The Portland Trail Blazers plan to sign free agent guard John Tonje to a two-way contract, according to agents George Roussakis and Mark Bartelstein, who spoke with ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Tonje, 25, split his rookie year in 2025-26 between the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics. Selected 53rd overall in the 2025 draft, the 6-4 shooting guard began the season on a two-way deal with Utah before being traded to Boston in February. The Celtics declined to extend a qualifying offer last month, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Tonje appeared in six NBA games for Boston, averaging 2.5 points in 7.0 minutes. He did not see game action with Utah. In the G League, he played 43 games—32 with the Salt Lake City Stars and 11 with the Maine Celtics—posting 18.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.9 steals while shooting .460 from the field, .371 from three and .899 from the foul line.
A Nebraska native, Tonje played college basketball at Colorado State, Missouri and Wisconsin. He recently suited up for Boston’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas, averaging 14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals across five games while shooting .510 overall and .452 from beyond the arc.
Portland has one open two-way slot; the team’s other two-way players are Chris Youngblood and Jayson Kent. Two-way contracts are non-guaranteed and do not count against the salary cap. Tonje will earn $678,882 in 2026-27—half of the rookie minimum—and can appear in up to 50 of the Trail Blazers’ 82 regular-season games.
Source: Hoops Rumors
