4:06pm: If Garrett is going to become Utah’s 15th man, it may not happen right away, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who tweets that the Jazz plan to work out a few prospects before making a final call.
2:26pm: The Jazz are expected to use the roster spot opened by the release of Jamaal Tinsley to sign Diante Garrett, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Stein reports (Twitter links) that Garrett will audition for Utah and sign with the team if it goes well, while Genessy suggests (via Twitter) that the Jazz have already decided to sign the young guard.
Garrett made his NBA debut for the Suns last season, appearing in 19 games for the club, and averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.3 APG in eight contests with Phoenix’s D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam. The 25-year-old is currently on the Iowa Energy’s camp roster, with the D-League season set to get underway in 10 days.
Teams are not yet allowed to sign players to 10-day contracts, but I’d still expect Garrett’s deal to represent an audition of sorts — he’ll likely ink a non-guaranteed contract, meaning Utah would be able to release him anytime before January 7th without committing to his full-season salary. The Jazz will be looking for more consistent production from Garrett than they got from Tinsley, who struggled mightily during the club’s 0-8 start.