Our Guide to the Grizzlies’ Two-Way and 10-Day Contracts

Let me guess. There was at least one game this year when you watched the Grizzlies hooping and got confused. Confused because as you were watching the proceedings a sudden realization hit you…

That you don’t recognize one of the players on the court—on your own team—in the slightest.

I’m talking nothing. You don’t recognize the name on the jersey. Their hair. Their game. Nada. As far as your concerned you’ve never seen this guy before today. Let alone never seen them in a Memphis uniform.

And you’re not wrong… But your also not right. You’ve never seen them play in Memphis before. But they are in fact still an addition to the roster.

See the odds are… Odds are you were witnessing a player signed to either a two-way or 10-day contract. And not in fact a complete stranger.

Because Memphis inked 16 players using those deals last season. 16 different players. 16 guys that signed either a two-way or a 10-day contract with Memphis. For a total combination of 21 total contracts.

That’s a wealth of information to have to keep track of… Before even getting to how the players did when they had minutes thrown their way. Plus the intricacies of both contracts can dictate portions of it’s contents too.

All that to say it’s heaps of information. And if someone isn’t up to investing time and energy in to players who may not be on the team in 3 games time? I would understand.

Lucky for you… You don’t have to invest anything; the basics to know are below. Plus think about it. Next time you’re at trivia and start sweating at the mention of a Grizzlies two-way question? You’ll have the best—and most likely only—guide with the information you need.

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The Two-Ways

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• Vince Williams Jr.

27.6 minutes per game, 10.0 points per game, 5.6 total rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game, 44.6/37.8/80.0% shooting splits, 52 games played, 33 starts, signed a 4-yr, $9,144,340 contract on Jan. 10th, 2024

• Jacob Gilyard

17.7 minutes per game, 4.7 points per game, 1.2 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game, 41.7/42.5/100.0 shooting splits, 37 games played, 14 starts, waived on Feb. 25th, 2024

• GG Jackson II

25.3 minutes per game, 13.9 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, 1.0 assists per game, 42.5/35.9/74.7% shooting splits, 47 games played, 17 starts, signed a 4-yr, $8,511,167 contract on Feb. 9th, 2024

• Scotty Pippen Jr.

25.1 minutes per game, 12.8 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, 48.4/43.5/74.1% shooting splits, 20 games played, 15 starts, agreed to 2-yr, two-way contract on Jan. 16th, 2024

• Trey Jemison

23.8 minutes per game, 7.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 1.1 assists per game, 55.4/-/84.0% shooting splits, 22 games played, 13 starts, agreed to 2-yr, two-way contract on Feb. 9th, 2024, previously signed 10-day contract from Jan. 30th, 2024—Feb. 9th, 2024

• Jordan Goodwin

28.8 minutes per game, 10.1 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, 35.8/32.8/65.4% shooting splits, 16 games played, 11 starts, agreed to 1-yr, two-way contract on Feb. 25th, 2024, previously signed 10-day contract from Feb. 12th, 2024—Feb. 22nd, 2024

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Do you know how many pages the CBA dedicates to two-way contracts? Eight pages. Those eight pages they then split in to eight sections and significant more… I guess subsections? And then more sub-sub sections?

The density here is necessary. There’s plenty of data present that helps to understand the contract’s minutia. And thus get the most out of the players on said contracts.

Which is something Memphis accomplished in spades.

In both the literal and metaphorical senses… In the case of Jacob Gilyard he hit the literal threshold for games played on a two-way… Whereas Vince Williams Jr./GG Jackson II signed bargain deals, freeing up their spots.

It’s one reason the Grizzlies were able to sign three more players this year. That’s not a gimme.

The timing too—mid January/February—meant meaningful minutes to go around. Scotty Pippen Jr. shored up the guard spot. While Trey Jemison and Jordan Goodwin shored up the glass. What I would call two ‘areas of need’ for the Grizzlies to that point.

The rarity here though—other than the contract usage—is in the production.

Vince and GG played well enough to earn roster spots. Gilyard did too, but his height would always work against him. The former even appear to each be core rotation pieces moving forward. The team was already three for three.

Scotty, Jemison, and Goodwin meanwhile are in the upper half of the roster in minutes played. They’ve kept the Grizzlies competitive against better and healthier teams… As well as made these games watchable the back half. And that wasn’t a given.

You know… Zach Kleiman and the Memphis front office are often praised for identifying talent. Especially in the draft. After this season?

They shown they deserve praise—as do the players—for more than that. Because the way the Grizzlies were optimizing their two-way contracts… It should be the example moving forward for the entire NBA.

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The 10-Days

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• Shaquille Harrison

2.0 minutes per game, 0.7 points per game, 0.7 rebounds per game, 0.0 assists per game, 50.0/-/-% shooting splits, 3 games played, 0 starts, signed 10-day contract from Nov. 23rd, 2023–Dec. 4th, 2023

• Jaylen Nowell

17.3 minutes per game, 5.7 points per game, 1.6 rebounds per game, 1.8 assists. per game, 40.0/17.4/100.0% shooting splits, 9 games played, 1 start, signed two consecutive 10-day contracts from Nov. 23rd 2023-Dec 14th, 2023

• Matthew Hurt

14.1 minutes per game, 4.0 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game, 0.5 assists per game, 35.3/25.0/100.0% shooting splits, 8 games played, 0 starts, signed two 10-day contracts from Jan. 29th, 2024—Feb. 9th, 2024 and Feb. 26th, 2024—Mar. 8th, 2024

• Tosan Evbuomwan

18.5 minutes per game, 2.5 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game, 26.7/25.0/-% shooting splits, 4 games played, 0 starts, signed 10-day contract from Jan. 30th, 2024—Feb. 10th, 2024

• Wenyen Gabriel

16.2 minutes per game, 3.4 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, 0.6 assists per game, 36.4/16.7/0.0% shooting splits, 5 games played, 0 starts, signed 10-day contract from Mar. 7th, 2024—Mar. 17th, 2024

• DeJon Jarreau

16.7 minutes per game, 4.8 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, 2.9 assists per game, 34.0/30.8/45.5% shooting splits, 9 games played, 0 starts, signed two consecutive 10-day contracts from Mar. 9th, 2024—Mar. 29th, 2024

• Maozinha Pereira

17.4 minutes per game, 6.9 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, 0.3 assists per game, 51.4/38.5/70.0% shooting splits, 7 games played, 1 start, signed two consecutive 10-day contracts from Mar. 20th, 2024—Apr. 9th, 2024

• Zavier Simpson

23.0 minutes per game, 6.0 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, 3.6 assists per game, 31.5/29.4/75.0% shooting splits, 7 games played, 0 starts, signed two consecutive 10-day contracts from Mar. 30th—Apr. 14th, 2024

• Timmy Allen

25.0 minutes per game, 2.6 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, 1.0 assists per game, 26.1/0.0/50.0% shooting splits, 5 games played, 0 starts, signed 10-day contract from Apr. 6th, 2024—Apr. 14th, 2024

• Jack White

16.0 minutes per game, 1.5 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, 0.3 assists per game, 12.5/20.0/-% shooting splits, 4 games played, 0 starts, signed 10-day contract from Apr. 9th, 2024—Apr. 14th, 2024

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The CBA spends a significant less amount of words detailing ten-day contracts. Under two pages. So why is that?

For starters, it’s not intended as a permanent solution. The ten-day contract. It’s like a Bandaid for injured rosters—a temporary fix.

The nature of it means one of the following… Signees can spend ten days on a roster, or be active in three games—whichever mark they reach first. The contract isn’t limited in it’s uses, and may have consecutive uses as well. It’s meant to hold teams over while their guys return from injury.

This season though… Well, there were healthy teams in the NBA… There were injured teams in the NBA… And there were the Memphis Grizzlies. Who’s injury report looked like this more often than not:

.@memgrizz status report, April 14 vs @nuggets: pic.twitter.com/CricTK3lbc

— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) April 13, 2024

And what did that mean? Other than lots of laugh-crying? It meant lots of ten-day contracts and lots of guys to keep up with.

12 in fact. The Grizzlies signed 12 different players to ten-day contracts. That’s 17 total ten-day contracts. That’s almost another full NBA roster.

And the caliber of player that Memphis was signing? Well no shade intended but… Let’s say there was a reason most of them remained unsigned. That’s not to say they weren’t playing.

In fact, the one common thread among them? Every player the Grizzlies signed to a ten-day played in the G-League this year. And will most likely continue to do so.

Again—no shade here. To be honest it’s a testament to to the league itself. Considering these ten-days served as stopgaps for Memphis close to half the season.

But remember… How many starts did we get out of the 12? Two. And the highest point average from the group? 6.9 points. These were end of bench guys if that. The ones that weren’t? They had contracts converted. Looking at you Mr. Jemison.

All that to say, Memphis still somehow managed to find the best of the bunch. This group won some and stayed competitive in most. Which is more than I’d argue many of us expected.

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Photo Credit: (Brandon Dill/AP Photo)