Grizzlies Sign Jordin Goodwin To Two-Way; Waive Jacob Gilyard

The Memphis Grizzlies have released point guard Jacob Gilyard and filled his spot by signing Jordan Goodwin to a two-way contract.

Memphis confirmed the moves in a press release.

Gilyard, 25, is 5-foot-9 and went undrafted out of Richmond in 2022. He spent each of the past two seasons with Memphis, either with the Grizzlies or in the G League.

This season, he’s appeared in 37 games, averaging 4.7 points, 1.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists, shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 42.5 percent on 3-pointers. He signed a two-way deal with the Grizzlies last April.

But Gilyard was approaching 50 games, when a team must promote a two-way player to a standard contract or release him. He is likely to stick with the Memphis Hustle.

Goodwin, 25, is 6-foot-3 and signed a 10-day deal with the Grizzlies back on Feb. 12. He has appeared in two games and is averaging 10.5 points.

Before that, he was traded by the Phoenix Suns to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the deal centered on forward Royce O’Neale last week. He was then waived by the Nets.

Interestingly, that trade also involved the Grizzlies.

He appeared in 40 games with the Suns this season, averaging 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.6 steals, shooting 39 percent from the field and 29 percent on 3-pointers. 

Goodwin spent the first two years of his career with the Washington Wizards — and looked good last season in playing 62 games and averaging 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. He was traded to the Suns as part of the Bradley Beal deal over the summer.

The Grizzlies (20-37 entering Saturday) are in the midst of a rebuilding season following the injury to star point guard Ja Morant. They currently sit in 13th place in the Western Conference, nine games back of a play-in spot.

That’s a far cry from last season, when Memphis won the Southwest Division and finished as the No. 2 seed in the West.

The @memgrizz today announced the team signed Jordan Goodwin to a two-way contract. In a related move, the Grizzlies waived Jacob Gilyard. pic.twitter.com/tV3074963m

— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) February 24, 2024