Naz Mitrou-Long Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Waive Naz Mitrou-Long

January 13th, 2018 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 13, 4:46pm: Mitrou-Long has been waived, the Jazz announced on Twitter.

JANUARY 11, 1:03pm: The Jazz will waive two-way player Naz Mitrou-Long in order to create room to sign Georges Niang to a two-way deal, per Cody Taylor of FanBuzz.com (Twitter link). Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune had indicated earlier today that Utah may waive Mitrou-Long from his two-way contract but try to bring him back to the Salt Lake City Stars.

Mitrou-Long, 24, signed a two-way pact with the Jazz in December after the team waived Nate Wolters. The 6’4″ shooting guard made his NBA debut on December 26, but played just 31 seconds in that game and didn’t see the court again for the Jazz. He has spent most of the season in the G League, where he has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 22 games.

The move is somewhat bittersweet for Mitrou-Long. Although he’ll surely be disappointed to see his two-way deal come to an end, the man replacing him was his teammate for several years — Niang and Mitrou-Long were both at Iowa State from 2012 to 2016.

Northwest Notes: Anthony, Crawford, Plumlee, Mitrou-Long

December 24th, 2017 at 4:32pm CST by marksuleymanov

Carmelo Anthony‘s struggles this season have mirrored that of the Thunder: struggling to find consistency. Anthony has been primarily a ball-dominant player in his career but he has changed that approach recently, helping the Thunder in the process, Royce Young of ESPN writes.

In recent games, Anthony has hovered around the perimeter, waiting for catch-and-shoot situations. In Oklahoma City’s win over the Hawks on Friday, Anthony netted seven three-pointers, allowing Russell Westbrook to facilitate plays. Anthony admitted that he can find sustained success in that role once he gets adjusted.

“I think for me it’s just a matter of accepting that role. That’s all it is,” Anthony said. “Realizing that’s what it’s going to be, these are the type of shots I’m going to get, this is the type of offense we’re going to be running and accepting that, and working on that role. That’s something that I’ve kind of been doing over the past week, is allowing myself to accept that role and do whatever I gotta do to make this team win.”

Anthony, 33, is averaging a career-worst 17.5 PPG this season through 32 games. With Westbrook and fellow All-Star Paul George, Anthony is not required to shoulder the load the way he did in New York the past six seasons. Head coach Billy Donovan said he and the team appreciate Anthony’s willingness to change his style for the betterment of the team.

Read up on other news out of the Northwest Division:

The Timberwolves signed three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford to be instant offense off the bench and to be a veteran presence on a young, promising team. While his minutes and production were down through the first third of the season, he is still capable of putting up points in a hurry for Minnesota, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes.
Injuries to Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic have allowed Mason Plumlee to receive more playing time and the Nuggets’ center is becoming a trusted vocal leader for the team, Gina Mizell of The Denver Post writes.
Naz Mitrou-Long finished up a game in the G League and after a long flight home learned the Jazz were signing him to a two-way deal. As he gets the chance to suit up for Utah in the NBA, Mitrou-Long is appreciative of the opportunity, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News writes. “I obviously don’t presume to come in here and play a substantial amount of minutes or even play at all,” he said. “If I get any opportunity, it’s going to be to learn and take advantage of it.”

Jazz To Sign Naz Mitrou-Long To Two-Way Deal

December 22nd, 2017 at 4:53pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz plan to sign Naz Mitrou-Long to a two-way deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The combo guard out of Iowa State went undrafted over the summer but played briefly with Utah in training camp prior to being cut ahead of opening day.

After his October 14 release from the Jazz, the Canadian combo guard went to work for Utah’s G League affiliate, playing 20 games for the Salt Lake City Stars averaging 15.0 points and 3.7 assists per game.

Mitrou-Long will slide into the opening created earlier today when the Jazz waived two-way guard Nate Wolters.

Mitrou-Long was named to the All-Big 12 second-team during his final year of NCAA action and played with the Kings in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Jazz Waive Naz Mitrou-Long

October 14th, 2017 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz continue to inch toward the regular season roster limit, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived another camp invitee, Naz Mitrou-Long. Mitrou-Long signed with Utah as an undrafted rookie out of Iowa State, and appears likely to play for the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League.

Following the release of Mitrou-Long, the Jazz are now carrying 18 players. Two of those players are on two-way contracts, so the club needs to make just one more cut – or trade – to get its NBA roster down to the 15-man limit. However, it’s not clear which player will be on the chopping block.

The Jazz have 15 players on guaranteed salaries, but Raul Neto and his non-guaranteed contract should start the regular season with the club. That means parting ways with a player on a guaranteed deal — a Friday report indicated that Utah’s decision figures to come down to Joel Bolomboy vs. Royce O’Neale.

The Jazz may not make a final decision on Bolomboy and O’Neale until Monday. Since both players have fully guaranteed contracts, there’s no rush to waive either of them today. Mitrou-Long’s non-guaranteed salary, on the other hand, would have started to count against Utah’s cap if he had remained under contract beyond today.

Northwest Notes: Mitrou-Long, Nuggets, Adelman, Wolves

September 16th, 2017 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Naz Mitrou-Long is the latest international player on the Jazz roster, writes Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. The 24-year-old Canadian signed with the team this week, likely for a non-guaranteed camp contract. Mitrou-Long seems to have little chance at a roster spot with Utah, which has Rodney Hood, Alec Burks and first-round pick Donovan Mitchell entrenched at shooting guard. The Jazz also have 15 guaranteed salaries, so Mitrou-Long appears headed to the G League.

Mitrou-Long spent five years at Iowa State, red-shirting during the 2015/16 season because of lingering pain from hip surgeries. He recovered to play 35 games last season, averaging 15.1 points per night and earning All-Big 12 second-team honors. He played for the Kings’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, scoring 9.8 points per game.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Nuggets improved with the signing of Paul Millsap, but still may struggle to make the playoffs in a tough Western Conference, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Millsap will team with Nikola Jokic to give Denver an impressive inside game, but the team has several questions to resolve, starting with finding a role for former starting point guard Emmanuel Mudiay.
David Adelman has formally joined the Nuggets‘ coaching staff, the team announced on its website. The son of longtime NBA coach Rick Adelman, David spent last season as an assistant in Orlando after several years in Minnesota. Denver also promoted Tommy Balcetis to Director of Basketball Strategies and Analytics.
The impressive numbers posted by Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns should translate into more wins now that he has better talent around him, writes Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. In Minnesota’s season preview, Sierra says Jimmy Butler gives the team a legitimate two-way star, but the Wolves have to make great strides on defense and outside shooting to become a legitimate playoff contender.

Jazz Sign Naz Mitrou-Long

September 13th, 2017 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have signed rookie free agent Naz Mitrou-Long to their 20-man offseason roster, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. While details of the agreement haven’t been reported, it figures to be a non-guaranteed camp deal.

A 6’4″ guard out of Iowa State, Mitrou-Long appeared in 35 games during his senior year in 2016/17, averaging 15.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 2.7 APG. More than half his shot attempts came from beyond the three-point line, and he was effective from outside the arc, making 2.8 threes per game at a 38.4% clip.

Although he went undrafted in June, Mitrou-Long caught on with a pair of NBA teams in July, playing for the Pacers in the Orlando Summer League and the Kings in Las Vegas.

Mitrou-Long isn’t likely to crack the regular season roster for the Jazz, since the club already has 15 players on guaranteed salaries. However, there’s a good chance the Canadian-born guard will end up as an affiliate player for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League squad.

Draft Notes: Mitchell, Jackson, Tatum, Ferguson

June 21st, 2017 at 10:47am CST by Arthur Hill

Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell will hold a last-minute workout for the Knicks today, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. The sophomore out of Louisville, whose session was originally scheduled for Tuesday, is being considered with the No 8 pick, Begley adds, along with French point guard Frank Ntilikina, Kentucky guard Malik Monk, Arizona big man Lauri Markkanen and others. Team president Phil Jackson is intrigued by Mitchell’s defensive prowess and athleticism and likes the fact that he prefers to work out in a group setting to showcase his defense. Joining Mitchell today will be Villanova’s Josh Hart, Miami’s Davon Reed, Iowa State’s Naz Long and others.

There’s more draft news on the eve of the big event:

The Celtics have received Josh Jackson‘s medical records, but the Kansas forward still refuses to work out for the team, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Boston appears to be leaning toward Duke’s Jayson Tatum with the No. 3 pick, Ford states, but no decision has been made.
Ford still has Jackson as the third selection in his latest mock draft, which was released today. Markelle Fultz remains No. 1, followed by Lonzo Ball, with the rest of the top 10 as Tatum, Jonathan Isaac, De’Aaron Fox, Dennis Smith Jr., Monk, Zach Collins and Markkanen.
Terrance Ferguson recently pulled out of workouts with the Pistons, Hawks and Bucks, tweets Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated. It’s possible that Ferguson received a draft promise from the Nuggets or Nets or he may have been responding to poor workouts (Twitter link).
A 7-footer with a soft shooting touch, Markkanen is drawing comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki, writes Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Some scouts believe the 20-year-old Finnish star is the best 3-point shooter in the draft. “It’s probably not fair to him to have some young guy compared to a Hall of Fame player and champion,” Markkanen said of Nowitzki. “We have similarities because of the height, being from Europe and shooting. But I have a long way to go before I’m in the same category as him. Hopefully, I can get there one day.”
The Wizards will work out six players today, the team announced on its website. They are French center Alpha Kaba, Cincinnati’s Troy Caupain Jr., VCU’s JeQuan Lewis, Eastern Michigan’s Jalen Ross, Niagara’s Tahjere McCall and East Tennessee State’s Hanner Mosquera-Perea.

Central Rumors: Butler, Garrity, Griffin, Pacers

June 5th, 2017 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler held a meeting with Bulls management on Monday to discuss the team’s direction, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Butler had only met with team officials briefly after the season, the tweet adds. Chicago isn’t looking to move the three-time All-Star swingman but will listen to any offers, Johnson wrote in an earlier story. Butler had been training in Los Angeles and will leave for Europe later in the month to train there, Johnson adds.

In other developments around the Central Division:

Pistons assistant GM Pat Garrity interviewed for the Hawks GM position and will soon interview for the Bucks‘ GM opening, according to Tony Paul of the Detroit News. Atlanta chose Warriors executive Travis Schlenk. Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy confirmed to Paul that Garrity will interview for the job formerly held by new Magic GM John Hammond.
There are several more hurdles to clear before the Pistons can move into a new downtown arena next season, the Detroit Free Press reports. The Detroit City Council on Tuesday will vote on a package of agreements that would allow the move, while the lease agreement with Little Caesars Arena has not been finalized, the report continues. The league also has to give its final approval. The franchise hopes to have all the elements completed in time for the annual July board of governors meeting in Las Vegas, the report adds.
Cavaliers GM David Griffin will seek a significant raise from owner Dan Gilbert, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reports. Griffin is making less than $2MM annually, according to Vardon’s sources. The two sides have not yet discussed financial terms on a new contract for Griffin, whose current contract expires at the end of the month. The Magic and Hawks were denied permission to interview Griffin for front-office openings and the Bucks appear to be moving away from Griffin in their GM search, Vardon adds.
The Pacers will bring in six players for a pre-draft workout on Tuesday, according to the team’s website. That group includes Antonio Blakeney (LSU), Isaac Hamilton (UCLA), Zak Irvin (Michigan), Naz Long (Iowa State), Johnathan Motley (Baylor) and Rashawn Thomas (Texas A&M-CC). It’s a group of second-round hopefuls, headlined by Blakeney, a shooting guard ranked No. 85 by DraftExpress.