The Jazz are waiving two-way player Taevion Kinsey, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. A Jazz press release has confirmed that the move is official.
It’s a tough break for Kinsey, who signed his two-year, two-way deal in early July. Utah had all three of its two-way spots filled, so it now creates an opening to sign another player.
The Jazz’s front office has been busy in recent days. The team officially signed second-round rookie Kyle Filipowski and inked Svi Mykhailiuk to a four-year deal. Terms of Filipowski’s contract haven’t been revealed but he’ll be on a standard deal. Jason Preston and Micah Potter hold the other two-way slots.
Kinsey, 24, went undrafted in 2023 after playing five college seasons at Marshall. As a “super senior” for the Thundering Herd in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.
A 6’5″ wing, Kinsey signed a training camp deal with Utah last summer and was waived in October before the ’23/24 season began. He wound up signing a 10-day contract with the Jazz in March, but he didn’t appear in a game.
Kinsey spent the majority of his first pro season playing for the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the Stars (29.6 MPG), he averaged 10.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.1 APG while posting a strong shooting line of .555/.427/.780.
Kinsey has some things in his skill set you can’t teach. A very worthy developmental player. The team that unlocks what he has will be handsomely rewarded. He’s a potential rotation player, not just a roster player.
I agree. He was top 10 in scoring his senior year. I liked him last year. The Jazz keep stringing him along.
He showed promise, which is why waiving him fits the plan to tank in 2024-25 and 2025-26.
The more the Jazz can play Jason Preston and Svi Mykhailiuk, the better the chance at landing Cooper Flagg.
Tanking ain’t easy.
Yeah…. tank Kinsey before he leads you to 48 wins
The target is 12 wins
This is exactly what I was concerned with. I mean I guess he got paid, but it has felt like the Jazz keep teasing this poor guy every year just to waive him.
I suppose they create loyalty by paying him more than a G-League contract. I’m guessing he’ll likely do that and play for the SLC Stars. Perhaps they like having him as an option for a 10-day, etc.