Yuki Kawamura Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Convert Yuki Kawamura To Two-Way Deal

October 19th, 2024 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

2:49pm: Kawamura has officially been promoted to a two-way contract, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

1:24pm: The Grizzlies intend to convert non-guaranteed camp invitee Yuki Kawamura to a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Kawamura, who is currently on an Exhibit 10 deal, will take the two-way slot that was previously occupied by Scotty Pippen Jr. before he was promoted to the standard roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to make room.

The 23-year-old Japanese guard has spent the past five seasons playing in the B.League in his home country. He earned MVP honors in 2023 and averaged 20.9 points, 8.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game last season for the Yokohama B-Corsairs. He also played for Japan at this summer’s Olympics, pouring in 29 points in a near-upset of France in pool play.

Kawamura impressed his new Grizzlies teammates this fall with his competitiveness and had some strong preseason outings, handing out eight assists in last Saturday’s win against Chicago and then registering 10 points and seven assists in Monday’s victory over the Pacers.

At 5’8″, Kawamura will be the shortest active player in the NBA, tweets Charania.

Once Kawamura’s conversion is official, the Grizzlies will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts and three on two-way deals, with the club’s other Exhibit 10 signees – Miye Oni, Maozinha Pereira, Armando Bacot, and Miles Norris – seemingly on the outside looking in with the regular season roster cut-down deadline looming.

Southwest Notes: CP3, Flynn, Pippen, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Hawkins

October 18th, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Of the hundreds of players currently on NBA rosters, only two are older than 39-year-old Chris Paul. While the Spurs point guard’s days as an NBA player may be numbered, he’s still not sure what the next stage of his career will look like, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required).

One potential path that intrigues Paul is being part of an NBA team’s ownership group, which he acknowledges is a little ironic, given that he served as the head of the National Basketball Players Association earlier in his career.

“I definitely want to be part of an organization because being the president of the union, I am probably the only guy who knows from being a player to ownership to the business side of it and all that,” Paul said. “There is probably nobody else who has the lens and the views I have.”

NBA general managers recently voted Paul as the active player who would make the best head coach after retiring. While coaching has never been atop CP3’s list of goals, he admitted that he hasn’t ruled out the idea.

“I was talking to my wife today because I have always said I would never coach,” he said. “But just thinking about it, I don’t know. Trying to figure it out. My wife and friends are always telling me I have so much knowledge and love for the game that I could coach. But I also think about being a dad because I have missed so much of my kids’ lives. So, yeah, I don’t know.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Although fifth-year guard Malachi Flynn joined the Spurs hoping to earn a spot on the team’s regular season roster, he knows his non-guaranteed contract makes him more likely to be cut before opening night. In that scenario, he may end up playing for the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate, which is a scenario he’s open to, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio-Express News (subscription required) details. “There’s a history of what (the Spurs) have been able to do with people, if they do end up going to the G League, they have a good success rate at that,” Flynn said. “It felt like a good spot for me.”
Scotty Pippen Jr.‘s new four-year standard contract with the Grizzlies is worth his minimum in all four seasons, for a total of $9,608,931, Hoops Rumors has learned. Memphis used a portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing and gave Pippen two guaranteed seasons, with a $350K partial guarantee in year three. The deal includes a fourth-year team option that would be partially guaranteed for just under $397K if it’s exercised.
With Pippen elevated to the standard roster, the Grizzlies have a two-way slot open ahead of the season. Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal considers the candidates for that spot, speculating that Yuki Kawamura is the frontrunner, with Maozinha Pereira representing his top competition and Armando Bacot and Miye Oni representing longer shots. While those four players are all on Exhibit 10 contracts that could be converted to two-way deals, Memphis could also look outside the organization to fill that two-way opening.
Head coach Willie Green‘s ability to adapt to and maximize an unorthodox Pelicans roster will be a key factor in determining the team’s upside in 2024/25, writes Will Guillory of The Athletic.
Green said on Friday that second-year shooting guard Jordan Hawkins will “absolutely” be part of the Pelicans‘ regular rotation this season, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Hawkins saw his minutes fluctuate during his rookie year and averaged just 7.3 MPG in 14 appearances in March and April.

Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Jenkins, Barnes, Fultz

October 12th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Injuries have hampered the Mavericks as they try to get ready for the upcoming season, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. The most pressing absence is Luka Doncic, who has been sidelined by a left calf contusion he suffered shortly before the start of training camp. He’ll miss another game Monday, but there’s hope he might be ready for Thursday’s preseason finale.

P.J. Washington, who is projected to be the starting power forward, hasn’t played in the preseason either due to tightness in his left hip. Maxi Kleber is dealing with a sprained left ankle, and Dante Exum is expected to be out of action for three months after surgery on his right wrist.

“We have to be prepared for (players not being available) and that’s what we’re looking at right now is who can handle the backup point guard (role) if Spencer (Dinwiddie) has to start,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We’ll look at different lineups here. We have two games left. One in L.A. and one at home, just to see and be prepared if some of the guys who are hurt can’t go on the 24th (for the season opener).”

There were some encouraging signs on Saturday as Washington was able to practice and Doncic participated in a non-contact session, Curtis tweets. Curtis notes that the team went through a similar situation last October when Doncic suffered a calf strain in camp, but was able to return for the start of the season.

“For us, it’s almost normal,” Kidd said. “This was last year’s training camp. We’ve had some injuries. You just deal with it. You gotta teach and coach the guys that we have. You have to be prepared. We have always taken that approach that if guys are hurt, we have to go with the guys that can play … the nice thing is P.J., Luka and Maxi have been in the system so they understand what we’re trying to do, so it shouldn’t take them that long.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

With his star players returning from injuries, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins wants his team to play at a faster pace, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Memphis tended to slow games down last season with Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. all missing significant time. “It’s going to be a matter of how we convert, whether it’s stops, rebounds, turnovers, even after made baskets,” Jenkins said. “Our ability to get the ball up the floor quicker — last year, we were trying to get into more of a positionless style of offense. We’re still going to lean into that, but there are things we’ve been tracking and practicing (with) the switch from defense to offense. Pace is a numerical thing, but it’s really a mentality thing.”
Harrison Barnes‘ high basketball IQ makes him a natural fit for the Spurs‘ starting lineup, Iko adds in the same piece. Throughout his career, Barnes has been a play-maker and low-maintenance glue guy who fits well around star players like Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul.
Free agent Markelle Fultz seems like a good option as a backup guard for the Grizzlies, especially if Morant, Bane and Marcus Smart are all going to be starters, Iko tweets. Iko contends that Fultz would be ready to handle minutes right away, while Yuki Kawamura and Scotty Pippen Jr. need time to learn.

Southwest Notes: Hawkins, Morant, Kawamura, Flynn, CP3, Wemby

October 9th, 2024 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Although Jordan Hawkins made just 38.2% of his shots from the floor as a rookie, he knocked down a respectable 36.6% of his three-point tries and was a regular part of the Pelicans‘ rotation for much of the season. The team believes Hawkins has more to contribute in 2024/25, with head coach Willie Green giving him the green light to fire away from beyond the arc and teammate Zion Williamson stating that the second-year wing “can bring a lot to this team,” per Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

“He’s special, man,” Green said. “The force and speed he comes off of plays with. His gravity creates a domino effect. We want to incorporate him in our offense. Sometimes we are playing through him.”

Hawkins’ shooting ability made him the 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft and helped him stay on the floor in his rookie year, but he knows he has to perform more consistently on the other end of the court to earn a consistent bump in minutes in year two, as Clark relays.

“I think the defensive end, I’ve trended on the way up since last year,” Hawkins said. “I’m doing a lot more things I’m comfortable with. I know the rotations, the NBA defense. It’s different from the college defense.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Ja Morant, who tweaked his ankle during Monday’s preseason opener, has formally been diagnosed with a “mild’ sprain, according to Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, who said he expects his starting point guard to be ready for opening night (Twitter link via Chris Herrington of Daily Memphian). Still, the team will take a cautious approach, so it remains to be seen whether Morant will play in any of Memphis’ four remaining preseason contests.
Grizzlies camp invitee Yuki Kawamura, a 5’8″ Japanese guard, has earned praise from his teammates for his competitiveness and fearlessness, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. While Kawamura won’t make the standard roster, there’s a chance his Exhibit 10 contract could be converted into a two-way deal if the club creates a two-way opening by promoting Scotty Pippen Jr. to the standard roster, Cole adds. “He’s fierce, he’s a competitor and he loves the game of basketball,” Luke Kennard said. “I like what I’ve seen from him for sure. He’s talented. He’s going to make a lot of money playing the game.”
Malachi Flynn isn’t one of the 15 Spurs players with a guaranteed contract for 2024/25 and isn’t eligible for a two-way deal, but he has made a positive impression on head coach Gregg Popovich over the past week, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “He’s had a good camp,” Popovich said after Flynn racked up nine points, two assists, and two steals in eight minutes in Monday’s preseason opener. “He’s a tough nut. He shoots the heck out of the ball. He takes no prisoners. He works very hard. With the limited time he had, I thought he did well.”
Chris Paul will make his Spurs debut and reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama will make his 2024/25 debut on Wednesday vs. Orlando, notes Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com.

Southwest Notes: J. Smith, H. Jones, Grizzlies, Edey

September 24th, 2024 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2023, while the No. 2 pick in the ’22 class, Chet Holmgren, would have claimed the award in 2024 if not for Victor Wembanyama‘s historic season.

However, Rockets forward Jabari Smith – the third overall pick in 2022 – struggled in his first professional season, and while he improved his shooting percentages in year two, he hasn’t yet shown the kind of All-NBA potential that Banchero and Holmgren have displayed.

As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes in a subscriber-only story, Smith just turned 21 in May and has intriguing tools to go along with a strong work ethic, seemingly making him a strong candidate for a breakout season in 2024/25.

Still, as Feigen acknowledges, the Rockets will want to make sure players like Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet, and Amen Thompson have the ball in their hands frequently, which may not leave a ton of opportunities for Smith to create his own scoring chances. He’ll still be relied upon largely as an off-ball floor spacer on offense, Feigen adds, so while a third-year leap is a possibility, it might be more realistic to expect continued steady growth from the former No. 3 overall pick.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Herbert Jones admitted it was a great feeling to make the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team last season, but the Pelicans forward doesn’t want to get complacent after earning that honor for the first time in 2023/24, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com (subscription required). “It felt amazing,” Jones said. “At the same time, you are always trying to reach for more. After I saw the news, my initial thought was, ‘You have to do it again.'”
Will any of the Grizzlies players currently on Exhibit 10 contracts – Miye Oni, Yuki Kawamura, Maozinha Pereira, and Armando Bacot – stick with the team into the regular season? Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explores that question, suggesting that the team’s relative lack of depth in the frontcourt could make Bacot the best bet to make the 18-man roster. If the Grizzlies were to promote a two-way player like Scotty Pippen Jr. to the standard roster, it could open up a two-way slot for a camp invitee such as Bacot, Cole notes.
In a separate story for The Commercial Appeal, Cole spoke to Purdue assistant coach Brandon Brantley about what to expect from former Boilermakers star Zach Edey, whom the Grizzlies selected with the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft. While there are questions about how some aspects of Edey’s game will translate to the NBA, the big man’s rebounding definitely won’t be an issue at the next level, according to Brantley. “Memphis is going to have a dude in that paint that’s going to hold that paint down,” Brantley said. “Usually guys that size will try to rebound their area. He rebounds outside of his area. It means something to him.”

Grizzlies Sign Four Players To Exhibit 10 Contracts

September 6th, 2024 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have signed guards Miye Oni and Yuki Kawamura, forward Maozinha Pereira, and big man Armando Bacot to contracts, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). According to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link), the four deals include Exhibit 10 language.

Oni, the 58th overall pick in the 2019 draft, appeared in 80 NBA games across two-and-a-half seasons with the Jazz before being traded to the Thunder, who waived him. The former Yale star signed a 10-day contract with the Pelicans in February 2022, but didn’t play a game for the team and hasn’t been in the NBA since then. He spent the 2022/23 season with the London Lions in the British Basketball League and ’23/24 with the Osceola Magic in the G League.

Kawamura, a 5’8″ guard whose agreement with the Grizzlies was reported earlier in the offseason, has spent the past five seasons playing in the B.League in Japan. The 23-year-old earned MVP honors in 2023 and averaged 20.9 points, 8.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game last season for the Yokohama B-Corsairs. He also played for Japan at this summer’s Olympics, pouring in 29 points in a near-upset of France in pool play.

Pereira, a 24-year-old from Brazil, signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies last season and and appeared in seven games for the club, averaging 6.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG with a .514/.385/.700 shooting line. He spent most of the season with the Mexico City Capitanes in the NBAGL.

Bacot is coming off a decorated five-year college career at North Carolina, where he became the men’s basketball program’s top rebounder for both a single season (511 in 2021/22) and a career (1,715). He averaged 13.9 PPG and 10.1 RPG over the course of 169 college games for the Tar Heels and earned All-ACC honors four times, including First Team nods in 2022 and 2023.

The Grizzlies’ offseason roster is now full, with 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts, three on two-way deals, and the four newcomers reportedly on Exhibit 10 pacts.

While one or more of Oni, Kawamura, Pereira, and Bacot could have their contracts converted to two-ways before the regular season begins, they’re more likely to be waived and then to report to the Memphis Hustle. Their Exhibit 10 deals will make them eligible to earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they spend at least 60 days with the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate.

Yuki Kawamura Has Exhibit 10 Agreement With Grizzlies

July 30th, 2024 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Yuki Kawamura, a member of Japan’s National Team, has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Grizzlies.

Kawamura’s agreement was announced in a press release by the Yokohama B-Corsairs, his current team.

Kawamura is scheduled to sign the NBA contract with the Grizzlies in September. He’ll continue to play for the Japanese team until he signs the contract. He averaged 20.9 points and 8.0 assists per game for the Yokohama B-Corsairs last season.

Kawamura, 23, had a stellar game in the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, posting 29 points, six rebounds and six assists in Japan’s near-upset of France. The 5’8” Kawamura was whistled for a controversial foul call which led to Matthew Strazel‘s four-point play in the closing seconds of regulation. France won in overtime, 94-90.

Exhibit 10 deals, which are non-guaranteed, can be converted to two-way contracts. 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.