APRIL 7: Samanic’s new contract with the Jazz is official, the team announced in a press release.
APRIL 6: Jazz power forward Luka Samanic has agreed to a deal with Utah that will run through the 2023/24 season, Samanic’s agents Mark Bartelstein and George Roussakis inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Samanic is on the final day of a 10-day deal with Utah. According to Wojnarowski, the forward’s new agreement with the team includes some level of guaranteed salary for next season and trigger dates for his money to become fully guaranteed.
Even with Samanic joining the team for the rest of the season and potentially next year, the Jazz still have 14 of their 15 standard roster spots filled. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Utah is one of just five NBA clubs who still possess a roster opening.
Selected with the No. 19 pick by the Spurs during the 2019 draft, Samanic spent two seasons in San Antonio, but failed to make much of an impact. He had been out of the league before inking his 10-day contract with Utah in March.
Across four games with the Jazz so far, Samanic is averaging career highs of 7.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 0.8 SPG, plus 1.8 APG, in 17.5 MPG.
Luka had a great showing on Knicks G-league team. At 23yrs old. I’d say he still has a chance to make a rotation. Utah is a good place for him to find his NBA gm. Best of luck
Samanic might end up being the more long-term replacement for Olynyk, which is a pretty good outcome for a guy lots of people gave up on early. Still needs to work on his 3pt shot, but he’s a solid player. Surprisingly quick and good at defense for how big he is.
Samanic has a long way to go before one could say he is the long term replacement for Olynyk.
Does he really? Yeah, his offense isn’t as developed, but his defense is already better than Olynyk’s. They have similar games overall, and Samanic is an equivalent rebounder and playmaker in terms of pure ability. The main differences between them are 3pt shooting and experience.
Yes, he really does. He has a LONG way to go to be talked about that way. You’re going on a 4 game sample size. Olynyk is known as an extremely smart player who plays hard. The reason Samanic was a first round pick 4 years ago and has only played a handful of games is he isn’t known as a smart player who plays hard.
The fact you say Samanic is an equivalent “playmaker” is completely and totally wrong. I won’t bother to make any more points about this odd comparison of yours.
Google “Samanic Motor” and you will find numerous things such as this. I’d pump the brakes on the Olynyk Replacement thing
link to poundingtherock.com
Samanic has great physical tools and enough talent to make it in the NBA. He’s 6’10, can run the floor well, has a shooting form that suggests he could be a viable three-point shooter, can attack closeouts, and defend on switches. At some points, both in the G-League and in the scarce opportunities he got to play with the big team, he’s showed flashes of immense potential. But he’s also never really been able to play more than a few minutes at a time with full energy and has displayed some of the worst body language I’ve seen from a player fighting for a rotation spot. Samanic gives up on plays. He seems uninterested in getting in the mix consistently on the boards. After any mistake or sign of adversity, he lowers his head and walks around looking completely miserable. When he gets meaningful minutes, he tries harder, and if things go well for him, he looks like a really interesting player. But he also just as easily reverts back to being extremely passive and seemingly disinterested. It would be inaccurate to say that he hates playing basketball, but at least for stretches he looks like he does
Given that I was also going on his G-League performances, and the 33 game stint with the Spurs that he had a couple years ago, clearly you’re just looking to prove a point instead of actually trying to debate. Whatever. Not interested in arguing.
Also, yeah, he’s got a ways to go as far as the experience and mental fortitude of the game goes. That’s why I said “might end up being” instead of whatever you thought I meant. But he has the tools and the potential, and he has looked good this year. That’s all I meant. Jeez.
He’s played 36 gms and 10 mins a gm. In two yrs with Spurs. That’s not enough to judge a player who just turned 23. Obviously something is up. Since he was a #1 pick.
But he is better today than when he was with Spurs. His G-league stats are solid. And when you do it at 6’ 10”. It means you got game. The NBA gm is a serious step up. And some players need time and mins to develop. He’s getting there.
Playmaking is one of Kelly O’s skills. Wish Celtics still had him to break Miami’s zone defense. Go Celts!
Interesting, thanks. Wondered why Celts didn’t give him a true shot. Will watch him next season and hope he makes it.
He was on the Maine Celtics. I thought he’d get a shot w Boston.
link to twitter.com
Nah.