KJ Simpson Joins Nuggets On Two-Way Deal
February 19: Simpson’s two-way deal is official, the Nuggets announced (via Twitter).
February 18: KJ Simpson will sign a two-way contract with the Nuggets, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
The 23-year-old point guard was selected by Charlotte with the 42nd pick in the 2024 draft and inked a two-year, two-way deal. He remained on the roster until he was waived earlier this month to open up a spot for the Hornets to sign Tosan Evbuomwan.
Simpson appeared in 50 games and made 17 starts during his time in Charlotte. He averaged 7.3 points, 2.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per night with .346/.266/.773 shooting numbers. He hasn’t appeared in a game since December 18.
Denver will have a two-way opening after promoting Spencer Jones to a standard contract.
If Simpson’s new deal becomes official today, he will be eligible to appear in up to 16 regular season games. That number goes down to 15 if he doesn’t sign until Thursday.
Celtics Sign John Tonje To 10-Day Deal
2:53 pm: The Celtics have officially announced Tonje’s 10-day contract.
9:35 am: The Celtics will get back to the required roster minimum by converting two-way player John Tonje to a 10-day contract, agents George Roussakis and Mark Bartelstein tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
The move had been anticipated, since Boston had to increase its standard roster count to 14 players after carrying just 12 for the two weeks since the trade deadline. The Celtics will also sign free agent guard Dalano Banton to a 10-day deal, as Scotto reported earlier this morning.
The 53rd overall pick in the 2025 draft, Tonje was selected by the Jazz last June and signed a two-way contract with Utah last August. He didn’t play at all at the NBA level before being included in a deadline deal that sent Chris Boucher and a future second-round pick to the Jazz.
As we wrote after the deadline, Boston specifically targeted Tonje in that trade because, as a draft-rights rookie, he’ll count as a rookie minimum player for tax and apron purposes when he’s converted to a standard contract.
In order to stay out of the tax for the rest of the season, the Celtics needed one more rookie minimum player in addition to Max Shulga (who figures to be promoted later in the season). The team wouldn’t have gotten the same financial benefit by signing a rookie free agent due to the “tax variance” rule, which we explain in more depth in a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry.
While a 10-day contract for any free agent – including Banton – will carry a $131,970 charge for tax/apron purposes, Tonje will count for just $73,153, allowing the Celtics to add only about $205K to their books for the two signings. They’ll remain roughly $637K below the tax threshold.
As Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) first outlined, Boston likely plans to go another 14 days with just 12 players on the roster after these two 10-day deals expire, then will sign Shulga and a veteran free agent to rest-of-season minimum contracts in mid-March. That would give the club just enough breathing room below the tax line to sign a 15th man on the last day of the regular season.
While Tonje has yet to make his NBA debut and is being promoted for financial reasons, he has played well in the G League this season. After averaging 18.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game on .467/.376/.928 shooting in 32 appearances for the Salt Lake City Stars, the 6’4″ guard has racked up 50 total points in his first two outings for the Maine Celtics.
Celtics Sign Dalano Banton To 10-Day Contract
2:52 pm: Banton has officially signed a 10-day contract with the Celtics, the team announced today in a press release. Tonje has also inked a 10-day deal, as we outlined in a separate story.
8:52 am: The Celtics, who must make two additions to their 15-man roster on Thursday, will fill one of their openings by signing free agent guard Dalano Banton to a 10-day contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Banton, 26, was a second-round pick in 2021 and has since appeared in 218 regular season games for the Raptors, Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Clippers. He was a rotation regular last season in Portland, where he averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game across 67 outings (seven starts).
However, Banton was unable to land a spot on a regular season roster last fall and has spent most of 2025/26 playing for the Texas Legends, the Mavericks’ G League affiliate. He just recently caught on with the Clippers, but his 10-day deal with L.A. expired earlier this week, freeing him up to return to Boston, where he played for a half-season in ’23/24.
The Celtics have been carrying 12 players on their standard roster since making a series of trades at the February 5 deadline. Teams are permitted to dip below the usual minimum of 14 players on standard contracts, but only for up to two weeks at a time (and 28 total days during a season), so Boston must get back to the 14-man minimum today.
The margins for the Celtics to remain below the luxury tax line for the rest of the season are razor-thin, so the expectation is that the team will sign a pair of players to 10-day deals on Thursday, then spend another 14 days at 12 players once those contracts expire.
Two-way rookies Max Shulga and John Tonje are expected to be part of the club’s plan sooner or later, since their rookie-minimum deals would be more team-friendly for tax/apron purposes than a veteran’s minimum deal.
Nuggets Convert Spencer Jones To Standard Contract
February 19: Jones’ conversion to the Nuggets’ standard roster is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
February 18: The Nuggets will convert Spencer Jones‘ two-way contract to a standard deal covering the rest of the season, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Jones’ promotion to the 15-man roster had been expected long before he reached his limit of 50 active games earlier this month. With nearly all of Denver’s top players missing time due to injuries this season, Jones has emerged as an important part of the rotation, starting 34 games and averaging 23.6 minutes per night.
The second-year small forward has posted relatively modest numbers, including 6.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. However, he has been efficient on his limited shot attempts – 50.5% from the floor and 41.4% on three-pointers – and has provided solid, versatile defense on the wing for a team with championship aspirations.
Jones suffered a concussion on February 4 and missed the last three games before the All-Star break, which is one reason why he wasn’t promoted to Denver’s standard roster a little earlier. The Nuggets also likely would’ve preferred to work out a multiyear deal with the 24-year-old.
However, as Bobby Marks of ESPN points out (via Twitter), Denver had limited flexibility below the luxury tax line to offer Jones the sort of first-year salary that would make him comfortable adding a team-friendly second year to his new deal. The Nuggets were operating just $1.8MM below the tax.
As a point of comparison, the Sixers had to give two-way standout Dominick Barlow $3.4MM two weeks ago in order to include a second-year team option on his new contract.
Instead, it appears Denver will unilaterally convert Jones’ deal to a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract, which will make him eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end. As Charania notes (via Twitter), if Jones makes seven more starts, he’ll meet the “starter criteria” for RFAs-to-be, making him eligible for a $5.9MM qualifying offer. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on whether the team lets him reach that 41-start threshold, since it would make his free agency a little more complicated for the cap-strapped Nuggets.
Denver has two openings on its 15-man roster, so it will still have one spot available after Jones is promoted, as well as a newly opened two-way slot.
Hawks Convert Caleb Houstan To Standard Contract
February 19: The Hawks have officially converted Houstan to a standard deal after waiving Djurisic, the team confirmed today in a press release.
February 18: The Hawks are converting Caleb Houstan‘s two-way contract to a standard, rest-of-season deal, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
A 2022 second-round pick who spent his first three NBA seasons in Orlando, Houstan signed an non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract with Atlanta and then had it converted to a two-way deal at the end of the preseason. Of the eight players whose Exhibit 10 deals were converted to two-ways before the season, Houstan will be the first one to be promoted back to a standard contract.
Houstan, 23, averaged 14.4 minutes per game in 168 outings for Orlando and made 37.2% of his three-point tries. However, he has played a very limited role for the Hawks, logging just 49 total minutes in 10 appearances.
Presumably, Atlanta envisions a more significant role at the NBA level for Houstan in the final two months of the season. The 6’8″ forward has spent most of the season in the G League, averaging 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 32.9 minutes per contest across 30 appearances. He has knocked down 37.5% of 9.1 three-point attempts per game for the College Park Skyhawks.
The Hawks have a full 15-man roster, so they’ll need to waive someone in order to open up a spot for Houstan. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the odd man out will be Nikola Djurisic, a 2024 second-round pick who signed his first NBA contract during the 2025 offseason but has yet to make his NBA debut.
Although Djurisic signed a three-year contract, only the first year was guaranteed, so Atlanta won’t carry any dead money on its books beyond this season as a result of waiving him.
Sixers Sign Tyrese Martin To Two-Way Contract
February 19: Martin’s two-way deal with the Sixers is now official, the club confirmed in a press release.
February 16: The Sixers are planning to sign Tyrese Martin to a two-way contract after they finalize their two-year deal for Jabari Walker, Derek Bodner reports for PHLY Sports (Twitter link).
Martin started the season with the Nets and made it through his contract guarantee deadline with the team in January, earning his full $2.2MM salary. However, he was subsequently waived in order to make room on the roster for the Nets to complete their Hunter Tyson trade with the Nuggets.
Over his last two seasons in Brooklyn, Martin appeared in 97 games, making 17 starts and averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 20.7 minutes per night.
Martin’s addition will fill the Sixers’ available two-way spot alongside MarJon Beauchamp and Dalen Terry after Walker is elevated to the 15-man roster. If he officially signs by Wednesday, Martin will be eligible to be active for up to 16 regular season games for Philadelphia.
Sixers Sign Jabari Walker To Two-Year Deal
February 19: Walker’s promotion to the standard roster is official, the Sixers announced today in a press release.
February 16: The Sixers are signing forward Jabari Walker to a two-year deal, Shams Charania reports for ESPN (via Twitter).
Earlier this month, Walker became the first player on a two-way contract to reach his 50-game active game limit, which forced him to miss Philadelphia’s last four games heading into the All-Star break.
By trading Jared McCain for a draft pick and Eric Gordon for the draft rights to Justinian Jessup, the Sixers opened up spots to convert both Walker and Dominick Barlow to standard contracts. Barlow signed a two-year deal with a team option on February 5.
After spending his first three seasons with the Blazers, Walker joined the Sixers on a two-way contract and quickly won a bench role in coach Nick Nurse‘s rotation.
Still just 23 years old, Walker brings defensive versatility and intensity on the wing, though he has struggled with his shot, hitting just 27.0% of his threes this season.
The Sixers are also signing veteran point guard Cameron Payne to their 15-man roster. He and Walker will fill Philadelphia’s 14th and 15th roster spots, but the team will have enough room below the luxury tax line after finalizing those contracts to make another roster move at the end of the season if necessary, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (via Twitter).
Suns Sign Haywood Highsmith
FEBRUARY 18: The Highsmith signing is official, relays Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
FEBRUARY 14: The Suns are signing free agent forward Haywood Highsmith to a multiyear contract, agent Jerry Dianis tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, “multiple playoff teams” were pursuing Highsmith before he decided to join Phoenix. The Lakers and Sixers were linked to Highsmith over the past week.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Highsmith has yet to play a game this season after he underwent surgery to address a torn meniscus in his right knee in August and experienced a setback in his rehab in October. However, Dianis recently told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype his client is healthy and had been targeting February 11 for his 2025/26 debut prior to being waived by the Nets.
A 6’5″ combo forward, Highsmith averaged 6.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 22.7 minutes per game across 140 appearances from 2023/24 and 2024/25. He spent four seasons with Miami, which traded him to Brooklyn in the offseason.
Highsmith is known as a strong, versatile defender and he has improved his outside shot over the years as well. The 29-year-old converted 38.8% of his three-point looks over the past two seasons.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 confirms the news and says the second year of Highsmith’s contract isn’t fully guaranteed (Twitter link).
The Suns had an opening on their 15-man standard roster, which means no corresponding move will be necessary to sign Highsmith.
Timberwolves Waive Johnny Juzang
The Timberwolves are waiving guard Johnny Juzang, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The transaction is official, per NBA.com.
Juzang was among the players on two-way contracts who recently reached their respective 50-game limits, so Minnesota would have had to promote him to its 15-man roster in order to keep him active. Instead, the Wolves will let him go, giving him the opportunity to latch on with a new team before the March 4 deadline for two-way signings.
As Krawczynski observes, Juzang had a big preseason for the Wolves, averaging 13.8 points in 17.6 minutes per game across five outings while making 48.3% of his three-point tries. However, that October production didn’t carry over to the regular season.
Although Juzang was active for 50 regular season NBA games, he only actually saw action in 21 of them and was a DNP-CD in the other 29. The 24-year-old played more than 10 minutes just once and logged 88 minutes in total, rarely playing outside of garbage time.
The move opens up a two-way slot for the Wolves alongside big man Rocco Zikarsky and forward Enrique Freeman.
Heat Sign Trevor Keels To Two-Way Contract
The Heat have signed guard Trevor Keels to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. Keels will slide into the two-way slot that opened up when Miami promoted Myron Gardner to its 15-man roster earlier in the day.
A former Duke guard who appeared in three games for New York during the 2022/23 season, Keels has been playing in the G League for the last few years, spending time with the Westchester Knicks, the Iowa Wolves, and – most recently – the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s affiliate.
In 35 games for Sioux Falls this season, Keels has scored 18.5 points per game on .453/.400/.731 shooting while also contributing 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals in 32.5 minutes per contest.
Although Keels has yet to establish himself as an NBA player, he’s still just 22 years old and has multiple years of two-way eligibility remaining, so he should have an opportunity to stick with the Heat as a developmental player if he has a strong finish to this season.
The Heat will be able to have Keels active for up to 16 regular season games going forward.