The Pelicans have added another name to their camp mix, signing former Raptors guard Markquis Nowell to a training camp deal, according to Paul Garcia of The Spot Up Shot. Nowell, the former Kansas State standout, spent most of the 2023/24 season on a two-way contract with Toronto after going undrafted in 2023.
Last season took Nowell overseas, where he suited up for Baskonia and posted 5.7 points and 3.0 assists across 28 EuroLeague games, logging 14.4 minutes per contest. The 5-foot-7 point guard may be headed back to the U.S. this season, with a possible path to New Orleans’ G League affiliate.
If the move is in fact an Exhibit 10 deal and Nowell is waived before the start of 2026/27, he could be in line for a bonus worth up to $91K if he spends at least 60 days with the Laketown Squadron, the Pelicans’ newly rebranded and relocated NBAGL team. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted into two-way deals.
Minnesota made a couple of roster moves of its own, signing free agent guard Stephen Thompson to a training camp contract while waiving guard Jules Bernard, per Garcia and NBA.com’s transaction log. Thompson, 29, went undrafted in 2019 out of Oregon State and has bounced through Italy, Israel, Puerto Rico and the G League since then. He has also spent the past three seasons with both the Bucks’ G League affiliate and Vaqueros de Bayamon in Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional.
In 45 games for the Herd last season, Thompson averaged 15.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting .463 from the field, .414 from three and .713 at the line. If Minnesota’s NBAGL affiliate is the destination, the Iowa Wolves would need to acquire his rights.
San Antonio also got in on the action, signing Jayden Nunn on Friday, per Garcia. The former Baylor guard went undrafted last year and spent most of last season with the Spurs’ G League affiliate in Austin.
In 47 games in 2025/26, the 23-year-old averaged 15.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals on .486/.397/.703 shooting. He also appeared in three games in Italy with Pallacanestro Brescia last season.
In Other News...
Kyrie Irving Could Force An Early Mavericks Decision
As the new season draws closer, the Mavericks are still weighing how their roster should look around Kyrie Irving, even after turning away offseason trade interest in him. The talk around Dallas has not gone away, though, and one of the teams that keeps surfacing in that conversation is San Antonio, where any big swing would immediately reshape the backcourt picture and the franchises timeline.
For the Spurs, the appeal is obvious enough to invite debate: a proven veteran guard would change the way the young core is developed and how the offense is organized around it. But the fit question is where things get interesting, because bringing in a player of that caliber would force an early decision on how the club wants to handle its guard rotation and the minutes it has been saving for its next lead ballhandler. [Read more 🡒]
Tobias Harris Just Put Keldon Johnson's Spurs Future In Doubt
The Spurs added a veteran presence in Tobias Harris, and the move has an immediate ripple effect on Keldon Johnsons place in the rotation. Johnson has long been one of the teams most dependable, high-energy pieces, but Harris gives San Antonio another experienced forward option and shifts the conversation around where Johnson fits best.
For Johnson, the path forward appears narrower than it once did. He should still bring the durability and pace the Spurs value, yet his minutes could be trimmed as the team sorts out its wing and forward group around Devin Vassell and Carter Bryant. In a rotation that keeps getting deeper, Johnsons role may not disappear, but it is no longer as secure as it looked earlier in the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Rotation Shift Could Squeeze Out A Familiar Veteran
The Spurs are preparing to lean harder on Dylan Harper this season, a move that could quickly reshape the backcourt and wing rotation around him. San Antonio wants Harper on the floor more often, with minutes that could look more like those of established pieces such as De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, and that kind of rise naturally squeezes the rest of the depth chart.
Among the players most affected is Keldon Johnson, whose role already feels a little more vulnerable as the roster gets younger and the ball starts moving toward different hands. Harrison Barnes is also in the mix as someone who could lose run, and Johnson's place in the long-term picture only adds to the intrigue with his contract situation still looming. [Read more 🡒]
