JULY 19, 3:47pm: The Jazz have officially signed O’Neale, per the NBA’s transactions log.
JULY 17, 10:21am: Former Baylor forward Royce O’Neale has opted out of his Euroleague contract with Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas, according to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Pick suggests he’s hearing “rumblings” of an NBA contract agreement between O’Neale and the Jazz, while Chema De Lucas of Gigantes Del Basket tweets that O’Neale will get a three-year contract from Utah, with a fully guaranteed first year.
There has been no confirmation out of Utah yet on an agreement between the Jazz and O’Neale, but we heard last week that the 24-year-old was considering multiple NBA offers and had to exercise the opt-out in his Euroleague contract by July 20.
O’Neale, who went undrafted in 2015, played one season in Germany before joining Spanish team Gran Canaria for 2016/17. In 35 Spanish League games with the team, O’Neale averaged 7.5 PPG and a team-high 5.0 RPG. The Texas native played for the Warriors’ Summer League squad in 2016, and was part of the Pelicans’ Summer League team this year.
The Jazz, who have yet to finalize all their free agent signings for the month, should have the cap room necessary to accommodate a three-year deal for O’Neale.