Cavs sign two guards to training camp deals

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed Isaac Hamilton and Scoochie Smith to two-way contracts.

According to RealGM’s Keith Smith, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed guards Isaac Hamilton and Scoochie Smith to Exhibit 10 contracts ahead of training camp.

An Exhibit 10 contract guarantees that a player will get a bonus of $50,000 if he’s waived by a team and signs with their NBA G-League affiliate. A player waived by October 17th must report to the G-League affiliate, in this case the Canton Charge, by October 20th and remain there for at least 60 days in order to receive the bonus.

An Exhibit 10 contract can also be converted to a two-way contract by the first day of the regular season. The bonus would then be rescinded.

A team can call up a two-way player, as an active or inactive player, for up to 45 days during the regular season.

In addition to a G-League salary, a two-way player also earns a prorated per diem salary if called up. However, once the player had been with a NBA team for 45 days, they have to either be sent back to the G-League or have their contract converted to a standard, NBA minimum, deal.

What’s interesting about Hamilton and Smith being signed to these deals is that they played for the Charge last season.

Hamilton, a sharpshooting two-guard in his three seasons at UCLA (37.6 percent shooting on 4.9 three-point attempts per game), went undrafted in 2017 and averaged 7.4 points per game for the Charge while shooting 33.1 percent from three. According to his G-League player page, he would knock down 40.0 percent of his threes at the top of the key and 41.7 percent though.

An athletic guard with a solid but not crisp handle and decent court vision, Hamilton also made quite a few plays with the ball in his hands. While a three-point artist, Hamilton became proficient with the use of a floater since he’s not a player likely to consistently finish contested shots around the rim.

Defensively, Hamilton makes his presence felt off-ball as he routinely jumps passing lanes. At 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, Hamilton isn’t physically dominant enough to consistently hound twos on-ball and he’s not as quick as the faster point guards. However, he moves his feet, competes and has quick hands.

Smith, a University of Dayton alum, is a point guard with a tight if unspectacular handle who plays at his own pace but knows how to play the position the right way.

He went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft after averaging 11.5 points, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game (while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from three) in his last three seasons at Dayton, as he started 100 out 101 games.

With the Charge, Smith would average 14.3 points, 8.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 52.3 percent from three according his G-League player page.

He played for the Cavs during the Las Vegas Summer League and, per RealGM, averaged 8.3 points, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three.

With point guard Isaiah Taylor on a non-guaranteed contract and guard John Holland on a two-way contract, it seems like Hamilton and Smith are their competition in training camp.

Both Hamilton and Smith have been better three-point shooters than Taylor throughout their basketball careers, so they have a solid chance to beat him out in a league that values the three-point shot so heavily. Otherwise, it’s a toss-up.

The Cleveland Cavaliers still have one roster spot open for training camp.