Jordan Schakel

Minor Moves: Thunder, Raptors, Celtics, Lakers, Bucks

The Thunder have waived forward Malevy Leons, the team announced today. Leons went undrafted in June out of Bradley and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City in September. His next stop will likely be with the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. If he spends at least 60 days with the Blue, Leons will earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth $77.5K.

Meanwhile, the Thunder’s roster is now regular season compliant. They’re carrying 13 players on standard guaranteed salaries, a pair on non-guaranteed deals, and three on two-way pacts.

Here are a few more minor transactions completed on Saturday around the NBA:

  • The Raptors signed and subsequently waived forward Kevin Obanor, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter links). After going undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2023, Obanor spent his rookie season with the Raptors 905. Today’s sign-and-waive transaction suggests he’ll be returning to the 905 this fall — Toronto already held his returning rights, but today’s moves will allow the 25-year-old to cash in on an Exhibit 10 bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the 905.
  • The Celtics signed Jordan Schakel to an Exhibit 10 deal on Friday, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac, and waived him on Saturday, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log. As with Obanor, the moves were simply designed to get Schakel a bonus for returning to the Maine Celtics, the team he played for last season. Boston also signed and waived Schakel in September, so it’s unclear why the club did so again a month later.
  • The Lakers have cut former Belmont standout Grayson Murphy after signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract this week, the team announced on Saturday (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic). The 25-year-old point guard spent the past two seasons competing in Germany, but appears ticketed for the South Bay Lakers to open the 2024/25 season.
  • The Bucks waived center Jalen Lewis after having signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract on Friday, per NBA.com’s transaction log. Lewis, who spent multiple years in the Overtime Elite program, will likely begin the season with the Wiscon Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate.

Celtics Sign, Waive Jordan Schakel

SEPTEMBER 13: The Celtics have waived Schakel, according to NBA’s official transaction log. Schakel’s Exhibit 10 deal includes a $77.5K bonus, which he’ll earn by spending at least 60 days with Maine.


SEPTEMBER 11: The Celtics have signed free agent swingman Jordan Schakel to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Bobby Manning of CelticsBlog.

The move gives Boston a full 21-man offseason roster, with 14 players on standard contracts, three on two-way deals, and four on Exhibit 10 pacts.

A former San Diego State standout, Schakel has spent most of the past three seasons playing in the G League since going undrafted in 2021. He also had brief stints in the NBA with the Wizards in 2021/22 and ’22/23, appearing in six games for Washington during that time, and spent part of this summer playing in Puerto Rico for Leones de Ponce.

Before a knee injury prematurely ended his season, Schakel played for the Maine Celtics in ’23/24, averaging 13.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 28.1 minutes per game across 24 outings, with a shooting line of .417/.402/.826.

Although the Celtics’ roster is full for the time being, they’ll likely continue to make tweaks before training camp begins next month. Manning notes that the team is expected to sign Jay Scrubb to an Exhibit 10 contract once he fully recovers from ACL surgery.

Players on Exhibit 10 deals who are waived before the season begins are eligible to earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they spend at least 60 days with their team’s G League affiliate. That’s likely the plan for Schakel, who figures to return to Maine this fall.

Celtics Sign, Waive Brandon Slater; Cut Two Others

The Celtics officially completed a series of roster moves on Thursday, per RealGM, signing and then waiving forward Brandon Slater while also cutting wing Jordan Schakel and forward Taylor Funk.

Slater went undrafted in June after spending five years playing for Villanova at the college level. As a super-senior in 2022/23, he averaged 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game across 34 appearances (all starts) for the Wildcats.

Schakel had signed with the Celtics earlier this week, while Funk joined the roster in early September. Like Schakel and Funk, Slater likely received an Exhibit 10 contract, which will make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate.

The series of roster moves reduces Boston’s roster count to 18 players under contract, including 11 on guaranteed deals, four on non-guaranteed pacts, and three on two-way contracts. The team will likely fill out its 21-man roster before training camp begins next week, with DJ Steward among the anticipated additions.

Celtics Sign Jordan Schakel To Non-Guaranteed Camp Deal

The Celtics have signed free agent guard/forward Jordan Schakel, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). It will be a non-guaranteed training camp deal, Smith adds, likely featuring Exhibit 10 language.

A 6’6″ wing, Schakel went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2021. He caught on with the Wizards for his rookie season, signing an Exhibit 10 contract before being waived and spending the bulk of 2021/22 with their NBA G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.

Schakel, who signed a 10-day hardship deal with Washington during the COVID-19 outbreak a couple years ago, inked a two-way contract with the Wizards prior to last season, but was released last November. Overall, he has played in six NBA games for 36 total minutes, all with the Wizards.

While he hasn’t played much at the NBA level, he was a G League regular the past two seasons. In 2022/23, he spent the fall Showcase Cup with the Go-Go, averaging 14.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 2.1 APG on .451/.360/.919 shooting over 17 games (31.3 MPG).

However, after spending six regular season games with the Go-Go, he finished last season with Golden State’s affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. Overall, he averaged 10.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 1.5 APG on .452/.399/.862 shooting in 33 combined games with the two clubs (25.5 MPG).

It’s worth noting that since Schakel’s returning player rights are held by the Warriors, the Celtics will have to acquire his G League rights if the plan is for him to spend the upcoming season with their NBAGL affiliate in Maine, which seems highly likely. If he’s waived before the season starts, he could earn a bonus worth $75K — in addition to his G League salary — if he spends at least 60 days with Maine.

After signing Schakel, the Celtics now have 20 players on their roster ahead of training camp, one shy of the offseason limit.

International Notes: Whiteside, Vonleh, Figueroa, Schakel, Schmidt

A former All-Defensive player and a former lottery pick are among the veteran NBA free agents reportedly receiving overseas interest.

Big man Hassan Whiteside, who led the league in blocks per game twice and made an All-Defensive team in 2016, has drawn interest from Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv, per Omri Manhime of Sport5 (Twitter link; hat tip to Sportando). Whiteside was out of the NBA in 2022/23 and played in Lebanon earlier in his professional career.

Meanwhile, Greek team Panathinaikos is said to be eyeing Noah Vonleh, according to Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops.net. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Vonleh has appeared in 362 career regular season NBA games, including 23 last season for Boston. He played for the Shanghai Sharks in 2021/22 but has never joined a European team.

Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

  • Former Oregon guard L.J. Figueroa, who has spent the last two seasons in the G League playing with the Santa Cruz Warriors and South Bay Lakers, has signed with German club Ratiopharm Ulm, per a press release from the team. Although Figueroa signed Exhibit 10 contracts with Golden State and L.A., he has yet to play in a regular season NBA game.
  • Jordan Schakel, a member of the Wizards for parts of the last two seasons, is aiming to play for the German national team in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, agents Mike Naiditch and Daniel Poneman tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Schakel has only appeared in six games at the NBA level, but made 39.9% of his three-point attempts in the G League last season.
  • Ryan Schmidt has left his job as the head coach of the London Lions in the British Basketball League in order to take a coaching job with an NBA team, according to a press release. While his destination isn’t yet known, Schmidt will be joining an Eastern Conference club, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. He previously had a four-year stint as an assistant coach for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League team (2017-21).

Wizards Sign Devon Dotson To Two-Way Deal, Waive Jordan Schakel

3:45PM: The moves are now official, the Wizards have announced in a press release.


1:18PM: Point guard Devon Dotson, currently with the Wizards‘ NBA G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, will be promoted to Washington on a two-way contract, his agent Kevin Bradbury informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Woj adds that the Wizards will waive current two-way player Jordan Schakel, a 6’6″ wing out of San Diego State, to make room for Dotson. Two-way player Jordan Goodwin, a 6’3″ combo guard who has already appeared in nine games for the Wizards and put up solid numbers, will be unaffected by the minor roster shake-up.

The 6’2″ Dotson, an athletic guard, went undrafted out of Kansas in 2020. He then signed two-way deals with his hometown Bulls for the 2020/21 and ’21/22 seasons. Across 22 NBA games for Chicago, Dotson averaged 2.4 PPG on 50% shooting from the floor in 6.1 MPG. In seven contests with the Capital City Go-Go this year, Dotson is averaging 12.1 PPG, 6.9 APG, 4.1 RPG and 0.9 SPG.

Schakel has played sparingly for the Wizards over parts of two NBA seasons. After going undrafted in 2021, he joined the Go-Go as an affiliate player for the 2021/22 season and signed a 10-day deal with Washington later that year before returning to the Go-Go when that deal expired. Schakel joined Washington this season on a two-way deal. He appeared in just two games for the club this season, playing 3.0 minutes per night

As Ava Wallace of The Washington Post notes (Twitter link), Dotson will provide some depth in a banged-up Wizards backcourt and could see immediate playing time. Reserves Delon Wright and Monte Morris have both been ruled out for the Wizards today, tweets The Athletic’s Josh Robbins.

Wizards Notes: Porzingis, 5-Team Trade, Westbrook, Schakel

Kristaps Porzingis has only played three games since being acquired from Dallas last month, but the Wizards are encouraged by what they’ve seen, writes Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. Porzingis was sidelined by knee soreness at the time of the trade and didn’t start playing until Sunday. He has averaged 19.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per night and has contributed as a rim protector and play-maker as well.

“It’s tough, it’s been a handful of games, so he’s still trying to work his way through it. He’s going to have some big nights and he’s going to struggle at times, just like everybody else,” coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “But he’ll find that level of consistency, it’ll even out. He’s too good of a player.”

Porzingis has barely practiced since coming to Washington, Wallace notes, so he’s still trying to develop chemistry with his new teammates. He will miss tonight’s game at Portland for precautionary reasons because it’s the second night of a back-to-back, but Unseld doesn’t expect him to have any more restrictions for the rest of the season.

“Of course, I want to play and have longer stretches of playing,” Porzingis said. “Sometimes it kind of creeps in your mind and you want to force some things out there because, ‘Ah, I might be coming out in a couple minutes,’ so I just [need] to have that calmness and knowing that I’m going to get there. I just need to stay focused and play the right way.”

There’s more on the Wizards:

  • The five-team trade that Washington was part of last summer continues to evolve, observes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Although there’s a perception that the Wizards got the better of the deal because Russell Westbrook has struggled with the Lakers, the pieces they got in return have already changed significantly. Spencer Dinwiddie, Montrezl Harrell and Aaron Holiday were all shipped out at the trade deadline.
  • Westbrook’s desire to go home and play for the Lakers sparked that five-team deal, but he had a much better situation in Washington, contends Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Westbrook became a team leader after sparking the Wizards to a late-season surge that got them into the play-in tournament last season, Buckner points out. He also had an All-Star backcourt partner in Bradley Beal who was willing to adjust to his style of play.
  • Jordan Schakel‘s new two-way contract will cover two seasons, tweets JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors.

Jordan Schakel Signs Two-Way Deal With Wizards

MARCH 9: The Wizards have officially signed Schakel to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. As we relayed earlier today, the team waived Ayayi to make room for Schakel.


MARCH 8: Shooting guard Jordan Schakel will sign a two-way contract with the Wizards, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Schakel most recently played for Washington’s NBA G League club, the Capital City Go-Go.

The Wizards currently have both their two-way slots occupied, by guards Joel Ayayi and Cassius Winston. One of those two players will need to be waived for the Wizards to complete the signing of Schakel.

Schakel, 23, is an undrafted rookie out of San Diego State. The 6’6″ wing had previously signed a 10-day hardship contract with Washington in December, appearing in two games. He averaged just 7.0 MPG in those contests with the Wizards.

In 21 games for the Go-Go this season, Schakel is averaging 14.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG. Across 32.0 MPG, he boasts shooting splits of .431/.352/.941.

Schakel will join a Wizards team at a bit of a crossroads this season. Washington, which has won five of its last 10 games, remains very much in the Eastern Conference play-in picture, despite the shelving of star guard Bradley Beal for the rest of the season following a left wrist surgery. At 29-34, the No. 11 Wizards are just 1.5 games behind the tenth-seeded Hawks and two games behind the No. 8 Hornets and No. 9 Nets.

Wizards Sign Jordan Schakel To 10-Day Deal

DECEMBER 22: Schakel’s 10-day deal is now official, the Wizards announced in a press release. It’ll run through December 31.


DECEMBER 21: The Wizards are calling up rookie wing Jordan Schakel from their G League affiliate, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Schakel will sign a 10-day contract via a hardship exception.

Schakel, who went undrafted earlier this year out of San Diego State, joined the Wizards for training camp, but didn’t make the team’s regular season roster. The 23-year-old joined the Capital City Go-Go and has averaged 14.1 PPG and 3.1 RPG in his first 14 games (32.1 MPG) in the G League, knocking down an impressive 39.6% of his 7.9 three-point attempts per game.

The Wizards haven’t had major issues this month with COVID-19, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tested positive on Monday night and was placed in the protocols today, making the team eligible for a hardship exception.

Schakel’s 10-day deal won’t count against team salary for cap or tax purposes.

Wizards Cut Jay Huff, Jordan Schakel

The Wizards removed a pair of players from their preseason roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived Jay Huff and Jordan Schakel.

A 7’1″ forward/center, Huff spent his college career at Virginia and was a full-time starter for the first time as a senior in 2020/21. He averaged 13.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 2.6 BPG with a stellar .585/.387/.837 shooting line in 25 games (27.0 MPG). Huff, who won a national title in 2019, made the All-ACC Second Team and the ACC All-Defensive Team in 2021.

The 6’6″ Schakel averaged 14.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 APG, and 1.0 SPG on .473/.461/.908 shooting in his final college season at San Diego State in ’20/21. The 23-year-old was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team and to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team.

Both players had signed Exhibit 10 contracts with Washington as undrafted free agents and now appear on track to join the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ G League affiliate.