The Heat‘s G League affiliate, Sioux Falls Skyforce, acquired the returning player rights to Alex Fudge from the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’s developmental team, the Skyforce announced in a release. The move was a three-team deal, with the Skyforce obtaining a 2026 first-round pick from the College Park Skyhawks (Atlanta’s affiliate) while sending them Malik Williams. South Bay also obtained Caleb Daniels from Sioux Falls and Michael Devoe from College Park.
Fudge went undrafted in 2023 out of Florida but signed with the Lakers on a two-way contract that summer. He was later waived and then signed a two-way with Dallas before being cut last summer. He spent all of last year with South Bay 5.5 points in 15 regular season games. The 22 year old appeared in six NBA games.
The other player in this deal with NBA experience is Williams, who suited up in seven games (two starts) with Toronto on a 10-day contract in 2023/24. He averaged 14.8 points and 9.2 rebounds in the G League last year with Sioux Falls.
Daniels previously signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Miami last year, averaging 10.8 points with the Skyforce last season. Devoe signed Exhibit 10 deals with the Clippers in 2022 and Jazz in 2023. He last played in the G League in 2023/24.
G League trades can often indicate a team is gearing up to sign one or more of the players involved to an Exhibit 10 contract. When teams sign players to Exhibit 10 deals, those players are eligible for a bonus worth up to $85.3K if they spend at least 60 days with that organization’s G League affiliate.
Devoe played last year in Germany, so this trade doesn’t necessarily mean he will for sure suit up in the G League. But if he does, the South Bay Lakers own his rights unless they trade them again.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The Spurs signing Luke Kornet is one of the NBA’s most underrated moves of the offseason, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. San Antonio got a big that pairs nicely with Victor Wembanyama or can play when he’s off the floor without breaking the bank. In a piece evaluating some of the most overlooked moves of the summer, Hollinger credits the Bulls for re-signing Josh Giddey at a decent price point and the Heat for trading for Norman Powell, while applauding various other moves.
- On the other hand, several teams made deals Hollinger was not a fan of. The Heat salary-dumping Haywood Highsmith is one such move, while the Pelicans acquiring Jordan Poole is another.
- With free agency largely over, pending the conclusion of restricted free agency for Quentin Grimes and Jonathan Kuminga, Keith Smith of Spotrac took a look at how teams spent their money this offseason. Small-market teams mostly led the way in total spending, signing players to big extensions. The Thunder, for example, led the league in new extension money at $776.3MM spread out between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams.
- The Thunder laid the blueprint for teams building through draft capital, winning a title with drafted players Holmgren and Williams leading the charge alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, who was himself acquired alongside draft assets. Bobby Marks and Jeremy Woo of ESPN rank the top teams in the league by their draft capital, with the Thunder still leading the way with 13 incoming future first-round picks. Two rebuilding teams, the Nets and the Jazz, close out the top three.