Jaden Shackelford

Suns Cut Tyrese Samuel, Jaden Shackelford

The Suns have waived forward Tyrese Samuel and guard Jaden Shackelford ahead of training camp, per the NBA’s official transaction log.

Both players had been on Exhibit 10 training camp deals with Phoenix.

Samuel went undrafted out of Florida this summer. The 6’10” All-SEC honoree averaged 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game while connecting on 56.4% of his looks from the floor and 56.2% of his free throw attempts.

After going undrafted out of Alabama, the 23-year-old Shackelford has spent the last two seasons in the G League as a member of the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. Last year, he recorded averages of 14.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 3.0 APG on .379/.356/.733 shooting across 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games.

Both players seem likely to end up with the Suns’ NBAGL squad, the Valley Suns, who acquired Shackelford’s rights in a trade earlier this month. Should Samuel and Shackelford stick with Phoenix’s G League team for at least 60 days, they will each be eligible for a bonus worth as much as $77.5K.

The Suns also confirmed that they have officially signed power forward/center Mamadi Diakite and center Frank Kaminsky, whose deals were previously reported. Phoenix has one opening on its projected 15-man standard roster. Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets that Diakite, Kaminsky and previously confirmed training camp signee Moses Wood are all slated to compete for it.

Suns Sign Jaden Shackelford To Exhibit 10 Deal

11:30pm: Shackelford’s Exhibit 10 deal with Phoenix is now official, per RealGM’s transactions log.


3:32pm: The Suns are signing free agent guard Jaden Shackelford to an Exhibit 10 contract, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Phoenix’s new NBA G League affiliate, the Valley Suns, recently acquired Shackelford’s returning player rights in a trade with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s affiliate.

Shackelford, 23, went undrafted out of Alabama in 2022. He has spent the past two seasons with the Blue, averaging 14.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 3.0 APG on .379/.356/.733 shooting in 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games in 2023/24 (29.0 MPG). The low field goal percentage requires some context: 77% of his shot attempts came from three-point range.

Shackelford will likely be waived before the season begins and head back to the NBAGL. If that comes to fruition, the Exhibit 10 language in his contract would entitle him to a bonus worth up to $77.5K (on top of his regular G League salary) if he spends at least 60 days with the Valley Suns.

The Suns have reportedly reached Exhibit 10 agreements with Boo Buie, Tyrese Samuel, and Mamadi Diakite in addition to Shackelford.

And-Ones: Toscano-Anderson, Shackelford, Roberson, Beverley

Juan Toscano-Anderson is playing for G League United at the third annual NBA G League Fall Invitational this month. The veteran wing is hoping for another NBA opportunity, he told Sam Gordon of the San Francisco Chronicle.

“I want to show teams that if they were to pick me up, I can enhance the team atmosphere as a player but also as a teammate in the locker room,” Toscano-Anderson said.

He appeared in 11 games with the Kings last season and spent much of the year playing for the Mexico City Capitanes.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • In other G League news, the Valley Suns received the returning player rights to guard Jaden Shackelford from the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League team, in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick, the Suns’ G League team tweets. The Thunder signed and waived Shackelford last October and he spent the season with the Blue.
  • Former NBA swingman Andre Roberson has signed with the French club Cholet, according to Eurohoops.net. Roberson spent most of his NBA career with the Thunder and most recently played five games with Brooklyn in 2020/21. Earlier this year, he participated in an international tournament in Dubai with former NBA players and, in July, took part in the TBT tournament in Louisville.
  • Patrick Beverley is getting the superstar treatment with Hapoel Tel Aviv. The longtime NBA guard says he feels like LeBron James after appearing in a preseason game in Belgrade, Basketnews.com relays. “I know how LeBron feels. I leave games, and the guys that I play against want pictures. Coaches that I play against want pictures,” Beverley said on his podcast. “The fans that I go against, they boo me, I leave out and it’s 30 kids outside, and they all want pictures. And this is every country we go to.” Beverley agreed to play with the Israeli team in July after finishing last season with the Bucks.

Thunder Sign, Waive Jahmi’us Ramsey, Jaden Shackelford

5:43pm: Both Ramsey and Shackelford have been waived, per NBA.com’s transactions log.


11:57am: The Thunder continue to use the spots at the back end of their preseason roster to move players in and out in advance of the G League season. Having waived Caleb McConnell and Adam Flagler, Oklahoma City signed guards Jahmi’us Ramsey and Jaden Shackelford, the team announced today.

Both Ramsey and Shackelford played for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate last season, and I expect the plan is for them to return to the Blue this fall. Assuming they signed Exhibit 10 contracts, which is extremely likely, they’ll be eligible to receive bonuses worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with OKC’s G League club.

The 43rd overall pick in the 2020 draft, Ramsey appeared in 32 games for Sacramento in his first season-and-a-half in the NBA before being waived. Last season, he averaged 21.3 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game across 34 appearances for the Blue, posting a shooting line of .511/.327/.793.

Shackelford joined the Blue after going undrafted out of Alabama in 2022. In his first G League season, he appeared in 44 games, putting up 13.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 1.3 APG on .409/.390/.742 shooting in 27.5 MPG.

The Thunder still have a full 21-man preseason roster and will have to trade or waive one more player even after they cut Ramsey and Shackelford.

Thunder Sign Abdul Gaddy, Cut Jaden Shackelford

The Thunder continue to move players in and out of the final spot on their 20-man roster, announcing today that they’ve waived guard Jaden Shackelford and signed guard Abdul Gaddy to replace him.

Shackelford, who went undrafted out of Alabama in June, played for the Thunder’s Summer League team in July and then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the club this past weekend. He’ll likely become an affiliate player for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League team.

Another member of the Thunder’s Summer League squad, Gaddy played for the OKC Blue from 2018-20, averaging 12.3 PPG and 8.6 APG in 38 games (33.0 MPG) as the team’s point guard in 2019/20. The 30-year-old, who has spent time with teams in Greece and Israel since then, appears likely to remain stateside and return to the Blue this season.

The Thunder continue to carry a full 20-man roster, with only one of those spots dedicated to an Exhibit 10 player. The team has 17 players on fully guaranteed standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals.

Thunder Sign Rookie Jaden Shackelford

The Thunder have signed guard Jaden Shackelford, the team’s PR department tweets.

The deal has been a long time coming — it was reported just after the draft that Oklahoma City would ink the 6’3” guard to an Exhibit 10 contract.

Shackleford saw action in four games with the Thunder summer league team. He went undrafted after playing three seasons with Alabama. In 33 games (32 starts) with the Crimson Tide last season, he averaged 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 34.1 minutes per game.

Oklahoma City has made a number of similar moves in recent days. A player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins his team’s G League affiliate. That’s what will likely occur with Shackelford.

Thunder To Sign Jaden Shackelford To Exhibit 10 Deal

The Thunder are signing Alabama guard Jaden Shackelford to an Exhibit 10 contract, Ben Creider of Sports Illustrated tweets. The contract agreement was confirmed by Shackleford’s agent, Adie von Gontard, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.

Shackelford himself posted a “Thank you Thunder, let’s work!” tweet.

Shackelford, 21, averaged 16.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG while making 35.7% of his 3-point attempts for the Crimson Tide last season. The 6’3” guard averaged 15.2 PPG in 97 career games with Alabama.

An Exhibit 10 is a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract that counts toward a team’s 20-man offseason roster limit, but doesn’t count against the cap unless the player makes the regular season roster.

A player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins his team’s G League affiliate.

Southeast Notes: Beal, M. Williams, Ross, Atkinson, Hornets Workout

Bradley Beal didn’t provide any hints regarding free agency during a public appearance today, but he revealed that “a lot” of players have been encouraging him to join their teams, writes Noah Trister of The Associated Press. Beal is facing a decision on a $36.4MM player option for next season that will have a huge effect on the Wizards‘ future, but he didn’t give any indication on which way he’s leaning.

The star guard did provide an update on his injured left wrist, which required surgery in February that brought his season to an early end. He said the recovery process is going well and estimates that 80-90% of his range of motion has returned.

“The rest is going to be strengthening and stuff,” he said. “I’m cleared to do stuff on the court now, which is good.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • After working out for the Wizards today, Mark Williams said it’s the last one on his schedule before Thursday’s draft, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The Duke center also had sessions with the Hornets, Knicks, Spurs and Bulls.
  • The Magic are still trying to find a taker for Terrence Ross, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Prior to February’s deadline, Orlando was asking for a first-round pick in exchange for the 31-year-old swingman, but Scotto says teams are hoping the price will fall to multiple second-rounders, just as it did when the Magic traded Evan Fournier. Ross has an expiring $11.5MM contract for next season.
  • Before changing his mind about becoming the Hornets‘ next head coach, Kenny Atkinson called all the team’s current assistants and had planned to meet with every staff member before the draft, tweets Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
  • The Hornets hosted six players in a pre-draft workout today, the team tweeted. On hand were Keve Aluma of Virginia Tech, Jamaree Bouyea of San Francisco, Yoan Makoundou of Cholet Basket in France, Wendell Moore of Duke, Scotty Pippen Jr. of Vanderbilt and Jaden Shackelford of Alabama. Charlotte owns the 13th, 15th and 45th picks in the draft.

Draft Workout Notes: Kings, Wizards, Wolves, Jazz, More

The Kings hosted several prospects for pre-draft workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, the team announced (Twitter links).

The Tuesday group featured Trey McGowens, Ziga Samar, Ron Harper Jr., Brady Manek and Dallas Walton. Wednesday’s group was Jacob Gilyard, Fatts Russell, Yoan Makoundou, Karlo Matkovic, Yannick Nzosa and Kai Sotto.

The Kings control the fourth, 37th and 49th picks in the 2022 draft, and a handful of those players could be targets with one of those second-round picks. Nzosa, Samar, Harper and Matkovic are ranked between 53rd and 58th on ESPN’s big board.

Here are more workout-related notes from around the NBA:

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Magic, Williams, Heat, Hawks

The Wizards are scheduled to work out six draft-eligible players on Monday, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Oklahoma’s Jordan Goldwire, Arkansas’ Chris Lykes, Kansas’ Remy Martin, Kansas State’s Mike McGuirl, Alabama’s Jaden Shackelford and Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley will attend the session.

As noted by Robbins, all six players are guards. The Wizards, who own the 10th and 54th overall picks in the draft, are coming off a season in which they finished with a 35-47 record, missing the playoffs.

Here are some other notes from the Southeast Division: