Here’s where BYU’s Barcello, Utah State’s Bean will begin their NBA careers
Salt Lake City, UT (June 24, 2022) — Two of the state of Utah’s top collegiate basketball players last year will get a shot in the NBA.
After going undrafted in Thursday night’s NBA draft, both Utah State’s Justin Bean and BYU’s Alex Barcello inked deals to try to find a spot in the league — or beyond — through the upcoming preseason and summer league.
Justin Bean, F, LA Clippers (Utah State)
Justin Bean signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the LA Clippers late Thursday night, his agency Priority Sports announced. The 25-year-old former walk-on from Moore, Oklahoma left Utah State with the most career games of 10 or more rebounds at 57, and No. 2 all-time in rebounds with 1,027 and double-doubles with 46.
The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Bean came to the Aggies as a walk-on and left as a three-time all-Mountain West second-team selection, averaging 17.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game as a year senior in 2021-22.
Exhibit 10 deals are guaranteed one-year contracts at the NBA’s minimum salary that also grant a team the player’s G League rights. No bonuses are guaranteed, and teams can waive the player at any time to clear the salary cap. But if a player reports to the G League affiliate for more than 60 days, he is awarded a bonus of up to $50,000, thus incentivizing spending time in the G League rather than moving abroad.
Alex Barcello, G, Toronto Raptors (BYU)
The former “best shooter in America,” as described by ESPN’s Jay Bilas, will join Toronto’s NBA Summer League team that will play close to his college stomping grounds in Las Vegas, as announced Friday by BYU.
The 6-foot-2 guard ranked fourth in the West Coast Conference last year, averaging 16.8 points on 45.1% shooting, including 42.1% from 3-point range. A native of Chandler, Arizona, the one-time Arizona transfer was a two-time All-WCC guard for the Cougars ad NABC All-District first-team selection after helping BYU break a five-year NCAA Tournament drought in 2020-21 and returning for an extra season of eligibility in 2021-22.
The Raptors open up NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which runs July 7-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus, against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, July 9.
Toronto is also scheduled to face the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, July 12; the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, July 13; and the Miami Heat on Friday, July 15.