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Two more Virginia Cavaliers are heading to the league as Sam Hauser and Jay Huff have signed deals after the 2021 NBA Draft. Hauser has signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics, while Jay Huff is on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Washington Wizards.
The two-way contract will allow Hauser to play with Boston’s G-League team and also be pulled up to the Celtics. Here is how the G-Leauge describes the two-way contract:
NBA teams may have up to two players under NBA Two-Way Contracts who will spend the bulk of the season in the NBA G League and not more than 45 days with their NBA team. Two-Way players are paid a corresponding daily amount based on the number of days they play in each league. Only players in their fourth NBA season or earlier are able to sign Two-Way Contracts, which can be for either one or two seasons.
Previous Virginia players on two-way contracts include recent NBA Champion Mamadi Diakite, Kyle Guy, and Devon Hall.
The Exhibition 10 contract — which was added in the 2017 collective bargaining agreement — basically gives a player an advantage with regards to training camp. As Hoops Rumors describes it, Exhibit 10 contracts are, “...one-year deals worth the minimum salary. They don’t come with any compensation protection, but can include an optional bonus ranging from $5K to $50K.” If Huff is waived by the Wizards after training camp and he plays with the G-League affiliate for 60 days, he’d receive the optional bonus. This would not be the case if Huff ended up signing with a professional team overseas.
Hauser, who played one season with Virginia after transferring from Marquette and sitting out one season, led the Cavaliers in scoring in 2020-21 with 16 points per game. He was one of the best shooters from deep in the conference, hitting 41.7% of his attempts. While he wasn’t the best one-on-one defender, Hauser developed as a strong rebounder over the course of the season with 6.8 rebounds per game and a 21.6% defensive rebounding mark.
Sharpshooter @Big_Smooth10 begins his #NBA journey with @celtics! ⚔️ #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/296umAcBT5
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) July 30, 2021
Huff, Virginia’s 2020-21 super senior, had an outstanding career at Virginia. Dubbed ‘The Hoonicorn, Huff averaged 13 points and 7.1 rebounds per game his final season. He was a threat all over the court with a eFG% of 65.2% and connecting on 39% of his threes. Huff had an 11.9% block percentage — good for No. 10 in the country — and blocked 66 shots last season.
Big Jay's #NBA career starts with @WashWizards! ⚔️ #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/qzQohzbNUr
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) July 30, 2021
With these two signings and Trey Murphy being drafted at No. 17 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans, Virginia had three players join the league this season.