NBA Summer League: All Four Vols Sign Contracts

The Miami Heat announced Monday afternoon they have signed forward Kyle Alexander to a contract after the conclusion of the NBA Summer League. Alexander averaged 4.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 15.9 minutes in eight games with the Heat. He shot 43.8 percent from the field. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With the deal, Alexander becomes the fourth former Tennessee Volunteer from the 2019 NBA Draft class to sign an NBA contract. To recap:

Guard Jordan Bone signed first on July 8th with the Detroit Pistons. His situation was a bit different, as he could not officially sign or participate in the Summer League due to certain transactions involved with the draft night trade process. Nonetheless, the Pistons clearly thought the world of him, considering they wasted no time signing him. Terms of his contract have not been released.

Forward Grant Williams was the 22nd overall pick in the draft and fetched a nice contract for himself. He signed a 4-year deal worth $11.8 million with the Boston Celtics after putting together one of the strongest Summer League performances of any rookie. That signing came on July 11th.

Forward Admiral Schofield was not far behind, signing his rookie contract with the Washington Wizards one day later. Schofield’s contract is for three years and an unknown amount.

It’s been quite some time since Tennessee has had this level of success in the league. Obviously those players still have to live up to their contracts and hopefully sign more, but how many times in the school’s history can they say they had four rookies sign NBA deals?

The signings speak especially highly of Barnes’ ability to develop. All four of those players were 3-star recruits coming out of high school, and none were considered anywhere near locks to make it to the league.

The players themselves realize it too.

Who do you think will have the best NBA career out of the four?