Leaky Black Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Waive Kira Lewis, Leaky Black

October 12th, 2024 at 8:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards opened two spots on their training camp roster by waiving point guard Kira Lewis and small forward Leaky Black, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

Lewis, 23, was selected by the Pelicans with the 13th pick in the 2020 draft, but he was never able to earn a rotation spot during his three-plus years in New Orleans. That was partly due to injuries, including a torn ACL during the 2021/22 season. Lewis was traded three times last season, going to the Pacers, Raptors and Jazz, and he became a free agent in late June when Utah declined to submit a qualifying offer.

Black, 25, signed a two-way contract with Charlotte last summer after going undrafted out of USC. He appeared in 26 games for the Hornets, but spent much of the season with the Greensboro Swarm in the G League. Black’s two-way deal covered two seasons, but Charlotte waived him at the beginning of August.

Lewis and Black were both in camp on Exhibit 10 contracts, so they’ll have the opportunity to earn bonuses worth $77.5K if they spend at least 60 days with Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.

The moves leave the Wizards with 19 players on their roster, two short of the offseason limit.

Checking In On Early 2024/25 Roster Battles

September 14th, 2024 at 11:03am CST by Tristan Tucker

Each year, a handful of teams prefer to bring in players to battle it out for the last remaining spots on a given roster. Let’s take a look at a few training camp battles that are already brewing ahead of October.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have been busy in recent weeks, filling out their training camp roster with proven talent. The Bulls have 15 players on standard contracts, but Onuralp Bitim‘s deal is non-guaranteed. In addition, Chicago has two open two-way slots. The Bulls have four players — Talen Horton-Tucker, Kenneth Lofton Jr., E.J. Liddell and Marcus Domask — signed to training camp deals.

Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted to two-way contracts at any time. Horton-Tucker is the only player of that batch who is ineligible for a two-way contract, since he is at five years of NBA service. That gives the Bulls a handful of options for their opening night roster.

In essence, Bitim and Horton-Tucker seem to be battling it out for the Bulls’ 15th roster spot, while Lofton, Liddell and Domask all appear to be candidates for the team’s open two-way slots. Of course, if the Bulls opt to move on from Bitim on a standard deal, they could attempt to re-sign him to a two-way deal. They could also just carry 14 players on the standard roster to begin the year.

New York Knicks

As we detailed Saturday morning, Landry Shamet and Chuma Okeke appear to be battling for the Knicks’ 15th roster spot. Of course, there’s no guarantee that either player will make the roster, but each has a decent case to make the team.

Shamet is a proven three-point shooter while Okeke is a versatile forward who is a previous 16th overall pick. The Knicks will likely assess in training camp what their biggest need is and keep the player who best fits that niche heading into the year.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers have a handful of players on non-guaranteed or partially contracts heading into the season. However, previous reporting seems to indicate that the team’s final roster spot will come down to either Kendall Brown or Cole Swider.

Brown is an athletic forward who was the 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He has spent the last two seasons with the Pacers but has also appeared in just 21 total games. Meanwhile, the Pacers signed Swider to a training camp contract this offseason that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language. Swider is a known three-point shooter who spent last season with the Heat and helped Miami to a summer league championship this offseason.

James Wiseman and James Johnson each have partially guaranteed salaries with the Pacers.

The others

Other teams across the league are poised to either carry just 14 players on standard deals to begin the year or already have their 15-man rosters determined. However, some of those teams have unsettled two-way roster slots.

The Heat have their standard roster filled out, but summer standout Isaiah Stevens is on an Exhibit 10 deal. It seems like Stevens will battle Dru Smith — who currently holds a two-way deal — outright for that spot.

The Hornets have Moussa Diabate and KJ Simpson on two-way deals but have another spot open. Keyontae Johnson could be an option for that spot. Charlotte also has a potential opening on the 15-man roster, with four players signed to Exhibit 10 deals and another agreed to.

The Wizards also have an open two-way slot. Washington signed Leaky Black, Kira Lewis and Jaylen Nowell to Exhibit 10 contracts, but only Black is eligible for a two-way deal. The Wizards also have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, with Jared Butler and his non-guaranteed deal possibly on the outside looking in unless they make a trade.

The Clippers have RayJ Dennis, Kai Jones and Elijah Harkless signed to Exhibit 10 deals. The team also has an agreement with Kevon Harris for another such spot. With only Jordan Miller and Trentyn Flowers on two-way contracts, all of Dennis, Jones, Harkless and Harris are eligible for the team’s third.

Wizards Sign Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, Leaky Black

August 30th, 2024 at 6:45am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 30: Over a month after agreeing to terms with them, the Wizards have officially signed Lewis, Nowell, and Black, having listed all three players as part of their 21-man training camp roster.

AUGUST 28: The Wizards have reached contract agreements with free agents Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, and Leaky Black, league sources tell Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Robbins and Charania, all three players will sign Exhibit 10 contracts with Washington and will be given an opportunity to compete in training camp for regular season roster spots.

Lewis, 23, was the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, but only appeared in 131 games across his first four NBA seasons due in large part to injuries, including a torn ACL he suffered during the 2021/22 season. The 6’1″ guard has averaged 5.2 points and 1.8 assists in 13.3 minutes per game for the Pelicans, Raptors, and Jazz. Last season, he was traded three times – from New Orleans to Indiana to Toronto to Utah – before reaching unrestricted free agency when the Jazz declined to issue a qualifying offer.

Nowell, a 6’4″ shooting guard, spent his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota from 2019-23, averaging 9.1 points per game on .447/.322/.798 shooting in 184 appearances for the Timberwolves. Despite showing promise as a scorer, Nowell was unable to find a regular NBA job last season — he was waived by Sacramento ahead of opening night, then signed two 10-day contracts apiece with the Grizzlies and Pistons during the season. The 25-year-old spend most of the 2023/24 campaign with the Stockton Kings in the G League.

Black, 25, spent his rookie season with the Hornets after going undrafted out of UNC in 2023. The 6’6″ forward saw limited action in 26 NBA games while on a two-way contract with Charlotte. He played a larger role for the Greensboro Swarm in the NBAGL, posting averages of 7.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 24.8 MPG across 25 total Showcase Cup and regular season outings. His two-way deal covered two seasons, but he was waived by the Hornets about four weeks ago.

Exhibit 10 contracts allow players to earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived by their NBA teams and then spend at least 60 days with the club’s G League affiliate, so it’s possible Lewis, Nowell, and/or Black will end up playing for the Capital City Go-Go. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted to two-way contracts prior to opening night, but Lewis and Nowell have more than three years of NBA service and are therefore ineligible to be two-way players.

The Wizards currently have 16 players on standard contracts (15 guaranteed), with a pair on two-way deals. While Black figures to be in the mix for the team’s open two-way slot, it will be an uphill battle for Lewis or Nowell to make the standard regular season roster unless Washington intends to trade or waive a player with a guaranteed contract.

Hornets Cut Leaky Black

August 1st, 2024 at 5:53pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hornets have waived two-way player Leaky Black, the team announced via Twitter.

Just a few weeks ago, the young forward was expressing a desire to earn a spot on the club’s standard 15-man roster. Now, it looks like he may have to seek out his next NBA opportunity elsewhere.

Across 26 contests with Charlotte (three starts), the 6’9″ UNC alum averaged 2.7 points on a .481/.450/.667 shooting line, along with 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. In seven appearances for Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, Black averaged 10.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.7 SPG.

Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer notes that Black seemed to have shored up his offense during his Summer League games with the team this offseason, specifically showing off an updated jump shot.

The Hornets now have one open two-way slot. Third-year center Moussa Diabate and rookie point guard KJ Simpson are occupying the other two-way spots on the roster. The Hornets also still have one of their 15 standard roster spots available.

Hornets Notes: Chemistry, Bridges, Gibson, Jackson, M. Williams, Black

July 17th, 2024 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller, Mark Williams, Grant Williams, and several other Hornets players were in attendance at Tuesday’s Summer League game alongside new president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson and player enhancement coach Kemba Walker, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Summer League head coach Josh Longstaff said it “speaks volumes” to have the team’s veterans in the building “coaching up” and “cheering on” the Summer League squad, while guard Nick Smith Jr. added that it felt good to have “my big brothers (there) to support us.”

“It’s special, man,” Grant Williams said. “We are just trying to support one another, make sure we understand that team is first and team matters and really, really just committed to getting better and improving and making it a premier organization in the league.”

There are other signs of positive vibes around the organization this summer, according to Boone, who notes that co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin hosted a dinner event on Monday night in Las Vegas that included all of the Hornets’ players as well as a significant number of team personnel. Veteran big man Taj Gibson, the newest member of the roster, was among those impressed, Boone writes.

“It was really nice,” Gibson said. “To be honest with you, just meeting the ownership alone … First you see the ownership, the ownership is so welcoming. Those gentlemen, their energy is just vibrant in how they move and how they already circled and brought all the pieces together last night. It was like a family reunion, because that’s how relaxed we were. Talking, laughing, talking about what it’s going to be like. It was great, just to have that dialect.”

Gibson added that the team’s budding chemistry was on display at the event: “I’ve been to many of those dinners where every guy is over there, guys are over there. But (Monday) night, everybody was mixing. Everybody.”

Here’s more on the Hornets:

Bridges’ new three-year, $75MM contract with the Hornets has a descending structure, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The deal, which is fully guaranteed with no options, is worth $27,173,913 in 2024/25, exactly $25MM in ’25/26, and $22,826,087 in ’26/27.
Gibson’s one-year, minimum-salary deal is partially guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. Gibson is assured of receiving at least $1,082,270 and would lock in his full $3,303,771 salary if he remains under contract through the league-wide guarantee deadline of January 7.
While the signings of Gibson and Seth Curry bring the Hornets’ roster count to 15 players on standard contracts, that number could dip to 14 soon, Boone writes for the Charlotte Observer, noting that Reggie Jackson is considered unlikely to open the regular season with the team. The expectation is that Jackson will be cut at some point to allow him to try to catch on with a team closer to contention, according to Boone.
In a pair of exclusive interviews, Boone spoke to Hornets center Mark Williams about his efforts to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2023/24 season and to two-way player Leaky Black about his desire to earn a place on Charlotte’s standard 15-man roster.

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Bridges, Fultz, Coulibaly

March 4th, 2024 at 8:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Injuries and losses continue to pile up for the Hornets after a brief upturn last month, but head coach Steve Clifford won’t consider tanking over the final 21 games, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

With five rotation members sidelined, Charlotte dropped a close game at Toronto on Sunday night for its fifth loss in the last six games. At 15-46, the Hornets have the league’s fourth-worst record and are two games ahead of San Antonio for a chance to become one of three teams with the best odds at the No. 1 pick, but Clifford doesn’t want to approach the rest of the season that way.

“Look, we’re shorthanded and there’s a big difference between in some of the games you play, there’s going to be a real challenge to win,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean you play losing basketball. And there’s a big difference between teams that just pack it in and teams that play the right way and win. And I think as an organization, I think trying to win every game is a big thing.”

Seth Curry, Cody Martin and Nick Richards are the latest additions to Charlotte’s injured list, and they were on the bench in street clothes Sunday along with LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams. Boone notes that two-way players Amari Bailey and Leaky Black have been called up to provide some depth, and Marques Bolden was re-signed to a two-way contract last week two days after being waived.

Clifford points out that the remainder of the season will be crucial for those inexperienced players as they try to establish themselves in the NBA, and he doesn’t want to expose them to a culture that’s focused on losing.

“With younger players, to me, it’s absolutely critical that they understand the importance of getting better every day,” Clifford said. “I’m a firm believer, especially for younger guys, that their first experience is the way they view the league, the way they have to be taught how to be a good NBA player. I think they have to gain an understanding of how to win.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Miles Bridges didn’t experience any customs issues during this trip to Canada, Boone tweets. The Hornets forward was denied access to the country during the team’s December 18 visit because of his legal issues.
Markelle Fultz was the only Magic reserve to score in double figures Sunday night as he continues to come off the bench after missing three games due to an aching left knee. Fultz told Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel that he isn’t concerned about not starting (Twitter link). “If I’m in the game, [I’m] playing as hard as I can,” Fultz said. “But I don’t really care about that, man. I care about winning any way possible.”
After missing three games with a pelvic contusion, rookie Bilal Coulibaly isn’t on the Wizards‘ injury report for tonight’s game at Utah, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

Several Two-Way Players Nearing Active Game Limit

February 20th, 2024 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

A player who signs a two-way contract with an NBA team is permitted to be active for up to 50 regular season games. That limit is prorated if the player signed his two-way deal after the regular season got underway — for instance, a player who finalized a two-way contract halfway through the season would be permitted to be active for up to 25 contests at the NBA level.

Several two-way players have been promoted to standard contracts recently, eliminating those games-played limits. GG Jackson (Grizzlies), Keon Ellis (Kings), Lindy Waters III (Thunder), Craig Porter Jr. (Cavaliers), Duop Reath (Trail Blazers), and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Pelicans) have all signed new deals since the trade deadline.

However, there are still a number of players on two-way contracts around the league who are at or near their active-game limit for the season. Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link) identifies Celtics big man Neemias Queta, Mavericks guard Brandon Williams, Grizzlies guard Jacob Gilyard, and Hornets teammates Leaky Black and Nathan Mensah as two-way players who have 10 or fewer active games left, while Hawks guard Trent Forrest has already reached his 50-game limit.

In some cases, promotions to the standard roster may be forthcoming. Queta, for instance, has been a semi-regular contributor off the bench for the Celtics, who have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so if Boston wants to make him playoff-eligible and ensure he’s able to be active for the rest of the regular season, a contract conversion would be pretty straightforward.

Other cases could be trickier. While the Hawks would presumably like to have Forrest available for the rest of the season, they have a full 15-man roster, so they’d have to waive someone to make room to promote him.

Atlanta at least has some viable release candidates on its roster — for instance, veterans Patty Mills and Wesley Matthews haven’t played much and aren’t owed guaranteed money beyond this season. But that’s not the case in Memphis, where Gilyard has made a strong case for a promotion from his two-way deal by averaging 4.7 points and 3.5 assists in 37 games (17.7 MPG), with a .425 3PT%.

The Grizzlies have already promoted Jackson and Vince Williams from two-way contracts and may not have any expendable players left on their 15-man roster who could be cut to make room for Gilyard. Luke Kennard ($14.8MM team option for 2024/25) and Lamar Stevens (unrestricted free agent this summer) are the only Grizzlies not owed any guaranteed money after this season, and both are playing rotation roles for the banged-up club.

“We’ll see what happens when the time comes,” Gilyard said of his uncertain situation, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “As a basketball player, it’s definitely on your mind. I try not to let it affect me. I think that’s probably the worst part about being a point guard is you start to understand things and start to grasp things like that.”

“It’s kind of a juggling act,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said of working within those active-game limits for his two-way players, including Gilyard and Scotty Pippen Jr. “It’s hard to make those decisions, trying to preserve those dates. (Pippen’s) understood it. I was very upfront with him when he came in, (general manager) Zach (Kleiman) and myself. I think when he came in, we were maybe on the 40-game mark, but he didn’t have 40 games available, so it’s very unfortunate.

“Maybe it’s something that we look into as a league because I think he’s earned the opportunity to play every single night. We just have to balance the games he actually has available to him.”

Besides those players who are approaching their games-played limits, there are a few others on two-way contracts around the league who look like candidates to be promoted to standard rosters before the end of the regular season. Nets forward Jalen Wilson and Warriors guard Lester Quinones are among those who were playing regularly for their respective clubs leading up to the All-Star break.

Promoting a player to a standard contract would open up a two-way slot for his team, allowing that club to reset its active-game counter for that slot — at least to some extent. Due to the prorated nature of those game limits, a player who signs a two-way contract today could only be active for up to 16 games the rest of the way, but that’s 16 more games than, say, Forrest is eligible to play for the Hawks as long as he remains on his current two-way deal.

Teams have until March 4 to sign players to two-way contracts, so I expect to see a good deal of roster activity related to two-way slots within the next couple weeks.

Contract Details: Noel, Dowtin, White, Jordan, Matthews, More

July 26th, 2023 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The one-year, minimum-salary contract that Nerlens Noel signed with the Kings is currently only partially guaranteed for $300K, Hoops Rumors has learned. Noel would see his partial guarantee increase to $600K if he hasn’t been waived by the first game of the regular season this fall. In order to receive his full salary, he’d need to remain under contract through at least January 7.

Here are more details on a few recently signed NBA contracts:

Jeff Dowtin‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Raptors is fully non-guaranteed for the time being. However, the guard would receive a partial guarantee worth $900K if he’s not waived on or before October 21, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
The Thunder signed Jack White to a two-year, minimum-salary contract that includes a $600K partial guarantee in year one and a team option for 2024/25, Hoops Rumors has learned.
The one-year, minimum-salary deals signed by DeAndre Jordan (Nuggets) and Wesley Matthews (Hawks) are fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned.
The two-way contracts signed by Omari Moore (Bucks) and Leaky Black (Hornets) cover two years rather than just one, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Sixers center Montrezl Harrell and Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson waived their right to veto trades during their 2023/24 season, Hoops Rumors has learned. As we detailed earlier today, players who re-sign with their previous teams on one-year deals (or two-year deals with a second-year option) get trade veto rights by default, but can choose to give up those rights.

Hornets Sign Leaky Black To Two-Way Deal

July 19th, 2023 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 19: Black’s two-way deal with the Hornets is now official, the team announced.

JUNE 23: The Hornets will use one of their two-way slots in 2023/24 on rookie free agent Leaky Black, reports Adam Smith of Inside Carolina. The two sides have agreed to a two-way deal.

A 6’8″ swingman, Black went undrafted out of North Carolina on Thursday. He spent five seasons with the Tar Heels, averaging 7.3 PPG and 6.5 RPG on .411/.326/.702 shooting in 33 games (32.1 MPG) during his super-senior year in 2022/23.

While Black’s offensive contributions are modest, he’s considered an asset on the other end of the floor, having made the ACC’s All-Defensive team in both 2022 and 2023.

Prior to attending UNC, Black was born and raised in Concord, North Carolina, so it’s a local signing for the Hornets.

Xavier Sneed, one of the players who finished the 2022/23 season on a two-way contract with the Hornets, has a deal that covers ’23/24 as well. Assuming Charlotte hangs onto him, the team will be able to carry one more two-way player in addition to Sneed and Black.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hornets, Butler

June 11th, 2023 at 3:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Wizards have been taking a thorough look at a wealth of NBA prospects in recent days. Washington possesses three picks in this year’s draft: the eighth selection in the lottery and the Nos. 42 and 57 picks in the second round.

The team announced (Twitter link) that it was auditioning six prospects in a pre-draft workout on Friday: Texas forward Timmy Allen, North Carolina forward Leaky Black, San Diego State forward Nathan Mensah, Connecticut forward Adama Sanogo, Ohio State forward Justice Sueing, and Indiana forward Race Thompson.

According to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (via Twitter) another five league hopefuls participated in a a pre-draft workout Saturday. Virginia guard Kihei Clark, Missouri guard D’Moi Hodge, North Carolina State guard Jarkel Joiner, University of North Carolina at Greensboro swingman Keondre Kennedy, and Princeton forward Tosan Evbuomwan comprised that group.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Hornets possess a whopping five selections in this year’s draft, headlined by the second pick in the lottery. Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link) builds out the club’s ideal draft, suggesting Charlotte should select Alabama swingman Brandon Miller over G League Ignite point guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 2 pick. The club also has the No. 27 pick in the first round at its disposal, as well as three second-round selections. Givony suggests those picks would be best used on Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Missouri’s Kobe Brown.
The Hornets brought in six NBA hopefuls for their latest pre-draft workout Saturday. Per Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), G League Ignite wing Sidy Cissoko, Detroit Mercy combo guard Antoine Davis, guard Jazian Gortman of Overtime Elite, Oklahoma big man Tanner Groves, Jackson-Davis, and Jaquez participated in the audition.
Even if Jimmy Butler‘s Heat fall short of a championship, his legendary playoff run deserves to be remembered forever, opines John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger notes that Butler’s regular season accolades pale in comparison to his postseason impact, especially when it comes to clutch scoring and play-making.