The Grizzlies are signing No. 32 overall pick Richie Saunders to a two-way contract, agents Andy Shiffman and Mark Bartelstein tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Saunders, who is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in February, was recently cleared to increase his on-court activities, according to Charania, who notes that the move will allow the former BYU star to practicing with the Grizzlies.

Players drafted as high as No. 32 typically sign three- or four-year NBA contracts and often receive multiple guaranteed seasons, but Saunders’ situation isn’t straightforward because of his injury. The 24-year-old shooting guard was on the training camp roster of the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, a couple weeks ago, which suggested he signed an NBAGL deal to open his rookie campaign.

The Grizzlies’ retained Saunders’ draft rights even though he was essentially a domestic draft-and-stash prospect for a couple of weeks.

Saunders played four years of college basketball for the Cougars and made All-Big 12 teams as both a junior and senior. In 25 appearances last season, he averaged 18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game, with a shooting line of .489/.376/.817.

As our tracker shows, Memphis’ two-way spots are currently held by Javon Small, Jahmai Mashack and Carson Cooper. Small is coming off a solid rookie year and Cooper signed a two-year, two-way deal in late September after going undrafted out of Michigan State. That could leave defensive specialist Mashack as the odd man out, but that’s just my speculation.

More to come…