Jazz Expected To Waive Boris Diaw

The Jazz are expected to waive veteran forward Boris Diaw before his 2017/18 salary becomes guaranteed this weekend, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. The team had been exploring trades involving Diaw’s non-guaranteed contract, and a deal is still possible, as MacMahon acknowledges (via Twitter). But an outright release appears to be the more likely outcome.

A 14-year NBA veteran, Diaw joined the Jazz in a trade last offseason, and appeared in 73 games for the team, making 33 starts. However, 2016/17 was one of the worst seasons of Diaw’s long career — his 4.6 PPG was his lowest mark since his rookie year, and his numbers in several other categories, including FG% (.446) and 3PT% (.247), were far below his career averages.

Diaw is entering the final year of his contract and had been slated to earn $7.5MM in 2017/18. However, that figure is fully non-guaranteed for two more days, meaning Utah could waive him and not be on the hook for any of it.

While Diaw’s contract would make a good trade chip, any deal involving the veteran forward would likely involve the Jazz taking back a chunk of salary. That scenario no longer looks as viable for Utah, since the club has agreed to a handful of free agent contracts that appear to require cap room.

Within the last couple days, the Jazz have agreed to sign Thabo Sefolosha (two years, $10.5MM), Jonas Jerebko (two years, $8.2MM), and Ekpe Udoh (two years, $6.5MM). Based on the reported terms, those three deals look a little too expensive to fit into the team’s mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, signaling that Utah will instead use cap space – and probably the room exception – to finalize them. Waiving Diaw would clear the necessary room.