By R.L. Bynum
Neither RJ Davis nor Caleb Love heard their names called during the NBA draft after five-year college careers, but both former UNC guards will get a chance to prove they deserve a spot on an NBA roster.
Davis signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Love a two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers late Thursday. Both will likely have the opportunity to showcase their talent in the NBA Summer League next month.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary training camp deal that allows teams to convert those players to two-way contracts or send them to their G League affiliates to start the regular season. Under a two-way contract, a player can play in up to 50 NBA games while also playing with a team’s G League affiliate.
NBA teams can sign three players to two-way contracts, and the Lakers have already signed former Villanova forward Eric Dixon to one of those deals. The Lakers also signed Texas forward Arthur Kaluma and Saint Mary’s point guard Augustas Marčiulionis to Exhibit 10 contracts.
In the NBA draft, the Lakers — who didn’t have a first-round pick — traded for the Brooklyn Nets’ second-round, 36th-overall pick and selected Arkansas forward Adou Theiro.
Portland’s first-round pick, the 11th overall selection, was Washington State forward Cedric Coward. The Trail Blazers also signed two players who started their careers in the ACC to Exhibit 10 contracts: Kentucky forward Andrew Carr (who played at Wake Forest) and Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla (who played at Virginia Tech).
The Lakers’ Summer League team will be one of four teams that will play three games July 5–8 in the California Classic Summer League at San Francisco’s Chase Center, along with the Warriors, Heat and Spurs. The Lakers face the Warriors at 6:30 p.m. ET on July 5, the Heat at 4:30 p.m. on July 6 and the Spurs on July 8 (time TBA).
The main part of the schedule will take place from July 10 to 20 in Las Vegas.
Davis, who turns 24 in October, will likely play with Bronny James, son of LeBron James, on the Lakers’ Summer League team. Former Tennessee star Dalton Knecht could also play on that team after his rookie season with the Lakers.
Eight Tar Heels played in the Summer League in 2024: Armando Bacot (with the Utah Jazz), Leaky Black (Charlotte Hornets), Garrison Brooks (Chicago Bulls), Harrison Ingram (San Antonio Spurs), Walker Kessler (Jazz), Pete Nance (Cleveland Cavaliers), Cormac Ryan (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Tony Bradley (Philadelphia 76ers).
Other guards for the Lakers last season included Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent and Jordan Goodwin.
Portland acquired guard Jrue Holiday this week from the Boston Celtics. The Blazers’ guards last season included Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara and Dalana Banton.
Davis, the ACC Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American as a senior in 2023–24, is second in UNC career scoring and third in the ACC with 2,710 points, trailing only Tyler Hansbrough and Duke’s JJ Redick. He is the ACC’s all-time leader in double-figure scoring games with 139 and UNC’s all-time leader in 3-pointers (358) and free-throw percentage (86.4%).
Davis is the only Tar Heel with at least 2,500 points, 600 rebounds, 500 assists, 300 3-pointers and 150 steals.
Love, who played his final two seasons at Arizona and turns 24 in September, became the 13th player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points at two schools (1,476 at UNC). He was the Pac-12 Player of the Year as a senior in 2023–24 and first-team All-Big 12 last season.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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