Memphis, Tenn. – The Memphis Grizzlies today announced the team signed forward/center Armando Bacot, guard Yuki Kawamura, guard Miye Oni and forward Maozinha Pereira. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Bacot (6-11, 240) appeared in 169 games (168 starts) over his five-year collegiate career (2019-24) at North Carolina and averaged 13.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in 28.2 minutes before going unselected in the 2024 NBA Draft. The 24-year-old Richmond, Virginia, native left the Tarheels as the program’s all-time leader in games played, total rebounds (1,715) and double-doubles (87), earned four All-ACC selections and helped guide UNC to the 2022 NCAA national championship game.
Kawamura (5-8, 159) has competed the past five seasons (2019-24) in the Japanese B.League, where he was named the 2022-23 Most Valuable Player as a member of the Yokohama B-Corsairs. Unselected in the 2023 NBA Draft, the 23-year-old started all 56 games for Yokohama last season and averaged 20.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists in 30.6 minutes en route to a second straight selection to the B.League’s Best Five team. Kawamura has represented Japan at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Oni (6-5, 206) has appeared in 80 regular season games (one start) and has averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.4 minutes over three seasons (2019-22) with the Utah Jazz after he was selected 58th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. The 27-year-old Los Angeles native also has played 71 showcase and regular season games for the NBA G League’s Salt Lake City Stars and Osceola Magic. The 2018-19 Ivy League Player of the Year while at Yale, Oni represented Nigeria in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Pereira (6-8, 177) competed in seven games (one start) for the Grizzlies as a rookie last season and averaged 6.9 points and 5.3 rebounds in 17.4 minutes while shooting 51.4 percent from the field. Before signing consecutive 10-day contracts with Memphis, the 24-year-old played 40 showcase and regular season games (19 starts) for the NBA G League’s Mexico City Capitanes. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Pereira has played parts of three seasons in the Brazilian NBB (2019-20, 2021-23) and most recently represented Brazil at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Memphis Grizzlies tip off the 2024 Preseason on October 7th against the Dallas Mavericks live on 92.9 FM ESPN, Flagship Radio Home of the Grizzlies.
