ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported at the end of the NBA Draft former Arizona star Caleb Love with sign a two-way deal with the Portland Trail Blazers. Players on two-way contracts can play up to 50 games in the NBA during the regular season while playing the remainder of the season in the G-League.
Love will receive a prorated contract for games in the NBA and G-League depending on how many contests he plays in each. Players on two-way contracts can only become eligible to compete in the postseason if their contract is converted to a standard NBA deal before the end of the regular season.
Love will join former Arizona star center and the top pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, DeAndre Ayton, with Portland. The Trail Blazers traded for the draft rights with the Memphis Grizzlies for Chinese center Yang Hansen in the first round on Wednesday night. Hansen is the sole 2024 draftee for Portland.
Love joins a slightly rebuilt Portland backcourt. Jrue Holiday arrived via trade with the Boston Celtics to give Portland a veteran presence at point guard. Shaedon Sharpe, who is the leading returning scorer for Portland entering his fourth season, returns as the starting shooting guard.
Arizona’s Caleb Love – one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball – is expected to sign a two-way NBA contract with the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Love went undrafted and now lands a deal to be on the Blazers’ roster next season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2025
Scoot Henderson, who has started 128 games with 42 starts and averaged 13.3 points per game in his first two seasons in the NBA. Kris Murray adds depth entering his third season. Love will battle with Toumani Camara, Dalano Banton and Rayan Rupert for a roster spot and minutes in 2025-26.
Portland finished 36-46 in 2024-25, which was three games behind the Dallas Mavericks to earn a spot in the play-in tournament but a 15-game improvement over the 2023-24 season. Love will need to play with the efficiency he did during the NBA Tournament when he scored 64 points and shot 55.2 percent from the field in the final two games.