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Hawks sign Andrew White III to two-way contract

The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward Andrew White III to a two-way contract. He will immediately join the team’s G League squad, the Erie BayHawks.

White III has played in 24 games (21 starts) this season for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League, averaging 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 34.0 minutes (.435 FG%, .400 3FG%, .855).

The rookie played five games at the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League with the Cleveland Cavaliers and spent training camp with the Boston Celtics, appearing in one preseason contest.

As a graduate student at Syracuse last season, White III put up a team-best 18.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.1 assists in 37.2 minutes (.440 FG%, .401 3FG%, .837 FT%), starting all 34 games. He set a Syracuse single-season record with 109 three-pointers. White III was an All-ACC third team selection, and a member of the All-ACC Academic team.

In his senior season at Nebraska in 2015-16, he averaged 16.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 29.7 minutes (.481 FG%, .412 3FG%, .775 FT%) in 34 starts. He sat out his junior season after transferring from Kansas, where he played two years, appearing in 25 contests as a freshman and 19 games as a sophomore.

His father, Andrew Jr., played basketball at Morehouse College, while his younger brother, Andrien, plays collegiately at Charlotte. The Richmond, VA native will wear No. 4 with the Hawks.

The 2017-18 season marks the first year of two-way contracts in the NBA. Only players with three-or-fewer years of NBA experience are permitted to sign two-way contracts. Per league rules, teams are allowed to have up to two two-way players on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. A two-way player for the Hawks will primarily play for the BayHawks but can spend up to 45 days with Atlanta (prorated based on when the player signs), not including any time prior to the start of Erie’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.

Rockets sign R.J. Hunter to two-way contract

The Rockets yesterday (Sunday, January 14) signed free agent guard R.J. Hunter to a two-way contract.

Hunter (6-5, 185) was originally the 28th overall pick by Boston in the 2015 NBA Draft. Over the past two seasons, he appeared in 39 games for the Boston and Chicago, while also spending time in the NBA Development League.

This season, Hunter has been playing for the Rockets single-affiliation NBA G League partner Rio Grande Valley, averaging a team-high 19.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 steals. He is averaging the third-most 3-pointers made (3.7) of any G League player with at least 20 games played.

Hunter finished his collegiate career as Georgia State’s all-time leading scorer with 1,819 points in just three seasons. He was Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in both 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Lakers sign Gary Payton II to two-way contract

 

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The Lakers signed guard Gary Payton II to a two-way contract today.

Payton II appeared in 12 games (six starts) for the Milwaukee Bucks this season while averaging 2.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.8 minutes. Signed to a two-way contract with the Bucks, Payton II appeared in three NBA G League games for the Wisconsin Herd, averaging 18.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have up to two players under two-way contracts on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. The Lakers roster stands at 16, with Payton II and guard Alex Caruso as two-way players.

Myles Turner out with elbow injuries

Myles Turner out with elbow injuries

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner has been diagnosed with a ligament sprain and muscle strain in his right elbow. The injury occurred in the January 8 game against the Bucks.

Turner is currently outfitted with a brace for the elbow. The Pacers say he will miss the four remaining games of the current west coast trip and depending on how quickly the injury heals, he will be listed as week to week.

No surgery is required.

The Pacers are 23-20 so far this season, which puts them as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern conference. The team is led in scoring by shooting guard Victor Oladipo at 24.2 ppg. Turner is second, at 13.9 ppg, along with 6.5 rpg. Other Pacers averaging double-digit scoring are Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison, Domantas Sabonis and Thaddeus Young.

Pistons sign Kay Felder and Reggie Hearn, waive Luis Montero

The Detroit Pistons today signed guards Kay Felder and Reggie Hearn to two-way contracts.

And in a related move, the club requested waivers on guard Luis Montero.

Felder, 5-9, 176, played 14 games with the Chicago Bulls this season and averaged 3.9 points, 1.4 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per game. In 56 career NBA games with the Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, Felder has averaged 3.9 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

A Detroit native, Felder played collegiately at Oakland University for three seasons and averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 101 games. The former Pershing High School product earned NCAA All-America honors from The Associated Press during his junior season at Oakland (2015-16) where he averaged 24.4 points, and NCAA-leading 9.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 35 games.

Hearn, 6-5, 210, has played in 14 games (10 starts) with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League this season and averaged 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 30.7 minutes per game. The former Northwestern University product has played in 175 NBA G League games with the Idaho Stampede, Westchester Knicks and Bighorns averaging 10.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have two Two-Way players on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. Two-Way players for the Pistons will provide services primarily for the Grand Rapids Drive, the team’s G League affiliate, but can spend up to 45 days with the Pistons, not including any time prior to the start of the Drive’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.

Grizzlies sign Myke Henry, waive Vince Hunter

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed guard/forward Myke Henry to a two-way contract, and waived forward Vince Hunter.

Henry (6-6, 238) has played each of the last two seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. He has appeared in 26 games (one start) for the Blue this season and averaged 15.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.88 steals while shooting 53.0 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from three-point range and 73.9 percent from the free throw line. The 25-year-old Chicago native went unselected in the 2016 NBA Draft after finishing his collegiate career at DePaul University.

Signed to a two-way contract on Sept. 11, 2017, Hunter (6-8, 208) came off the bench in all four appearances for the Grizzlies and averaged 1.5 points in 1.8 minutes. The 23-year-old Detroit native competed in 13 games (nine starts) for the NBA G League’s Memphis Hustle and recorded 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.31 blocks in 28.2 minutes.

Pistons sign Dwight Buycks to standard contract

The Detroit Pistons signed Dwight Buycks to a multi-year contract today. He had already been under contract as a two-way player, on a deal signed September 17, 2017.

Two-way contract players spend the majority of the season in the G League. Signing a standard season contract means Buycks, a 6-3, 190-pound guard, is now a regular member of the Bucks.

Since an ankle injury sidelining Reggie Jackson on December 26, Buycks has entered the regular rotation and averaged 11.7 points, 3.2 assists and 19.5 minutes while shooting 50.9% from the field and 46.2% from three-point range.

He also spent time with the Detroit Pistons G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, averaging 22.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steal and 35.6 minutes in 10 games.

Prior to joining Detroit, Buycks averaged 25-plus points in each of the last two seasons with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association. He holds NBA career averages of 5.9 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 28 games with the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons.

Pacers sign Ben Moore to two-way contract

The Indiana Pacers signed 6-8 forward Ben Moore to a two-way contract today. He’ll mostly play with their G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Moore, who participated in Pacers’ training camp, has spent this season playing for the Mad Ants. The former SMU player has played in 24 games for the Mad Ants, averaging 11 points per game on 52 percent shooting and averaging 6.6 rebounds.