JULY 6, 11:48am: Neto’s new contract is now official, the Jazz announced on their website.
JULY 3, 3:37pm: The Jazz have reached a contract agreement with free agent point guard Raul Neto, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), Neto will sign a new two-year, $4.4MM contract with Utah. The second year will be non-guaranteed, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Neto, 26, served as a backup point guard in Utah during the 2017/18 season, averaging 4.5 PPG and 1.8 APG in 41 games (12.1 MPG). He was a restricted free agent this summer after receiving a qualifying offer from the Jazz last week, and will be re-signed using his Bird rights.
Neto will be behind Ricky Rubio on the depth chart, and Donovan Mitchell will see plenty of ball-handling opportunities for Utah as well. Neto’s role will be determined in part on Dante Exum‘s status — the former fifth overall pick is also a restricted free agent, and the Jazz would like to re-sign him. If Exum returns, Neto’s minutes going forward will remain very limited.
The Jazz, who entered the offseason focused on retaining their own free agents, have now reached agreements with both Neto and Derrick Favors. Both contracts include non-guaranteed second years, allowing Utah to maximize its cap flexibility for 2019.