Chicago Bulls sign NBA summer standout Blakeney
The Bulls signed summer-league standout Antonio Blakeney to a two-way contract Friday, which means he can play for both the Bulls and the G-League's Windy City Bulls next season.
Blakeney has been one of the best players on the Bulls' summer squad in Las Vegas. In the first two games after starting guards Kris Dunn and Cameron Payne departed for family reasons, Blakeney averaged 25 points and 9.5 rebounds. He shot well from 3-point range and drew 17 free-throw attempts on Wednesday against Portland.
Blakeney, a 6-4 shooting guard, spent two seasons at LSU. As a freshman, he played with last year's overall No. 1 draft pick, Ben Simmons.
The two-way contract is new to the NBA this season. Teams can sign up to two players to two-way contracts and they don't count toward the 15-man roster. Two-way players can spend up to 45 days with the NBA team and they are paid a prorated NBA minimum salary during that time.
Essentially, Blakeney will spend most of his time in Hoffman Estates with the Windy City Bulls, but he'll be able to make a higher salary than a regular G-League player. NBA teams can convert a two-way contract to a regular NBA contract at any time during the season. In the meantime, two-way players cannot be signed by other NBA teams.
This is good time to point out the NBA's developmental league is now known as the G-League, thanks to a sponsorship from Gatorade. The Windy City Bulls will begin their second season at the Sears Centre in November.
Blakeney and Lauri Markkanen sat out the Bulls' final summer-league game on Friday, a 99-82 victory over Philadelphia. Point guard Brady Heslip led the way with 28 points while hitting 8 of 15 shots from 3-point range. Denzel Valentine added 21 points and Ryan Arcidiacono scored 16.
Bulls claim Nwaba:
The Bulls completed a second transaction Friday, claiming guard David Nwaba off waivers from the Los Angeles Lakers. Nwaba is a 6-4 shooting guard with a 7-foot wingspan. He played in 20 games for the Lakers last season, while averaging 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in the D-League for the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
Nwaba was far off the NBA radar when he left Cal Poly a year ago. The Santa Monica, Calif., native did not attend the NBA's pre-draft camp and he landed on the D-Fenders after attending a D-League tryout camp. He's an athletic player who rarely shot from the outside last season. D-Fenders coach Coby Karl called him the best defender in the D-League.
Nwaba was waived by the Lakers to clear the cap space to sign former Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. According to basketball-reference.com, his $1.3 million contract is not guaranteed for next season.
• Twitter @McGrawDHBulls.