Report: Former Duke Star Amile Jefferson Signs Two-Day Deal With Minnesota Timberwolves

Author:
Matt Hladik
Jan 15, 2018 2:24 PM EST

Former Duke forward Amile Jefferson has found an NBA home.

Jefferson has spent this season playing for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League, and has put up good numbers. He's averaging 18 points and 13.1 rebounds per contest.

The Minnesota Timberwolves must believe Jefferson is worthy of an NBA opportunity. They are signing him to a two-way contract, according to The Vertical's Shams Charania.

Two-way contracts are structured so that players can only spend a certain amount of time in the NBA. They will still play most of their games in the G League.

You can find a longer explanation on two-way contracts here.

Players under a two-way contract aren’t counted against the salary cap, and will be restricted free agents after their deal expires. A two-way contract can only be up to two years, and no bonuses, extra compensation or options for future years can be included. The NBA season is split into 170 days, and a player on a two-way deal can only spend 45 days with their NBA team receiving the minimum salary, which is set at $815,615 for the 2017-18 season. The rest of the 125 days, the player will be payed at the rate of their G League salary capped at $75,000. In a best case scenario, the salary math works out to roughly around $280,000.

When Jefferson suits up for the Timberwolves, he'll be playing alongside former Duke teammate Tyus Jones. The pair played together on the Blue Devils' 2014-15 national championship team.

Jefferson will be the sixth player from that team to play in the NBA--the seventh if you count Semi Ojeleye, who saw action in six games early in the season before transferring to SMU.

Charania also reported that Jefferson will be a free agent this summer.

A four-star recruit in the class of 2012, Jefferson spent five years in Durham. He received a redshirt during the 2015-16 campaign after suffering a foot injury.

Jefferson played in 150 games for the Blue Devils, making 103 starts. He scored 1,079 points and pulled down 944 rebounds.