Former Kansas Jayhawks forward Jalen Wilson signs two-way contract with NBA’s Nets
Former Kansas forward Jalen Wilson has signed a two-way contract with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, the team announced Wednesday.
Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
Wilson, a 6-foot-8 native of Denton, Texas, was selected by the Nets in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft at No. 51 overall. Wilson, 22, was named a consensus All-America first team selection and earned Big 12 Player of the Year honors after averaging 20.1 points and 8.3 rebounds a game last season. He shot 43.0% from the field, 33.7% percent from three-point range and 79.9% from the free-throw line.
NBA teams this season for the first time will be allowed to sign three players to two-way contracts, up one from past seasons. Wilson and RaiQuan Gray are the players currently with two-way contracts with the Nets. They will play for the Nets summer league team Friday through July 17 in Las Vegas.
In the NBA, a “two-way contract” allows players to be on an NBA team and its G League affiliate, in this case the Brooklyn Nets and Long Island Nets, at the same time.
Players with three or fewer years of service in the NBA are allowed to be on two-way contracts. Players with two-way deals are eligible to be active in a maximum of 50 games with their NBA team. These players spend the rest of the season with their team’s G League affiliate.
According to the NBA, “two-way players are paid a flat salary equal to 50% of the minimum player salary applicable to a player with zero years of service. Only players with four or fewer years of NBA service are able to sign two-way contracts, which can be for either one or two seasons.” The two-way contract salary is expected to be $560,000 for the 2023-24 season.
According to Netsdaily.com, “it has been common practice for the last several years for the Nets to sign second rounders to two-ways. In addition to Gray who was taken at No. 59 in the 2021, the Nets signed Kessler Edwards, taken at No. 44 in that same draft, to a two-way before he was converted to a standard deal in 2022.”
