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Jazz Re-Sign Johnny Juzang To Four-Year Contract

August 13th, 2024 at 7:34am CST by Rory Maher

AUGUST 13: The Jazz have officially re-signed Juzang, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

JULY 12: The Jazz are re-signing restricted free agent Johnny Juzang to a four-year, $12MM contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

A 6’7″ wing who starred in college at UCLA, Juzang went undrafted in 2022 before signing a two-way deal with Utah. He has spent his first two NBA seasons on two-way contracts with the Jazz, appearing in a total of 38 games.

Juzang played in 20 games for the Jazz in 2023/24, averaging 7.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.2 APG on .464/.416/.714 shooting in 18.6 MPG. Nearly all of those statistics were accumulated in the last month-plus of the season, with Juzang only making three appearances before March 4.

In addition to his NBA minutes, Juzang has been a regular contributor for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s NBA G League affiliate. In 33 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Stars last season (31.9 MPG), the 23-year-old averaged 20.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 2.5 APG on .465/.369/.904 shooting.

Based on the reported terms, it sounds like Juzang will receive more than a minimum-salary contract. The Jazz currently have the most cap room in the NBA, so they can afford to hand out a long-term deal in the hope that Juzang becomes a rotation regular going forward. If that occurs, the contract will look team-friendly; if not, it’s still a relatively modest cap hit.

While the exact details have yet to be confirmed, Juzang’s new deal is unlikely to be guaranteed for all four years.

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And-Ones: Flagg, In-Season Tourney, Escrow Payments, Broadcasting Deals

August 12th, 2024 at 10:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cooper Flagg goes No. 1 overall to the Nets. Dylan Harper is selected No. 2 by the Wizards. Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has released his latest 2025 mock draft in the aftermath of major AAU tournaments, NBA camps, FIBA competition and the Paris Olympics.

It will be difficult for any prospect to recreate the buzz that enveloped Victor Wembanyama in 2023. However, there’s no doubt Flagg is the target right now for all rebuilding teams, according to Wasserman.

Rounding out the top five are Ace Bailey (Trail Blazers), V.J. Edgecombe (Pistons) and Drake Powell (Jazz).

Wasserman used FanDuel’s latest projected win totals to determine a draft order.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • The NBA will unveil the schedule for the second annual in-season tournament on Tuesday afternoon via NBA Today on ESPN, the network’s PR department tweets. Officially called the Emirates NBA Cup, the six groups for the early rounds of the tournament were revealed last month.
  • NBA players had 5.25% of their salaries taken out of their paychecks for escrow payments for the 2023/24 season after the league finished its annual financial audit, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reports. The escrow program was established in 2011 to ensure that players don’t receive more than their contractual agreement with the team. The NBA normally takes out 10% of player’s salaries throughout the season to put into escrow to allow for the possibility that aggregate salaries outpace the players’ share of BRI, Vorkunov explains. It then returns money to players if its audit shows it had withheld too much.
  • NBA officially struck rights deals with ESPN, Amazon and NBC that will provide the league with $77 billion over 11 years, beginning in 2025/26. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand details how those agreements came about and how they’ll impact the league.
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Western Notes: DeRozan, Rockets, Suns, D. Jones

August 12th, 2024 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

New Kings wing DeMar DeRozan is staying sharp in California. DeRozan erupted for 54 points for the Mecca Cheaters in the Drew League championship game on Sunday, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee relays. The Drew League is a pro-am event held every year in Los Angeles. DeRozan was named the game’s MVP after his team erased a 16-point deficit in the final five minutes and pulled out a one-point victory.

A free agent last month, DeRozan was acquired from the Bulls in a blockbuster, three-team deal.  His new contract with the Kings is worth approximately $74MM over three years.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • The Rockets are doing some early bonding, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jalen Green is hosting a players-only minicamp in Los Angeles this week with Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson among the teammates expected to show up.
  • The Suns are hiring Oronde Taliaferro as their director of scouting, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Taliaferro, who is expected to focus on college scouting, was previously a scout for the Nets.
  • The Thunder‘s Dillon Jones, the No. 26 overall pick, is one of the most interesting rookies in this class, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated opines. Oklahoma City was interested in selecting Jones, a Weber State product, in the second round last year before he opted to return to college to improve his stock. The Thunder gave up five second-round picks in a deadline-deal with the Knicks to acquire the 26th pick. Jones could play a variety of positions for a coaching staff that enjoys tinkering with rotations and lineups.
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Eastern Notes: Yabusele, Cayette-Wilson, Hornets, Valanciunas

August 12th, 2024 at 8:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Celtic forward Guerschon Yabusele, one of the top players on France’s Olympic team, wants to return to the NBA. Don’t expect Boston to make a run at him, The Athletic’s Jared Weiss writes.

Yabusele played two seasons with Boston after being drafted in the first round in 2016. Yabusele has a $2.5MM buyout in the final year of his contract with Real Madrid. The Celtics already have a similar player in Xavier Tillman and even minimum deals would result in a hefty luxury tax penalty for a franchise above the second tax apron.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Shelly Cayette-Weston, the Hornets’ new president of business operations, said that renovations for the team’s Spectrum Center are on schedule. “It’s a two-phase process, so that’s going to be a little interesting,” Cayette-Weston told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “We’re going to have Phase 1 that opens this October, and then we’re going to go and do a lot more work even next summer. So, I want them to also prepare that it is a multi-phase summer project. But I think when they come in, still they’re going to immediately see some new clubs, some new spaces, you think about the entrance when you walk in and that plaza area.”
  • The Hornets have announced that their new health and performance staff will be led by Trent Salo, Boone tweets. Salo worked for the Pistons over the last seven seasons. Matthew Tuttle has been named director of sports medicine and Bryce Daub has the title of director of athletic performance. Quinton Sawyer has been promoted to head athletic trainer.
  • Jonas Valanciunas ranks as one of the league’s all-time best rebounders, Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network notes. Valanciunas has the ninth-best career rebound percentage (20.56%) in NBA history and the eighth-best defensive rebound percentage (29.05%). He’s also an efficient scorer who likes to set up in the post, giving the Wizards a different look. Valanciunas was acquired from the Pelicans in a sign-and-trade transaction.
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Jazz Sign Oscar Tshiebwe To Two-Way Contract

August 12th, 2024 at 6:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have signed forward Oscar Tshiebwe to a two-way contract, according to a team press release. Utah opened up a slot by waiving Taevion Kinsey on Monday, which was confirmed in the press release.

Tshiebwe spent the 2023/24 season on a two-way deal with the Pacers after going undrafted. He appeared in eight NBA games and averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game.

Tshiebwe excelled at the G League level. He was named Rookie of the Year and All-NBA G League First Team after appearing in 23 regular season games (21 starts) for the Indiana Mad Ants and averaging 16.2 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 27.2 minutes per contest.

The Pacers had extended a two-way qualifying offer to Tshiebwe, which made him a restricted free agent and gave Indiana the right of first refusal. But all of the Pacers’ two-way slots are filled, so it appears they were willing to let him sign elsewhere.

Tshiebwe played for Indiana’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas last month, averaging 11.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in five games.

Tshiebwe was the unanimous National Player of the Year and Southeastern Conference Player of the Year for Kentucky as a junior in 2021/22. As a senior in 2022/23, he was a unanimous Second-Team All-America selection and led the nation in rebounding for a second straight season.

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Jazz Waive Two-Way Player Taevion Kinsey

August 12th, 2024 at 4:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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.

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International Notes: NBA Candidates, Besson, Bender, Cannady

August 12th, 2024 at 4:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward Guerschon Yabusele, who recently expressed a desire to return to the NBA, tops Mark Deeks of HoopsHype’s list of 10 players from the 2024 Olympics who deserve a look from NBA teams. Two of Yabusele’s teammates on the French national team — Mathias Lessort (No. 2) and Isaia Cordinier (No. 8) — also made the cut.

Here are a few more international notes:

  • Bucks draft-and-stash prospect Hugo Besson, the No. 58 pick of the 2022 draft, will play for Turkey’s Manisa Buyuksehir Belediye Spor during the 2024/25 season, per Fersu Yahyabeyoglu of Eurobasket.com (hat tip to Keith Smith of Spotrac). The French guard played in Serbia and Italy last season.
  • Former No. 4 overall pick Dragan Bender is rumored to be joining GeVi Napoli in Italy, writes Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Bender suffered major ACL injuries in May 2021 and December 2022 and evidently is still recovering. “Bender is part of the team philosophy we are building,” Napoli athletic director Alessandro Dalla Salda told La Repubblica. “But to get back on top he needs time, so we may sign a player while waiting for his return.” The 26-year-old last played in the NBA in 2019/20.
  • Guard Devin Cannady, who played 13 games with the Magic over two different seasons, has signed with Panionios B.C., the Greek club announced in a press release. It’s the first international stop for the former Princeton star, who played for the NBA G League’s Birmingham Squadron (the Pelicans’ affiliate) in ’23/24.
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20 Players Remain Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions

August 12th, 2024 at 2:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Four players have signed rookie scale extensions so far this offseason.

Raptors forward Scottie Barnes was the first domino to fall, later being joined by Magic forward Franz Wagner, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, and Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley. All four received five-year, maximum-salary deals containing Rose rule language.

[RELATED: 2024/25 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]

That leaves a total of 20 players who remain eligible for rookie scale extensions, which can be signed up until the day before the start of the regular season. Those 20 players are as follows:

Some players on this list almost certainly won’t sign new contracts this offseason. Guys like Hyland, Duarte, Mitchell, Springer and Williams, for instance, haven’t yet established themselves as reliable rotation players who are worth long-term investments, so it would be pretty surprising if they were extended.

There are plenty of other viable extension candidates on this list though. Of these 20 players, Sengun probably has the strongest case for a lucrative multiyear commitment. The Turkish big man has also publicly expressed his desire to sign a long-term deal. But there has been speculation the Rockets might preserve cap flexibility for 2025 by not extending Sengun or Green, and one report stated both were unlikely to get max offers before the season begins.

Kuminga and Johnson are reportedly looking for max deals, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. While both forwards have flashed tantalizing two-way upside, neither player has a long track record of NBA success. Still, they’re certainly possibilities for nine-figure commitments.

Suggs, Murphy, Thomas and Giddey are among the other players listed who could receive lucrative extensions this offseason — there have been multiple reports stating that extending Murphy is a priority for New Orleans, though the two sides had “differing viewpoints” on the sharpshooter’s value in July.

Kispert, Aldama, Grimes, Moody, Mann, Jackson and Sharpe fall somewhere in the middle. I’d expect at least a couple of them to receive new contracts, but they likely won’t be for as much money.

Typically, after the first wave of slam-dunk rookie scale extension candidates sign their deals in early July, there isn’t a ton of action on this front until we get much closer to the October deadline. But we should expect several more deals to be completed in the fall — in each of the last four offseasons, at least 10 players have inked rookie scale extensions. If that trend continues, at least six of the 20 players above will have new deals in hand by the time the regular season tips off.

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Tyrese Haliburton Had “Minor Leg Injury” During Olympics

August 12th, 2024 at 1:20pm CST by Rory Maher

Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton dealt with a “minor leg injury” and underwent an MRI during the Olympics, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

Haliburton was essentially Team USA’s 12th man during the Olympics in Paris, which concluded on Sunday. He averaged just 8.8 minutes per game in his three appearances; the Americans went 6-0 to claim the gold medal, so the 24-year-old didn’t play at all in three contests, including the semifinal and final.

Haliburton was hampered during the 2023/24 season with a hamstring strain he sustained in January. While he ultimately appeared in 69 games and made the All-NBA Third Team, securing an extension that starts at 30% (instead of 25%) of the salary cap, his effectiveness was clearly diminished post-injury. Haliburton wound up missing his final two postseason games vs. Boston with a hamstring injury as well.

There’s no indication that the leg issue Haliburton was managing during the Olympics is a cause for concern going forward, given Windhorst’s description. Still, it’s a noteworthy event when a player like Haliburton — one of Team USA’s top performers at the 2023 World Cup — undergoes an MRI.

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Knicks/Celtics, Wolves/Lakers To Play On Opening Night

August 12th, 2024 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s opening night schedule will feature home games for the league’s two most accomplished franchises, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the Celtics will host the Knicks in the early game, while the Lakers will host the Timberwolves in the late game.

The Celtics, who won their record 18th NBA title in June, will receive their championship rings on opening night, which will take place on Tuesday, October 22. That game will be the first for the new-look Knicks, featuring Mikal Bridges.

The game between the Lakers and Timberwolves will feature several stars who participated in Saturday’s gold medal game in Paris, including LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Lakers and Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert of the Wolves.

Both games will air on TNT Sports, which will be distributing NBA games for one final year in 2024/25, assuming their lawsuit against the league doesn’t result in a new broadcast rights deal that begins in ’25/26.

The full regular schedule for the 2024/25 NBA season is expected to be released later this week, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. In the meantime, here are a few more notable matchups, courtesy of Charania:

  • The new-look Sixers, led by former MVP Joel Embiid, reigning Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey, and free agent addition Paul George, will host the Bucks on October 23 to open their regular season (Twitter link).
  • The first regular season game at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood will be played on October 23, when the Clippers host the Suns (Twitter link).
  • Klay Thompson and the Mavericks will visit the Warriors on November 12 in Thompson’s first trip back to the Bay Area (Twitter link). That will also be the first game of the in-season tournament (NBA Cup) for both Dallas and Golden State (Twitter link).
  • The NBA Finals rematches between the Celtics and Mavericks will take place on January 25 in Dallas and February 6 in Boston (Twitter link).
  • In case you missed it, 2024’s Christmas Day matchups were reported last week.
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