Trail Blazers Sign Pittsburgh Wing Barry Dunning to Exhibit 10 Contract

The Portland Trail Blazers did not make one of the 60 draft selections, but they did not end Wednesday empty-handed. Pittsburgh wing Barry Dunning, Jr. signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Blazers on Wednesday night.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed, league-minimum NBA training camp invitation. It gives an NBA franchise exclusive rights to the player if it decides to send him to their G-League affiliate. Players are guaranteed a bonus if they are waived by the NBA team, sign with the G-League affiliate, and remain on the team for at least 60 days. NBA teams are allowed to keep a player on an Exhibit 10 contract through the preseason and convert their contract to a two-way contract until the regular season, making it a great option to help fill summer league rosters.

As 2022 Mr. Basketball in Alabama, Dunning was a top-100 player in the 2022 recruiting class, according to the 247 Sports Composite. Dunning signed with Eric Musselman, then the head coach at Arkansas, but played sparingly as a freshman. After not seeing much playing time at UAB, he transferred and became a starter at South Alabama, where he became their leading scorer and received first-team All-Sun Belt honors. His athleticism showed Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel and assistant coach Gilbert Brown that he could come in and be an impact player immediately.

"Barry's a great kid,” Brown told Abby Schnable of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He's an upbeat kid, always has a smile on his face, and can hold a conversation about anything. He's a kid I love being around, but he's also a hard worker. It's funny because I always joke around—I'll say he reminds me of myself in certain ways because of how athletically gifted he is and the way he moves on the floor. So working with him has been great.”

The Trail Blazers found an undrafted gem in Caleb Love last year, as he averaged 20 minutes over 49 games and scored 10 points per game. After signing as a two-way player, his contract was converted to a one-year deal worth the league minimum, thus making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Portland also signed Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla to an Exhibit 10 contract last year, who averaged nearly 20 points per game en route to winning G League MVP and then joining the Clippers' active roster. Hopefully Dunning will experience success with the Blazers.