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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.

Al Jefferson Set To Play In China

July 26th, 2018 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

2:24pm: Aldridge has confirmed that Jefferson will join the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China (Twitter link).

12:00pm: Veteran NBA big man Al Jefferson is opting to play in China for the upcoming season, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). According to Aldridge, Jefferson had an opportunity to rejoin the Pacers after being waived by the team earlier this month, but was offered a “nice payday” overseas.

Shortly after releasing him, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard revealed that Jefferson was mulling the possibility of playing international ball in 2018/19. While Aldridge’s report doesn’t specify which team Jefferson has lined up a deal with, a report earlier in July indicated that the big man was expected to sign with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Jefferson, 33, has averaged 15.7 PPG and 8.4 RPG over the course of a productive 14-year NBA career, but played a career-low 13.4 minutes per contest for Indiana last season, appearing in just 36 games. Although the veteran’s per-minute production was still strong, he wasn’t a major part of the Pacers’ plans going forward, and his $10MM salary for 2018/19 was only guaranteed for $4MM, making it an easy decision to cut him.

Assuming Jefferson finalizes a deal with a Chinese club and spends the 2018/19 campaign overseas, he could return stateside in the spring, since the CBA season ends before the NBA’s does. This past April, for instance, Ty Lawson returned from a stint with the Shandong Golden Stars and immediately signed with the Wizards, claiming a regular rotation role with Washington during the team’s brief playoff run.

Celtics Sign Jabari Bird To Two-Year Contract

July 26th, 2018 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

1:20pm: The Celtics have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve re-signed Bird to a new contract.

10:23am: The Celtics are in the process of finalizing a multiyear contract for two-way restricted free agent Jabari Bird, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). ESPN’s Chris Haynes tweets that it’ll be a two-year deal, while Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link) hears that it’ll be worth the minimum, with a guaranteed first year.

Bird, who was on a two-way contract with the Celtics last season after being selected with the 56th overall pick, didn’t play much for the NBA club, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 13 contests (8.8 MPG). However, the Cal product had an impressive season with the Maine Red Claws in the G League, recording 19.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 20 games.

Bird’s promising rookie showing earned him a qualifying offer from Boston last month, and he further made his case for a regular-season roster spot with in Las Vegas. In four Summer League games, Bird was the Celtics’ leading scorer, averaging 16.8 PPG to go along with 6.0 RPG and 3.0 APG.

The Celtics, who traded Abdel Nader several days ago, now have 15 players on guaranteed contracts for 2018/19. Bird’s new deal will increase the team’s projected tax bill, but the impact won’t be significant, since his first-year salary is modest ($1,349,383).

With 15 players on guaranteed contracts, along with Rodney Purvis (non-guaranteed) and Walt Lemon Jr. (two-way), the Celtics’ roster count is up to 17. Purvis may not be in Boston’s plans, and the club might not fill its second two-way slot right away, so there should still be room for three or four training camp invitees.

Sixers Sign Shake Milton To Two-Way Deal

July 26th, 2018 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

1:19pm: The Sixers have sent out a press release confirming their two-way contract with Milton.

12:56pm: The Sixers have agreed to terms with second-round pick Shake Milton, reports Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). According to Fischer, Milton will sign a two-year, two-way contract with Philadelphia.

Milton, 21, played his college ball at SMU and declared for the draft after a productive junior year in which he averaged 18.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.4 APG. A 6’6″ guard, Milton was also an excellent three-point shooter throughout his college career, knocking down 42.7% of his shots from beyond the arc over his three years at SMU.

The 76ers currently project to have a full 15-man roster for the 2018/19 season, with 14 players on guaranteed contracts and T.J. McConnell on a non-guaranteed deal. As such, it makes sense for the club to use one of its two-way slots on Milton — especially since players drafted in the 50s have frequently received two-way contracts during the last two summers.

[RELATED: 2018 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Milton’s draft rights were acquired by the 76ers in a draft-night trade that saw Philadelphia receive the No. 54 selection from Dallas in exchange for the 56th and 60th overall picks.

Hornets Sign Three Players To Camp Deals

July 26th, 2018 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have signed undrafted rookies Jaylen Barford and Zach Smith to their training camp roster, the team announced today in a press release. The club also confirmed the previously-reported signing of another undrafted free agent, Isaiah Wilkins.

Barford, a 6’3″ guard out of Arkansas, was the No. 95 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s 2018 big board at ESPN.com. In his final college season, Barford averaged 17.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.5 APG with a .470/.431/.721 shooting line for the Razorbacks, earning First Team All-SEC honors.

A 6’8″ forward, Smith played his college ball at Texas Tech, averaging 12.1 PPG and 7.2 RPG in his junior year before being slowed by injuries in his senior season. He played in the Las Vegas Summer League for the Hawks, averaging 5.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG in four games.

Wilkins, meanwhile, had modest averages of 6.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG during his senior year at Virginia. However, the 6’8″ forward filled up the stat sheet with 1.4 BPG and 1.2 SPG, and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Wilkins is the stepson of NBA legend Dominique Wilkins.

While terms of the three deals aren’t known, I’d anticipate minimum salary contracts with little to no guaranteed money. It’s possible that the contracts include an Exhibit 10 clause, in which case Barford, Smith, and Wilkins would be candidates to eventually end up with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League affiliate.

Shane Larkin To Play In Turkey

July 26th, 2018 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent point guard Shane Larkin has elected to return overseas to continue his career, according to international basketball reporter David Pick, who tweets that Larkin has signed a one-year, $1.8MM offer from Anadolu Efes. The Turkish club has since confirmed the addition of Larkin (via Twitter).

Larkin, 25, spent last season with the Celtics, averaging 4.3 PPG and 1.8 APG in 54 games (14.4 MPG). While the former first-round pick didn’t have a major role in Boston, he did see regular minutes during the team’s first-round playoff series against the Bucks when both Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart were sidelined with injuries.

This won’t be the first stint in Europe for Larkin, who has also spent time with the Mavericks, Knicks, and Nets in four NBA seasons. The former Miami Hurricane played in Spain with Baskonia during the 2016/17 season, earning a spot on the All-Spanish League Second Team that year.

With Irving, Smart, and Terry Rozier all set to return in Boston and Brad Wanamaker also joining the mix, the Celtics’ point guard depth chart was probably too crowded to justify a reunion with Larkin. Now that Larkin is headed overseas, the most notable point guards still on the free agent market include Mario Chalmers, Ty Lawson, Jameer Nelson, and Tyrone Wallace.

Celtics Sign Walt Lemon Jr. To Two-Way Deal

July 25th, 2018 at 7:08pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 25, 7:08pm: The signing is official, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Chris Forsberg.

JULY 16, 10:47am: The Celtics have agreed to sign free agent guard Walter Lemon Jr. to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Lemon will take over the two-way slot recently vacated by Kadeem Allen, who was waived by Boston over the weekend.

Lemon, who will turn 26 later this month, made his NBA debut earlier this year after he signed a 10-day contract with the Pelicans. The former Bradley standout later inked a second 10-day pact with New Orleans and ultimately appeared in five games for the club, but wasn’t retained for the rest of the season.

For the majority of the 2017/18 season, Lemon was a member of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League, averaging 22.4 PPG, 6.1 APG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.0 SPG in 40 contests. In five Summer League games this month for the Pelicans, he recorded 13.6 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 3.6 RPG.

Boston will still have an open two-way contract slot after officially signing Lemon. The team has a qualifying offer out to Jabari Bird, but he may end up receiving a promotion to the 15-man roster, which would leave the other two-way slot open for someone else.

Rockets Sign Isaiah Hartenstein

July 25th, 2018 at 5:56pm CST by Luke Adams

5:56pm: The signing is official, the Rockets announced on their website.

3:32pm: Hartenstein will receive a three-year contract, signaling that the Rockets will use a small portion of their mid-level exception to complete the signing, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

3:17pm: The Rockets will finalize a deal with draft-and-stash prospect Isaiah Hartenstein today, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link). We heard last week that Houston was looking to reach an agreement with its 2017 second-round pick.

Hartenstein, 20, had a strong showing for the Rockets during this year’s NBA Summer League after playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers – Houston’s G League affiliate – last season. Having averaged 9.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 38 games for the Vipers in 2017/18, the seven-footer posted 10.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in four Summer League games earlier this month.

Before being selected 43rd overall in the 2017 draft and heading to the G League, Hartenstein played with Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas, where he helped lead the team to a seventh straight Lithuanian Basketball Club title.

Terms of Hartenstein’s deal aren’t yet known. A minimum-salary agreement seems likely, but the Rockets could go up to three years if they decide to dip into their mid-level exception rather than using the minimum salary exception.

Hartenstein will be the second draft-and-stash prospect to sign an NBA contract this month. Jonah Bolden of the Sixers was the first.

Knicks Sign Kadeem Allen

July 25th, 2018 at 3:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have signed free agent guard Kadeem Allen to a contract, the club announced today (via Twitter). Michael Scotto of The Athletic first reported the agreement (via Twitter).

Allen, who was selected 53rd overall in the 2017 draft by the Celtics, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with Boston, but was waived by the club earlier this month.

While he only played sparingly in 18 games for the C’s in 2017/18, Allen had a strong showing for the Maine Red Claws in the G League, averaging 17.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.9 APG, and 2.2 SPG in 34 contests. The 25-year-old was also named to the NBAGL All-Defensive team.

Terms of Allen’s new deal aren’t yet known, but a training camp contract with little to no guaranteed money seems likely. Having signed Noah Vonleh already this week, the Knicks now have 19 players under contract — 17 on NBA deals and two more on two-way pacts. Teams can carry up to 20 players on their rosters during the offseason.

Rawle Alkins Signs Two-Way Deal With Bulls

July 25th, 2018 at 3:03pm CST by marksuleymanov

JULY 25: The Bulls have officially signed Alkins to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 22: The Bulls have agreed to a two-way deal with undrafted guard Rawle Alkins, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The Arizona product spent the past few weeks with the Raptors‘ Summer League team.

Toronto liked Alkins’ summer performance where he averaged 9.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 2.0 APG. The Raptors offered Alkins a camp invitation but he chose the deal with the higher guaranteed money, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg.

As a two-way player, Alkins will spend most of his time with the Bulls’ G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. However, he is permitted to spend up to 45 days with the NBA team. The Bulls have the option to convert Alkins’ deal into a standard NBA deal if they choose.

In his sophomore season with the Wildcats, Alkins averaged 13.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG. Entering the 2018 NBA Draft, Alkins was ranked as the 49th-best prospect on Jonathan Givony’s top-100 list at ESPN.com.