LAS VEGAS — While the lion’s share of attention on the Utah Jazz’s summer league squad has rightly been with Darryn Peterson, followed by a close eye on Ace Bailey and Cody Williams, there are three other players on the roster Jazz fans will continue to see once the 2026-27 NBA season kicks off — Blake Hinson, Trey Alexander and Tamar Bates.
All three of them will be with the Jazz on two-way contracts. As a reminder, every NBA team is allowed to sign up to three players to two-way deals, in addition to the maximum 15 standard contract players on a roster.
Two-way contract players split their time between a team’s G League affiliate and the NBA team and can play in up to 50 games with their NBA team.
Only players with three or fewer years of NBA service are allowed to sign two-way deals. Here’s a closer look at Hinson, Alexander and Bates.
Blake Hinson
Hinson returns to the Jazz after signing a two-year, two-way deal back in February. He played in 14 games last season for the Jazz, averaging 11.9 points. Hinson’s calling card is his shooting. With the Jazz he shot a blistering 46.8% from 3-point range.
Hinson, at 6-foot-8, has great positional size as a small forward and his strength is also notable, but the biggest development this summer is his change in body chemistry.
According to team sources, Hinson has shed more than 20 pounds since the end of the 2025-26 season, and the weight loss has made him more mobile on the defensive end.
“Blake’s had a great summer — he’s lost a bunch of weight," Jazz assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “He’s going to shoot a really good percentage, but it’s the other areas of the game that the conditioning improvement have allowed him to make an impact defensively.
“Just the way he moves offensively and defensively, he’s really taken a step forward.”
Trey Alexander
After going undrafted out of Creighton in 2024, Alexander signed a two-way deal with the Denver Nuggets and then against last season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The 6-foot-5 guard has only played in 33 NBA games across his previous two two-way seasons and in extremely limited minutes. He played in three Las Vegas Summer League games for the Jazz but suffered a rib contusion that held him out of the Jazz’s Wednesday night contest against the San Antonio Spurs.
Before coming to the NBA, Alexander was primarily a point guard, and his size along with his well-developed playmaking abilities make him a really good pick-and-roll player who is also able to create his own shot with a number of different moves even though he doesn’t have that quick of a first step.
Tamar Bates
The IMG Academy product went undrafted in 2025 after playing two years at Indiana and then two more at Missouri.
Bates signed a two-way deal with the Denver Nuggets last season but missed the majority of it after needing surgery to repair a fractured left foot and never appeared in an NBA game.
In Las Vegas, Bates had the first big highlight play for the Jazz with a contested dunk against the Washington Wizards on July 9.
Then, on Wednesday, he paced the Jazz with 16 points in the team’s loss to the Spurs. In three summer league games, Bates has averaged 10 points and shot 50% from 3.
Bates has experienced some soreness in his surgically repaired left foot, and the Jazz have been cautious with his this summer, not playing him in every game because of the soreness.
He’s known for his sharpshooting, his impressive wingspan and for being a whip smart, left-handed guard with an elevated understanding of how to create offense.