Tag: two-way player

Report: Thunder sign Jared Butler to two-way deal

The Thunder have reportedly signed Jared Butler to their vacant two-way spot.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have filled in their vacant two-way spot.

The Thunder signed guard Jared Butler to a two-way deal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The second-year-player has spent this season with the G League’s Grand Rapid Golds — the affiliate of the Denver Nuggets. With the addition, the Thunder’s two two-way spots are occupied by Olivier Sarr and Butler.

Butler spent three college seasons at Baylor from 2018 to 2021.

Butler was drafted in the second round (40th) of the 2021 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, with whom he spent last season between the NBA and G League. He was waived prior to the start of this season.

In 42 career games, Butler averaged 3.8 points on 40.4% shooting.

The two-way spots were held by Eugene Omoruyi and Lindy Waters III for most of the season before both signed standard NBA deals. The former was recently waived, and the latter recently promoted to the 15-man roster.

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OKC Thunder news: Melvin Frazier Jr. signed to two-way deal, Olivier Sarr released

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that it has signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a two-way spot on the roster. To make room, Olivier Sarr was released.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that it has signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a two-way spot on the roster. To make room, the Thunder released Olivier Sarr. The two two-way players on the roster now are Lindy Waters III and Frazier Jr.

Frazier Jr. has appeared in 29 NBA games over his career with 1.9 points averaged. Meanwhile, Sarr averaged seven points and 4.2 rebounds in 22 games this season.

With just three games left in the regular season, the Thunder have made a series of roster moves recently that included signing three players to 10-day hardship deals that will keep them on the team for the remainder of the season in Jaylen Hoard, Georgios Kalaitzakis and Zavier Simpson.

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Discussion to covert Lu Dort’s contract likely not until end of season

Dort had 16 days of service remaining on his two-way contract coming into Tuesday. He’s averaging 6.1 points in 23 games for OKC this year.

Lu Dort has played like he deserves a standard contract.

The undrafted rookie out of Arizona State has stepped into the starting role and made it his own over the last six weeks.

He started the 15th game of his career on Tuesday night, the most for any two-way player since two-way contracts were first introduced back in 2017.

The clock is ticking on Dort’s 45 days with the Thunder, and although a standard contract does seem to be on the horizon, Royce Young of ESPN doesn’t expect a deal to come all that soon.

According to Young, Dort had 16 of his 45 days remaining coming into Tuesday night. As Dort is not practicing with the team so as not to count against his time, Oklahoma City could stretch the days he has left through March 28, which is “through the G-League season where days of service no longer count”.

It’s for that reason that Young believes the “conversations to sign Dort likely don’t pick up until after the G-League season and closer to the end of the NBA regular season”.

He does point out that for Dort to play in the postseason, his contract would have to be converted.

Dort himself doesn’t seem to be too worried about when that happens.

He told Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman that the Thunder “know what they’re doing” and that he’s just “staying patient and playing basketball”.

Until his contract is converted, a lot of that basketball is on his own.

“I’ve got to do stuff on my own just to stay in good condition and stuff like that,” Dort said. “It’s not that tough. The fact I can watch them so I can still learn the plays and stuff like that. But the fact I don’t run, I’ve got to [do] stuff on my own.”

According to Mussatto, Dort also spends time after practice working one-on-one with Thunder coaches, time that does not count against his 45 days.

Start No. 15 a historic one for Lu Dort

Dort earned his 15th start on Tuesday night, the most starts by a two-way player since two-way contracts were introduced in 2017.

Lu Dort earned the 15th start of his young career on Tuesday night against the Bulls.

If the last five weeks have been any indication of his potential future career, there will be a lot more to come.

Initially billed as a defensive stopper when he stepped into the starting rotation in place of Terrance Ferguson, Dort has built a reputation as a scorer as well, including going a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor in Oklahoma City’s win over the Spurs on Sunday.

Regardless of the final box, Dort’s start on Tuesday was particularly special.

According to the Thunder, Dort’s 15th start marked the most by a two-way player since two-way contracts were first introduced in 2017.

Oklahoma City signed Dort to a two-way contract on June 21 after the guard went undrafted after just one season at Arizona State.

Dort’s two-way contract allows him to spend just 45 total days with the Thunder.

To help extend his time in Oklahoma City, Dort has not been practicing with the team and instead relying on film study to help him prepare for opponents.

Coming into Tuesday night against Chicago, Dort was averaging 6.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 21 minutes per game.

However, over his last 10 games, those figures have increased to 8.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. During that span, he’s also shooting 47% from the field.

But Dort’s newfound success is more than just the numbers.

After Oklahoma City’s statement win over the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 21, Chris Paul said that people “don’t understand” the importance of Dort and that he “makes all the plays that nobody else would”.

Dennis Schroder has been just as complimentary, saying that Dort is “changing the game”.

Coincidentally, as Dort’s playing time and numbers increase, so does the amount of media that wants to talk to the Thunder rookie.

The countdown is on for Lu Dort and his Two-Way Contract

Oklahoma City signed Dort to a Two-Way contract on July 6 after he went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. Dort has started six games for OKC.

Lu Dort is the darling of Oklahoma City.

The rookie has stepped into the starting rotation in place of Terrance Ferguson after Ferguson left at the half of OKC’s loss to Miami on Jan. 17 and has yet to return.

Dort has shined as a defensive stopper, drawing some of the most difficult assignments in the league, including Houston’s James Harden and the Mavs’ Luka Doncic.

Dort has shown that he’s worth having on the court.

Now, he just needs to know whether or not the Thunder feel he’s worth a full-time contract.

Dort is one of 60 players that are currently signed to a two-way contract. And, as noted by Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, two-way contracts come with a catch: players signed to a two-way contract can only spend up to 45 days in the NBA.

Dort told Mussatto that he hasn’t been keeping track of the amount of time he’s spent with the Thunder this season.

“I don’t monitor it at all,” Donovan said last week. “Really it’s the front office. Obviously I’m in contact with them and they give me updates of what’s going on.”

Per Musatto, Dort is playing the most meaningful minutes of those players signed to a two-way contract, even if he isn’t playing the most minutes overall. He’s the only two-way player in the league this year that has cracked a starting rotation.

In his six starts, Oklahoma City is 5-1. And they do have a spot on their 15-man roster.

Dort is averaging 21.2 minutes per game, scoring 6.3 points per contest.

Against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, Dort scored a career-high 23 points, 12 of those coming in the third quarter alone.

There have been a lot of questions about what Sam Presti is going to do as the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaches. Maybe the move is just to officially move Dort to a full-time contract.

Luguentz Dort holds James Harden to historically bad shooting night

In his first career start, Dort held Harden to 9-of-29 shooting as Harden tied his own record for most 3-point misses (16) in a single game.

Lu Dort might have just earned himself a contract.

In his first career start on Monday night, the two-way player frustrated James Harden from start to finish.

While at first glance, it might look as if The Beard had his way with the Thunder rookie, a closer look at the box score reveals that Harden needed 29 shots from the field to get to 29 points. He made just 9 of his 29 attempts, going a paltry 1-of-17 from beyond the arc. Per Stat Muse, that tied his own record for most missed three-point attempts in a single game.

The only place Harden excelled on Monday was at the free-throw line, hitting 10-of-13.

Dort drew the start in place of Terrance Ferguson, who missed the game due to personal reasons.

According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, Billy Donovan told reporters after the game that he though Dort did “an unbelievable job” in a career-high 32 minutes.

“He played a lot of minutes, really worked hard on Harden. You’re not going to be perfect on him all the time, but I thought the effort that he gave for the 30-plus minutes that he was on the floor was huge for us.”

Dort scored eight points, but much like Ferguson in that role was needed much more for his defensive presence than his offensive prowess.

As noted by Mussatto, Dort drew a game-changing charge against Harden that helped shift the momentum in the Thunder’s favor late in the second half.

Oklahoma City overcame a 16-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to come back to get the win, 112-107.