With a number of NBA Teams making some big money splash signings (Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, Paul George, Derrick White, etc.) since the beginning of the Free Agency on Sunday, the Portland Trailblazers made a small yet important decision of their own to have Justin Minaya return to the team on a two-way contract.
This will be the second two-way contract agreed to between Minaya and the Trailblazers, having signed one last year as well. Here is the breakdown of Minaya’s basketball career up to this point, starting with his collegiate career on South Carolina:
| Year | Team | GP | Mins | Pts | Rebs | Asts | Stls | Blks | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 17-18 | SC | 32 | 26.9 | 7.9 | 4.2 | 1.5 | 0.63 | 0.25 | .390 | .364 | .686 |
| 18-19 | SC | 5 | 25.6 | 7.4 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 0.60 | 0.20 | .455 | .133 | .714 |
| 19-20 | SC | 22 | 29.8 | 7.8 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 0.64 | 0.91 | .410 | .264 | .660 |
| 20-21 | SC | 20 | 30.2 | 7.0 | 6.3 | 1.8 | 0.70 | 0.75 | .384 | .233 | .615 |
| 21-22 | PC | 32 | 33.2 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 1.6 | 0.81 | 0.81 | .414 | .317 | .558 |
| TOTAL | 111 | 29.8 | 7.3 | 5.4 | 1.7 | 0.69 | 0.63 | .402 | .296 | .639 |
Minaya did forfeit a remaining year of eligibility following his lone season at Providence to go professional. Minaya went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft before signing with the G-League affiliate, the Mexico City Capitanes.
| Year | Team | GP | Mins | Pts | Rebs | Asts | Stls | Blks | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 22-23 | MXC | 27 | 35.1 | 12.7 | 4.4 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.4 | .489 | .341 | .472 |
With the Portland Trailblazers dealing with a myriad of injuries at the end of the 2022-2023 NBA season, Minaya signed a 10-day contract with the team and saw action in the last 4 games of the season.
April 4th, 2023: Signed 10-Day contract with the Portland Trailblazers.
| Year | Team | GP | Mins | Pts | Rebs | Asts | Stls | Blks | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 22-23 | POR | 4 | 22.3 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | .304 | .250 | .000 |
October 2nd, 2023: Signed Exhibit-10 contract with the Portland Trailblazers.
October 20th, 2023: Signed Two-Way contract with the Portland Trailblazers.
| Year | Team | GP | Mins | Pts | Rebs | Asts | Stls | Blks | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 23-24 | POR | 34 | 11.2 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | .297 | .245 | .556 |
Minaya also played 9 games with the Rip City Remix of the G-League in December (2), January (1), February (2), and March (4) across the 2023-2024 season that saw his numbers improve even over a previously very good 2022-2023 season he had with the G-League Mexico City Capitanes the year prior.
| Year | Team | GP | Mins | Pts | Rebs | Asts | Stls | Blks | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 23-24 | RCR | 9 | 32.4 | 16.2 | 6.8 | 4.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 | .500 | .352 | .765 |
The defense is still as great as it has always been and if he can continue those improved shooting percentages from the G-League and transition them over to the NBA, he could see a very real path to playing time for a rebuilding Trailblazers squad.
Once again, it’s probably a good idea to spell out exactly what a Two-Way contract entails in the NBA.
- Teams can have up to two players on two-way contracts at a time, in addition to their 15 standard roster spots.
- Only players who have fewer than four years of experience in the NBA can sign a two-way contract. A “year” doesn’t necessarily mean that a player has to spend a full year in the NBA but if they spend any time in the NBA during a season, that counts as a full “year” of experience.
- Players are limited to two years on a two-way contract with the same team (this will be Minaya’s 2nd two way contract with the Portland Trailblazers).
- Players on two-way contracts are eligible to play in 50 of their team’s 82 games.
- When not playing, two-way contract players can still practice, travel, and sit with the team on the bench during games as an inactive member of the team.
- There are no cap implications with two-way contracts.
- Players on two-way contracts are paid a flat rate that is equal to half of the league’s rookie minimum salary, which for 2023-2024 was $559,782 (Minimum Rookie Salary was $1,119,563) and is increasing to $578,577 for 2024-2025 (new Minimum Rookie Salary is $1,157,153). However, these contracts are not guaranteed, so the players can be cut at any point, and will only receive their salary up to that point.
- Once a two-way contract has been converted or waived the team can sign another two-way contract at any point.
The Morning Hangover 
Pingback: The Orlando Magic Waive Justin Minaya – The Morning Hangover