The Jazz will relocate their D-League affiliate from Boise, Idaho to Salt Lake City next season, as multiple sources told Adam Johnson of the D-League Digest and as the Jazz confirmed today. The team will be called the Salt Lake City Stars, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweets. The Jazz wanted to relocate to St. George in southern Utah but were unable to go through with that plan, according to Genessy, while Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey released a statement outlining the benefits of relocating the franchise closer to home (Twitter links).
In other news around the Western Conference:
- Mavs rookie small forward Justin Anderson has made an impact with his shot-blocking and rebounding since he was inserted into the lineup four games ago, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle has also been impressed by Anderson’s hustle, as he told Sefko and the gathered media. “He’s a guy that just goes hard and he never gives up on a play,” Carlisle said. “In a transition situation, he sees it as an opportunity and a challenge and not something like, oh well, I guess he’s going to score. You love that fighting sort of spirit and that’s what we need right now.”
- Lakers shooting guard Nick Young has lost his mental focus and dropped out of the team’s rotation as a result, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Young has kept a low profile since a gossip site leaked the video of rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell secretly taping him talking about his personal life. “Right now he’s not here with us mentally and there’s no need for me to put him out there on the floor as well,” Lakers coach Byron Scott told Bresnahan and other media members. The team shopped Young this season and will continue to do so in the offseason, Bresnahan adds.
- Suns point guard Brandon Knight has been shut down the remainder of the season because of a sports hernia, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Knight will get a second opinion this week to determine if surgery is needed for the injury, which has limited him to 52 games this season, Coro adds.