Wednesday night saw the Utah Jazz draft a paint-protecting big man and a high-scoring wing. Thursday morning saw them add a point guard prospect and another defensive-minded big.
The Jazz signed Florida State guard Trent Forrest to a two-way contract, according to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic, and Seton Hall center Romaro Gill to an Exhibit 10 contract, per NJ Advance Media’s Adam Zagoria.
Forrest, a four-year senior, won 104 games in his career in Tallahassee — the most in program history. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Florida native averaged 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a senior, though he shot just 28.1% (a career-high) from 3-point range. Last season, he helped the Seminoles to a 26-5 overall record and the ACC Championship. Forrest earned All-ACC Second Team and All-ACC Defensive Team honors.
Gill, meanwhile, is a 7-2, 255-pound native of Jamaica who declared for the draft following his fifth-year senior season, played with with the Pirates. He averaged 7.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, while shooting 62.8% from the field and 67.5% from the free-throw line. He earned both Big East Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player honors.
Seton Hall's Romaro Gill blocks the shot of DePaul's Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
Zagoria, who confirmed the signing with Gill’s agent, wrote that the center “runs the floor well for a big man and, on the advice of NBA personnel, has been working on his mid-range game.”
Each NBA team is allowed a pair of two-way contracts, which enable the players to split time between the pro team and its G League affiliate. Under the amended terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, two-way players can spend up to 50 games with their NBA team during the 2020-21 season. Last season, the Jazz’s two-way players were second-round picks Jarrell Brantley and Justin Wright-Foreman.
Teams are allowed to expand their rosters up to 20 players in the offseason to have extra bodies for training camp and to audition players for G League spots, and frequently will sign rookie free agents in the aftermath of the NBA Draft to contracts with Exhibit 10 clauses. Those are one-year, nonguaranteed deals with bonuses of between $5,000 to $50,000 designed to entice the player to stay with the club’s G League affiliate for at least 60 days (upon which the bonus would pay out) rather than accepting a deal from an overseas club.
