signed out of the G League.

Jones, a 23-year-old small forward, inked a two-way deal with Philadelphia in July after going undrafted out of Memphis. He played for the Sixers’ Summer League teams in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, but was waived in late September.

Jones signed with Utah on November 22, but he hasn’t appeared in any NBA games. He spent time with both the Salt Lake City Stars and Mexico City Capitanes in the G League, where he is averaging 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

He will likely remain in the G League as he awaits another NBA opportunity.

Jones was a first-team All-AAC selection last season at Memphis, where he averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 32 games. He spent two years at DePaul and one at St. John’s before joining the Tigers.

Pacific Notes: James, Harden, Harkless, Fox, Schröder

December 19th, 2024 at 8:58pm CST by Tristan Tucker

LeBron James enters Thursday just 10 minutes from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most total minutes played in regular season NBA history after having passed him in total minutes (playoffs included) last year. He’s likely to set the regular season record against the Kings. James discussed the achievement with The Athletic’s Jovan Buha and Sam Amick.

“I just think it’s just a commitment to the craft and to the passion and love I have for the game,” James said. “I don’t take much time in the offseason. A little bit more time now, I didn’t take much time in the offseason, no matter if I was making the 10 Finals appearances back to back and just always trying to keep my body in tip-top shape.

“And I’ve been able to, like I said, play a lot of minutes and for the most part of my career be injury-free and be available. I don’t want to say injury-free. We all have our injuries in this league and in this sport. But to be available for the majority to my teammates, to the franchises, the three franchises I play for, is something I took very seriously.”

James has been rehabbing an injury over the past couple weeks, missing a pair of games last week. According to Buha and Amick, he’s open to resting down the line if it makes sense in the schedule.

“I’m just not a guy that likes to sit games, if I’m somewhat healthy,” James said. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just, it’s never been my thing. … If there’s an opportunity where it could benefit my body and benefit my play long-term for the better of the team, then I’m always open to having that conversation. So we’ll see what happens.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

As a result of Kawhi Leonard‘s knee injury and Paul George‘s free agency departure, James Harden has been the only member of the Clippers‘ former big three still standing this season and has continued to keep the team competitive by providing strong leadership and playing big minutes, Janis Carr of The Orange County Register writes. Harden is averaging 22.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game while shooting 35.3% from beyond the arc. The Clippers entered Thursday at 15-12. “If he has a bad shooting night, the next night he’s probably going to come back and play well,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “That’s what good players do. They bounce back. We’ve asked him to do a lot. He’s carried a load offensively, making the right passes, reads and also scoring the basketball. And at 35 years old, that can get tiring. So, we are asking a lot of him.“
Current San Diego Clippers guard Elijah Harkless is drawing NBA interest ahead of the G League Showcase, SNY’s Ian Begley reports (via Twitter). Harkless is averaging 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.6 steals per contest for L.A.’s G League club. He went undrafted in 2023 out of UNLV and spent back-to-back offseasons on a training camp deal with the Clippers.
The Kings have won three of their last four games and four of their past six, but they dropped some winnable games earlier in the season and are at an uneven 13-14, good for 12th in the Western Conference. Head coach Mike Brown challenged star De’Aaron Fox to help the team continue to lock in and focus on the details, according to FOX 40 Sacramento’s Sean Cunningham (Twitter link). “Fox has to step up,” Brown said. “He’s a great player, on the verge of being a superstar…you have a lot of responsibility if you’re that guy, and he’s that guy. And he can’t be a part of not being locked in and he damn sure can’t be a part of letting it go if we’re not [locked in] as a team.“
Dennis Schröder appeared in his first game as a member of the Warriors, starting on Thursday after being traded by the Nets. As observed by ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk (Twitter link), Jonathan Kuminga moved to the bench after having started each of Golden State’s past six games.

Clippers Waive Elijah Harkless, Alondes Williams, Braxton Key

October 19th, 2024 at 4:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers have waived guards Elijah Harkless and Alondes Williams, along with forward Braxton Key, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. In addition, Tosan Evbuomwan has officially been signed and waived.

Harkless played for the team’s G League affiliate last season and seems likely to return there. He averaged 11.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 20 regular season G League games a year ago.

Williams appeared in seven games after signing a two-way contract with Miami in February. He was also on a two-way deal with Brooklyn in 2022/23, making one short appearance in an NBA game.

Key got into 20 games on a two-way contract with Denver last season. He also has brief NBA experience with Philadelphia and Detroit.

Evbuomwan signed with the Clippers after being waived on Wednesday by Detroit, where he held a two-way contract. He appeared in 13 games for the Pistons and four with the Grizzlies last season.

All four players appear headed to the Clippers’ G League affiliate in San Diego, where they will be eligible for bonuses up to $77.5K if they remain with the team for at least 60 days.

The Clippers will have 15 players with standard contracts on their opening-night roster, along with three two-way deals.

Clippers Waive RayJ Dennis, Re-Sign Elijah Harkless

October 9th, 2024 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

3:25pm: The Clippers wasted little time in filling their open roster spot, announcing that they’ve re-signed free agent guard Elijah Harkless, who was on an Exhibit 10 contract earlier this summer but was waived before camp began.

Harkless played for the Clips’ G League affiliate last season and will likely report back to the team this fall, but it looks like he’ll get a chance to spend some time with the NBA club and perhaps play in a preseason game before he heads to San Diego.

3:12pm: Camp invitee RayJ Dennis has been placed on waivers by the Clippers, the team announced today. The move leaves L.A. with 20 players under contract, one shy of the preseason limit.

Dennis signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Clippers last month after going undrafted out of Baylor in June. A fifth-year super-senior with the Bears in 2023/24, the 6’2″ point guard averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 34.3 minutes per game across 35 contests (all starts). His shooting line was .479/.328/.731.

Dennis went scoreless in 11 of minutes of action in the Clippers’ first preseason game on Saturday, then was the only one of 17 active players not to see the floor at all in the team’s second preseason contest on Tuesday.

Barring something unexpected, Dennis’ next stop will probably with the San Diego Clippers, L.A.’s G League affiliate. If he spends at least 60 days with San Diego, the rookie will receive an Exhibit 10 bonus worth $77.5K on top of his standard NBAGL salary.

Two Jazz Signings Among NBA’s Latest Minor Moves

September 28th, 2024 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of recently reported Jazz signings are now official, according to the NBA transaction log at RealGM.com. Utah has officially signed guard Isaiah Wong and wing Taevion Kinsey, whose Exhibit 10 agreements with the team were revealed within the last week.

RealGM actually lists both players as having signed with Sacramento, but that appears to be an input error — their deals were said to be with Utah, and Wong and Kinsey are both listed on the Jazz’s roster on the team’s official website.

Another Exhibit 10 signing was officially completed on Friday, with the Hawks announcing in a press release that they’ve added Daeqwon Plowden to their training camp roster. Plowden had been on a two-way deal with the Warriors but was recently waived in order to make room for rookie Quinten Post.

Here are a few more of the minor roster moves from around the league that were overshadowed on Friday by the news of the biggest trade of the 2024 offseason:

According to the official transaction log at NBA.com, the Trail Blazers have waived Estonian wing Henri Drell, who had been on an Exhibit 10 contract. Drell will likely end up playing for the Rip City Remix, Portland’s G League affiliate.
The Spurs have cut guard Jameer Nelson Jr., the son of former NBA guard Jameer Nelson, per NBA.com. As we wrote when Nelson signed with San Antonio earlier this week, he seems destined to become an affiliate player for the Austin Spurs in the NBAGL.
The Clippers have waived guard Elijah Harkless, according to NBA.com. Harkless spent the 2023/24 season playing for the Clippers’ G League affiliate and will likely return to the team – now known as the San Diego Clippers – this fall.

Checking In On Early 2024/25 Roster Battles

September 14th, 2024 at 11:03am CST by Tristan Tucker

Each year, a handful of teams prefer to bring in players to battle it out for the last remaining spots on a given roster. Let’s take a look at a few training camp battles that are already brewing ahead of October.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have been busy in recent weeks, filling out their training camp roster with proven talent. The Bulls have 15 players on standard contracts, but Onuralp Bitim‘s deal is non-guaranteed. In addition, Chicago has two open two-way slots. The Bulls have four players — Talen Horton-Tucker, Kenneth Lofton Jr., E.J. Liddell and Marcus Domask — signed to training camp deals.

Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted to two-way contracts at any time. Horton-Tucker is the only player of that batch who is ineligible for a two-way contract, since he is at five years of NBA service. That gives the Bulls a handful of options for their opening night roster.

In essence, Bitim and Horton-Tucker seem to be battling it out for the Bulls’ 15th roster spot, while Lofton, Liddell and Domask all appear to be candidates for the team’s open two-way slots. Of course, if the Bulls opt to move on from Bitim on a standard deal, they could attempt to re-sign him to a two-way deal. They could also just carry 14 players on the standard roster to begin the year.

New York Knicks

As we detailed Saturday morning, Landry Shamet and Chuma Okeke appear to be battling for the Knicks’ 15th roster spot. Of course, there’s no guarantee that either player will make the roster, but each has a decent case to make the team.

Shamet is a proven three-point shooter while Okeke is a versatile forward who is a previous 16th overall pick. The Knicks will likely assess in training camp what their biggest need is and keep the player who best fits that niche heading into the year.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers have a handful of players on non-guaranteed or partially contracts heading into the season. However, previous reporting seems to indicate that the team’s final roster spot will come down to either Kendall Brown or Cole Swider.

Brown is an athletic forward who was the 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He has spent the last two seasons with the Pacers but has also appeared in just 21 total games. Meanwhile, the Pacers signed Swider to a training camp contract this offseason that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language. Swider is a known three-point shooter who spent last season with the Heat and helped Miami to a summer league championship this offseason.

James Wiseman and James Johnson each have partially guaranteed salaries with the Pacers.

The others

Other teams across the league are poised to either carry just 14 players on standard deals to begin the year or already have their 15-man rosters determined. However, some of those teams have unsettled two-way roster slots.

The Heat have their standard roster filled out, but summer standout Isaiah Stevens is on an Exhibit 10 deal. It seems like Stevens will battle Dru Smith — who currently holds a two-way deal — outright for that spot.

The Hornets have Moussa Diabate and KJ Simpson on two-way deals but have another spot open. Keyontae Johnson could be an option for that spot. Charlotte also has a potential opening on the 15-man roster, with four players signed to Exhibit 10 deals and another agreed to.

The Wizards also have an open two-way slot. Washington signed Leaky Black, Kira Lewis and Jaylen Nowell to Exhibit 10 contracts, but only Black is eligible for a two-way deal. The Wizards also have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, with Jared Butler and his non-guaranteed deal possibly on the outside looking in unless they make a trade.

The Clippers have RayJ Dennis, Kai Jones and Elijah Harkless signed to Exhibit 10 deals. The team also has an agreement with Kevon Harris for another such spot. With only Jordan Miller and Trentyn Flowers on two-way contracts, all of Dennis, Jones, Harkless and Harris are eligible for the team’s third.

Clippers Sign Elijah Harkless To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 5th, 2024 at 2:08pm CST by Rory Maher

September 5: Harkless’ Exhibit 10 contract with the Clippers is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.

July 29: Free agent guard Elijah Harkless will be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Clippers, a source tells Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Harkless went undrafted in 2023 after playing five seasons of college basketball with three different schools (Cal State Northridge, Oklahoma and UNLV). As Murray notes, Harkless recently suited up for the Clippers during Summer League action.

The 24-year-old spent his first professional season playing for the Clippers’ NBA G League affiliate in Ontario, California. He put up solid numbers off the bench in 27 Showcase Cup and regular season games, averaging 11.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.0 SPG on .493/.419/.750 shooting (20.7 MPG).

Exhibit 10 deals, which are non-guaranteed, can be converted to two-way contracts, and the Clips do have a two-way opening. They can also ensure a player receives a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived before the regular season begins and then spends at least 60 days with his club’s G League affiliate.