SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs on Thursday shook up the bottom of their roster by waiving two-way guard Sir’Jabari Rice, an undrafted rookie formerly of the University of Texas.
The move was made so the team could sign guard David Duke Jr. to a corresponding two-way contract.
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Rice, despite starring at Texas, had failed to appear in a San Antonio Spurs game this season and had only played in four games with the Austin Spurs, averaging 9.3 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 20.3 minutes.
Duke Jr., 24, is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound combo guard who has played in 45 NBA career games with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.6 minutes as a two-way player out of Providence College.
This season, Duke Jr. has played in 11 games and has averaged 21.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists in 31.5 minutes with the Delaware Blue Coats, the G League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Rice was a major part of the Texas Longhorns’ run to the Elite Eight last year, averaging 13 points per game and was named third-team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year. He had transferred to Texas as a second-team All-WAC selection from New Mexico State.
In college, Duke Jr. was named Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America as a junior and in 91 games for the Friars, averaged 11.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 30.8 minutes.
An NBA team’s two-way contract allows ballclubs to carry up to three extra players who regularly go back and forth between the NBA team and its G League affiliate.