Jaylen Morris Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jaylen Morris Signs Two-Way Deal With Bucks

July 27th, 2018 at 8:14am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 27: Morris has officially signed a two-way contract with the Bucks, per RealGM’s transactions log.

JULY 26: Less than a week after he finalized a deal with Italian team Fiat Torino, former Hawk Jaylen Morris may have decided against playing overseas. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link), Morris is opting out of his contract with Fiat Torino and will sign a two-way deal with the Bucks.

Morris, who was waived a week ago by Atlanta in order to help the team clear cap room to complete its acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, quickly caught on with Larry Brown‘s team in Italy. However, reports at the time indicated that Morris’ new deal had an opt-out clause in case he received an NBA offer.

Assuming he makes things official with the Bucks, Morris would fill the team’s second two-way contract slot. Former Duke point guard Trevon Duval signed a two-way deal with the club earlier this week. Milwaukee also still has a two-way qualifying offer out to Xavier Munford, but deals with both Duval and Morris would seemingly eliminate Munford’s chances of returning to the Bucks on a two-way contract of his own.

After going undrafted out of Molloy in 2017, Morris appeared in 39 games for the Erie BayHawks in 2017/18, averaging 12.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.4 APG for Atlanta’s G League affiliate. The Hawks called up Morris late in the season, inking him to a pair of 10-day deals, then a rest-of-season contract. The 6’5″ shooting guard played just six games for the NBA club.

Former Hawk Jaylen Morris Signs In Italy

July 22nd, 2018 at 8:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Three days after being waived by the Hawks, Jaylen Morris has found a new home in Italy, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. Fiat Torino has announced the signing of Morris, who played six games for Atlanta last season.

Morris had a non-guaranteed $1,378,242 salary for next season, and the Hawks had to waive him and Antonius Cleveland to clear enough cap room to complete a three-team trade that will bring in Carmelo Anthony from the Thunder and Justin Anderson from the Sixers.

Morris spent most of last year in the G League before signing a pair of 10-day deals with Atlanta and getting a contract in March that covered the rest of the season. He also spent summer league with the Hawks, playing in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

Morris requested a release from the Hawks after learning that he wouldn’t make the 15-man roster for the upcoming season, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta-Journal Consitution. Lupo notes that Morris’ new contract in Italy includes an out clause in case he gets another NBA offer.

Hawks Waive Jaylen Morris

July 19th, 2018 at 1:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks have waived Jaylen Morris, whose $1,378,242 salary for next season was non-guaranteed, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The 22-year-old shooting guard played six games last season after inking a pair of 10-day deals, then signing for the rest of the season in March. He saw 16.3 minutes of action per night and posted a 4.7/2.7/1.2 line. He also played for the Hawks’ entries in this year’s Salt Lake City and Las Vegas summer leagues.

The Hawks have another non-guaranteed contract remaining in shooting guard Antonius Cleveland, whose $1,378,242 salary won’t become guaranteed until January 10.

Schlenk: Hawks’ Free Agency Will Be Trades

July 11th, 2018 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks are one of a small handful of NBA teams with significant cap room remaining, but it doesn’t sound like general manager Travis Schlenk is eager to make a play for any of the top free agents still available. Schlenk, who spoke last month about exercising patience and caution in the free agent market, tells Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his club is focusing on the trade market for now.

“We are going through the trade process right now. Seeing what trades might be out there,” Schlenk said. “That’s the process right now, seeing what options might be out there. Not really an antenna for free agency. Our free agency is going to be trades.”

The Hawks have approximately $22MM in cap room, a figure that could increase if the team waives non-guaranteed players Antonius Cleveland and Jaylen Morris. That’d be more than enough to put pressure on a team like the Rockets, Celtics, and Bucks with an offer sheet for Clint Capela, Marcus Smart, or Jabari Parker. However, Schlenk sounds more inclined to use that room to take on an unwanted contract or two, acquiring young players or draft picks in the process.

“Right now, we have the 14 guys under contract. Jaylen and Antonius are non-guarantees so we could get down to 12 pretty quickly if we needed to,” Schlenk said. “We’ll probably look to carry 14 guys just so we have some flexibility with our space to take on contracts if we need to be. The majority for free agency for us is just going to be taking on contracts to gather assets if we get a player we like.”

The Hawks reportedly explored trading highly-paid veterans Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroder earlier in the offseason, but it doesn’t sound like a deal involving either of those players is a priority for the franchise at this point. Asked specifically about Schroder, Schlenk said the point guard’s comments about being open to a trade were “taken out of context,” adding that Schroder is “in a good place” with the Hawks.

Hawks Sign Jaylen Morris For Rest Of Season

March 21st, 2018 at 5:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 21: The Hawks officially signed Morris to a multi-year deal on Wednesday, tweets Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

MARCH 17: Rookie shooting guard Jaylen Morris will sign with the Hawks for the remainder of the season, according to a tweet from his agency, RZA Sports.

Morris inked a pair of 10-day deals with Atlanta, with the latest one due to expire Wednesday. He is currently sidelined by a sprained ankle that he suffered Sunday and is projected to miss another week. He appeared in six games before the injury, averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in about 16 minutes of playing time.

Morris went undrafted last summer out of Division II Molloy College. He spent most of this season with the Hawks’ G League affiliate in Erie, where he averaged 12.6 points in 39 games.

Hawks’ Kent Bazemore Out For Season

March 12th, 2018 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

2:46pm: The Hawks have issued a press release confirming the injuries to Bazemore and Morris. According to the team, Bazemore will miss the rest of the season and Morris will be out for approximately two to four weeks.

2:20pm: After leaving Sunday’s game with a knee injury, Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore isn’t expected to return to action anytime soon. A source tells Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Bazemore will likely miss “several weeks” due to a right knee bone bruise.

A three-and-D wing, Bazemore has started 65 of the Hawks’ 67 games this year, averaging 12.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 3.5 APG with a career-best .394 3PT%. He still has two seasons left on the lucrative four-year deal he signed back in 2016, and is owed an $18MM+ guaranteed salary for 2018/19, plus a $19MM+ player option for 2019/20.

The tanking Hawks are currently tied for the third-worst record in the NBA at 20-47, so the club likely won’t be too devastated to lose one of its more productive rotation players. While the recovery timeline on Bazemore suggests he could be back before season’s end, it’s very possible that Atlanta will play it safe and hold him out for the club’s final 15 games.

Meanwhile, the Hawks will also be without rookie Jaylen Morris, who suffered a left ankle sprain and is expected to be out for two weeks, according to Cunningham. Morris just signed his second 10-day contract with the club on Sunday, but it sounds like he won’t be healthy before that deal expires on March 20.

If Morris remains a part of Atlanta’s plans, the team figures to keep him around during his recovery and then sign him to a rest-of-season contract later this month. If not, the Hawks could end up terminating his 10-day deal early.

Hawks Sign Jaylen Morris To Second 10-Day Deal

March 11th, 2018 at 1:37pm CST by clarkcrum

MARCH 11: The Hawks have officially signed Morris to his second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The contract will run through next Tuesday, covering five games.

MARCH 8: According to Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated, the Hawks plan to sign rookie guard Jaylen Morris to a second 10-day contract after his first 10-day deal expires tomorrow. Assuming the second contract is signed on Saturday, it will run through March 19, covering four games.

As previously touched upon, Morris went undrafted out of Division II Molloy College in last summer’s draft and had spent this season with the Erie BayHawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate, before signing with the Hawks.

Morris has played in all four games since signing his first 10-day deal, averaging 3.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 17.0 minutes per contest. As a rookie, Morris’ deal with once again count as $46,080 towards the Hawks’ salary cap.

Hawks Sign Jaylen Morris To 10-Day Contract

February 28th, 2018 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 28: The Hawks have officially signed Morris to a 10-day deal, the team announced today in a press release. The contract will run through next Friday, covering five games.

FEBRUARY 27: The Hawks will call up G League guard Jaylen Morris and sign him to a 10-day contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, the deal will be made official on Wednesday.

Morris, a 6’5″ guard who went undrafted out of Division II school Molloy College, had spent this season with the Erie BayHawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate. In 39 games, he has averaged 12.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.4 APG, with a .518/.290/.673 shooting line.

Although the Hawks are well out of the playoff picture and are focusing on developing young players, I’d be surprised if Morris enters the rotation in Atlanta after signing his 10-day deal. The Hawks may simply assign Morris back to the G League and let him keep playing for Erie while he collects an NBA salary, though that’s just my speculation.

The Hawks won’t need to make a roster move to clear room on their 15-man roster for Morris. With just 13 players under contract after waiving Ersan Ilyasova on Monday, Atlanta needed to add a player to get back to the 14-man minimum.