Thunder Sign Hamilton To Two-Way Deal
Shooting guard Daniel Hamilton playing on the Thunder's Summer league team in Orlando, Florida.
By Randy Renner, Senior Writer
The Thunder have taken advantage of a new feature in the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement going into effect this season.
Two-way contracts.
OKC Blue shooting guard Daniel Hamilton inked the new type of contract yesterday, the first ever in Thunder history.
It will allow the 6-6 Hamilton to spend as many as 45 days with the Thunder, practicing and playing in games. For ever day he's in a Thunder uniform he'll be paid a pro-rated portion of the NBA's rookie minimum salary which is just over $800,000.
The contract will bump his OKC Blue pay up to $75,000.
Here is a portion of the Thunder's official press release announcing the move.
Hamilton spent the 2016-17 season with the Oklahoma City Blue, appearing in 49 games (47 starts) and averaging 14.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 31.2 minutes per game. His rebounds led all qualifying rookie guards in the G League.
The California native led the Blue with 15 double-doubles and added the team’s only triple-double of the season, the fifth in team history.
“Daniel has shown significant strides in his development since entering our program,” said Thunder General Manager Sam Presti. “We are thrilled that he will receive the first two-way contract in Thunder history as we expect him to spend time with both teams this season as he continues to evolve as a player.”
Hamilton competed with the Thunder in the 2017 Mountain Dew Orlando Pro Summer League, where he started four games and averaged 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and an Orlando Summer League-high 6.8 assists in 31.0 minutes per game.
Hamilton was drafted No. 56 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft after spending two seasons at the University of Connecticut. In his time at UConn, he was named American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Year, an AAC All-Conference Second Teamer and the Most Outstanding Player of the 2016 AAC Championship.
Digging a little deeper into Hamilton's stats, he hit 76.7 percent of his free throw attempts and turned the ball over 2.9 times a game. He had an offensive rating of 104 and a defensive rating of 102.
Earlier this summer the Thunder signed Hamilton's OKC Blue teammate Dakari Johnson to a 2-year full NBA contract and the team has another two-way contract available to use.