Jack Cooley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Sign Jack Cooley To Multiyear Deal

March 26th, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz have signed big man Jack Cooley to a deal that covers the rest of the season and beyond, the team announced. Cooley’s second 10-day contract with the team expired overnight. It’s not immediately clear whether the former Notre Dame standout’s latest deal includes any guaranteed salary beyond this season, or just how many years it covers.

Cooley has seen a total of just 26 minutes with the Jazz across six games this season, though he also spent time with the team during the preseason, with the Jazz floating him a $65K partial guarantee that he took with him even though Utah cut him before opening night. The 23-year-old, who turns 24 next month, spent most of 2014/15 with Utah’s D-League affiliate. The Jazz waited a while to sign him to his second 10-day deal after his first one expired, using the roster spot to sign Jerrelle Benimon to a 10-day pact of his own in between, as I noted Wednesday.

The new deal with Cooley, an Adam Pensack client, gives Utah 15 players signed through at least the end of the season, which limits the team’s flexibility to make another move in the season’s final three weeks. He’s the third Jazz player this year to go from a 10-day contract to a longer-term arrangement, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows.

Jazz Sign Jack Cooley To Second 10-Day Pact

March 16th, 2015 at 11:27am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 11:27am: The deal is official, the team announced.

SUNDAY, 2:52pm: The Jazz are set to sign Jack Cooley to another 10-day deal, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). The rebounding specialist first joined Utah on February 24th and returned back to the D-League after that pact expired.

The 23-year-old (24 in early April) played a whopping two minutes during his time in Utah with his lone appearance coming on February 27th against the Nuggets. Cooley spent the bulk of the season playing Utah’s D-League affiliate and he attracted the attention of the varsity squad with his performance there.

The 6’9″ forward has averaged 16.8 points and 12.4 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game in his first season of D-League action after having played in Turkey last season. He’s been especially impressive in his latest stint with Idaho, including a 29 rebound performance against the Los Angeles D-Fenders last week. Cooley went undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2013, but he’s remained on NBA radars, having participated in both the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues the past two years.

Jazz Sign Jack Cooley To 10-Day Pact

February 24th, 2015 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 11:09am: The deal is official, the team announced.

MONDAY, 4:52pm: The Jazz are signing Jack Cooley to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Cooley’s been playing for Utah’s D-League affiliate, and Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune last week identified the big man as a candidate for a 10-day deal. He’s elicited NBA interest on multiple occasions this season, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reported. The 23-year-old joins Bryce Cotton, who’s also reportedly set to ink a 10-day contract with the Jazz, and the apparent deal with Cooley is further confirmation that the team’s talks with draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss have run aground.

Cooley joined the D-League’s Idaho Stampede, Utah’s affiliate, shortly after the Jazz retained his D-League rights upon cutting him from NBA training camp. He’s averaged 15.5 points and 10.6 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per game in his first season of D-League action after having played in Turkey last season. He went undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2013, but he’s remained on NBA radars, having participated in both the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues the past two years.

Signing both Cotton and Cooley would give the Jazz a full 15-man roster, though the short-term 10-day arrangements would give the team flexibility while it monitors what goes on with Pleiss. The 10-day deals eat slightly into Utah’s nearly $2.826MM in cap room, but not by much. Since both Cotton and Cooley are NBA rookies, standard 10-day contracts for both wouldn’t cost the team as much as $60K combined.

Western Notes: Cooley, Garnett, Jazz

February 19th, 2015 at 11:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jack Cooley is a candidate to be signed to a 10-day deal by the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports (Twitter link). Utah is in need of frontcourt depth in the wake of the Enes Kanter trade. Cooley currently plays for the Idaho Stampede, the Jazz‘s D-League affiliate. In 15 D-League games, Cooley is averaging 15.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 28.5 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jazz re-sign swingman Chris Johnson, whom the team had on a 10-day contract a few weeks ago, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
The Clippers met with D-Leaguer Eric Griffin in New York over the weekend and discussed a 10-day deal, but no move is expected, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Griffin hooked on with the Texas Legends after being waived by the Mavs in October.
The Clippers have two roster openings and Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears that they plan to fill both. They’ll likely go with two bought out players but they could sign one buyout guy and one player to a 10-day deal.
The Jazz like Alex Abrines, one of the Thunder’s draft-and-stash prospects, Genessy notes (Twitter link). Abrines, a 21-year-old shooting guard, is under contract with Barcelona of Spain until 2016, as our draft rights held players database shows.
The Jazz showed interest in Shane Larkin before the deadline, sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
Just as the Timberwolves would reportedly like to sign Kevin Garnett for two more years, Garnett fully intends to play at least one more season, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron and Zach Links contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Grizzlies, Nuggets, Smith, Cooley

February 1st, 2015 at 10:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sunday’s signing of JaMychal Green to a 10-day contract shows the Grizzlies aren’t afraid to gamble on inexpensive talent, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports in a subscription-only article. “You’re basically playing the odds that you find one that hits,” Memphis GM Chris Wallace said. “If none of them hits, it’s not skin off your back. It’s a free shot.” The 24-year-old Green hit the open market after the Spurs declined to sign him to a second 10-day contract last week. He received interest from the Knicks, Bulls, Bucks and Blazers before signing with Memphis. The Grizzlies cleared a roster spot when they decided not to offer Tyrus Thomas a second 10-day contract. Thomas will join the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate in Iowa, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. (Twitter link).

There’s much more from the Western Conference:

The Nuggets are showing fortitude by trying to make a deal for Nets center Brook Lopez, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. While there are roadblocks to getting a deal done, Dempsey feels that it’ll come down to how motivated the Nuggets are to acquire Lopez and not how desperate the Nets are to unload him.
“Fed up” is how Ty Lawson described Nuggets coach Brian Shaw after Saturday’s 18-point loss to the Hornets, according to Nick Groke of The Denver Post. Groke believes Shaw’s job may be in jeopardy after a bad week that included a 69-point performance in Thursday’s loss to the Grizzlies. “You can tell his spirit is getting lower and lower,” Lawson said of his coach. “Just game in and game out, I guess we’re not executing the way we want to or according to the game plan.”
Josh Smith admits he was shocked when the Pistons waived him in December, but he’s already grown comfortable with the Rockets and is high on the idea of re-signing with Houston this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports details.
Former Jazz camp invitee Jack Cooley is again drawing NBA interest, a source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twitter link). The 23-year-old center, who was with the Jazz this past fall, pulled down 19 points in a recent game for Utah’s D-League affiliate, Pilato notes. It’s unclear if the Jazz are among those thinking of him for a spot on their NBA roster.

Chuck Myron and Zach Links contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Cooley, Ford, Upshaw

January 8th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

ESPN.com draft guru Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) opines that two tiers of talent appear to be forming in the lottery portion of the upcoming NBA draft. The upper tier includes Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis, all of whom are currently projected as top five selections, Ford notes. The second tier consists of Kevon Looney, Justise Winslow, Willie Cauley-Stein, Myles Turner, Kelly Oubre, Mario Hezonja, Stanley Johnson and D’Angelo Russell, and they will make up the likely No. 5 to No. 12 overall selections, Ford adds.

Here’s more from around the league and the college ranks:

Ford has also released his most recent “Big Board,” which has Oubre cracking the top 10, and has Jerian Grant of Notre Dame making a big leap from No. 27 to No. 19.
A league source told Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twiitter link) that there is a lot of NBA interest in Jack Cooley, and there is a strong possibility that he could be inked to a 10-day contract shortly. Cooley currently plays for the Idaho Stampede, the Jazz‘s D-League affiliate.
Former Pistons assistant GM George David was hired as director of basketball operations for Wasserman Media Group, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link).
One college player starting to catch the eye of NBA scouts is Washington’s Robert Upshaw, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “I would agree that he was a sleeper to start this season, maybe,” one league scout told Deveney. “He is not a sleeper anymore.” The 7’0″ center is averaging 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds so far this season, and he is drawing interest as a potential first-rounder, Deveney notes.
The Warriors have assigned Ognjen Kuzmic to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced in a press release. This will be Kuzmic’s fourth trek of the season to the D-League.

Jazz Waive Dahntay Jones, Jack Cooley

October 22nd, 2014 at 10:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

10:37pm: Both players have indeed been waived, the team has officially announced.

4:41pm: The Jazz have waived Dahntay Jones and Jack Cooley, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement, but these moves would reduce Utah’s preseason roster count to 15 players, which is the regular season maximum. Jones was in camp on a non-guaranteed minimum salary deal, but Cooley’s arrangement came with a partial guarantee for $65K, so he won’t walk away empty-handed. Cooley is likely headed to the NBA D-League, notes Pincus.

The 6’9″ Cooley went undrafted following his senior year at Notre Dame in 2013, but performed well in summer league action that year. Still, he didn’t catch on with an NBA team for camp or the regular season. Instead, the big man headed overseas, averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game in Turkey.

Jones spent last season out of the NBA, which was the first time he went without a deal in the league since he went 20th overall in the 2003 draft. Jones’ numbers in 589 career games are 5.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 0.9 APG. His career slash line is .441/.334/.751. Jones doesn’t seem like a candidate for the D-League, but he probably hopes to catch on with another team prior to the regular season. He could also try sign with a team on a 10-day contract later in the season.

Western Rumors: Cooley, Anderson, Wolves

August 25th, 2014 at 8:00pm CST by Cray Allred

John Canzano of The Oregonian thinks that Team USA’s decision to cut Damian Lillard from its final roster will fuel the Blazers point guard in reaching another level on the court. Here’s more from around the West:

Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets that Jack Cooley‘s contract with the Jazz is partially guaranteed at $65K, the same amount that fellow training camp invites Kevin Murphy and Dee Bost received in guaranteed salary.
Ryan Anderson expects to begin playing again at the open of Pelicans training camp, he tells Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com. “I have a few more weeks, so training camp I’ll be ready to go all out,” said Anderson. “I just can’t wait to play contact basketball again. I can’t wait for that day. Until then I want to build up strength, get stronger and really work on my conditioning, and get back to normal.” Anderson missed most of last year after suffering a serious neck injury.
Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post compares the Kevin Love trade to the Carmelo Anthony blockbuster between the Nuggets and Knicks. While the Wolves likely received better talent from the Cavs than Denver did from New York in 2011, Dempsey thinks Minnesota will face a tougher road to becoming competitive in the next few years.

Contract Details: Inglis, Heat, Jazz, Hamilton

August 24th, 2014 at 10:54am CST by Chuck Myron

The pace of signings is slow this time of year, but teams continue to add to their rosters. Eric Pincus reveals some previously unreported details about a handful of these signings within his latest updates to the salary pages at Basketball Insiders, so we’ll pass along the news here:

The Bucks are giving 31st overall pick Damien Inglis guaranteed salaries of $820K this season and $855K for 2015/16, both amounts that are more than the minimum, as Pincus notes (Twitter link). It’s a three-year deal in all that features a non-guaranteed season at the minimum salary in the contract’s final year. Milwaukee used part of its cap space to accommodate the signing.
Tyler Johnson‘s minimum salary with the Heat this season is guaranteed for $75K, while his minimum salary for next season is without a guarantee, according to Pincus. Reggie Williams is receiving a non-guaranteed minimum salary in his pact with the Heat this year, as Pincus also reveals.
The Jazz gave Dee Bost a $65K guarantee this season, while the other two years of his three-year contract for the minimum salary are non-guaranteed, Pincus reports. Pincus also notes that the team gave Jack Cooley a three-year deal for the minimum, though it remains unclear whether any of Cooley’s pay is guaranteed. Utah used cap space rather than the minimum-salary exception on Bost and Cooley, since the minimum-salary exception only allows for two-year deals.
The Raptors have the means to shell out more than the minimum salary, but they didn’t give Jordan Hamilton any more than that, as Pincus documents. Hamilton’s deal is reportedly partially guaranteed, but just how much he’s guaranteed remains unknown.
Darius Morris is on a one-year deal with the Blazers, Pincus shows.

Jazz Sign Jack Cooley

August 19th, 2014 at 6:24pm CST by Cray Allred

The Jazz have signed Jack Cooley, according to a team release. While terms of the deal weren’t announced, Jody Genessy of Deseret News reports that Cooley is a camp addition, adding that it’s very likely the deal is non-guaranteed (on Twitter).

The Jazz only have 12 players on guaranteed contracts for the 2014/15 season, so Cooley will have a better shot than many at this time of year of making an NBA team. Last year, Cooley chose to play in Turkey rather than accept one of several camp invitations. Cooley reportedly had mini-camp workouts with the Spurs, Nets, Cavaliers, and Jazz this summer.

The 6’9″ power forward went undrafted following his senior year at Notre Dame in 2013, but immediately performed well in summer league action. During his time overseas, the big man averaged 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game.