Jaylin Williams signs with Denver Nuggets

[aubiefifty 18,113]

al.com

Auburn’s Jaylin Williams signs deal with Denver Nuggets after 2024 NBA Draft

Published: Jun. 27, 2024, 6:53 p.m.

4–5 minutes

Bruce Pearl gives offseason updates on Auburn Basketball during his charity golf event Monday

The winningest player in the history of the Auburn men’s basketball program is going to the NBA. Jaylin Williams signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Denver Nuggets after going unselected in the 2024 NBA Draft, according to the Denver Post’s Bennett Durando.

An Exhibit 10 deal, “allows a franchise to convert a player (specifically on a non-guaranteed one-year minimum) to a two-way contract. A player can sign for an Exhibit 10 bonus of up to $50,000. If converted, the two-way contract is guaranteed for that amount,” according to Sports Business Classroom.

Williams will play with the Nuggets in the NBA’s summer league, but can be signed by other teams after the summer league should the Nuggets choose not to keep him.

The Nuggets also signed Creighton guard Trey Alexander to a two-day contract, according to Durando. Alexander was in the 2021 recruiting class and signed with Auburn before switching to Creighton.

Williams’ name rose throughout the NBA pre-draft process as he participated in various showcases and workouts across the country.

But he didn’t find himself among many big board rankings or mock drafts. Williams is one of the older players in the draft, having played five years in college.

He finished his Auburn career as the program leader in wins (114) and games played (141). He scored 1,305 points in his career, among the top 25 totals all-time at Auburn.

His best year came in his final year as he was a key piece of Auburn’s 2024 SEC Tournament title-winning team. Williams scored 12.4 points per game in the 2023-24 season along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. The 6-foot-8 forward had the best 3-point shooting mark of his college career at 39.5%.

Williams’ season nearly was derailed by a knee injury against Kentucky in February that appeared at first to be far worse than it ended up being. Instead, Williams missed a total of 10 days and only one game. Head coach Bruce Pearl said that’s a testament to Williams’ strength and athleticism.

Williams is the only player off the 2023-24 Auburn team headed to the NBA. Pearl and the coaching staff successfully convinced star center Johni Broome to forgo the NBA for one more year and come back to Auburn. Broome was the player most likely to be selected in the NBA Draft off Auburn’s roster this past season.

Auburn also lost guard Lior Berman who is out of eligibility after the 2023-24 season. Berman tore his ACL against Mississippi State in March, but still plans to play professionally in Israel. Auburn’s other departures were all transfers. Aden Holloway went to Alabama, Tre Donaldson went to Michigan and K.D. Johnson went to George Mason.

Auburn brought in two freshmen in 247Sports composite five-star guard Tahaad Pettiford and four-star forward Jahki Howard. Auburn also added transfer guards JP Pegues from Furman and Miles Kelly from Georgia Tech.

To take the forward spot Williams left, Auburn added SMU transfer Ja’Heim Hudson.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

[gravejd 3,304]

This could be a good landing spot for JW. Team with playmakers and established players so Jaylin can come in and find his role. Also just seems like their pace would suit Jaylins game.  Hope it works out for him. Really enjoyed getting to watch him play these last 5 years. Going to be weird next season without him

[AURex 2,214]

Good for JW. That young man improved every year, proved he could make any team better. I'm totally on board with him and hope he finds a spot in the NBA. That said, he would be a terrific player in Europe and could pull down some decent Euros.

 

[AuburnNTexas 7,300]

This is a good fit. Denver is a great team but lack depth which should give him a shot at making the team.

[arktiger1975 643]

Great organization for him to catch on with!