Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bontemps’ Latest: Davis, Morant, Markkanen, Kings, Nets, More

November 21st, 2025 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

If the Mavericks decide to move Anthony Davis prior to the trade deadline, the expectation is that the return would resemble what Phoenix got for Kevin Durant rather than a haul that features several first-round picks, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. In other words, Dallas probably shouldn’t count on getting more than a couple solid players and a single first-rounder.

Although many of the sources who spoke to Bontemps had trouble coming up with many suitors who would make sense for Davis, a few of those sources speculated about whether the Bulls might make a play for the Chicago native.

“I could see it,” one Western Conference executive told ESPN. “(Josh) Giddey has worked well with (Nikola) Vucevic, but he could use a roll man to throw it up to.”

Bontemps’ sources put Ja Morant in a similar boat as Davis, predicting that the Grizzlies will explore the trade market for the point guard but will have trouble finding a package they like.

According to Bontemps, people around the NBA are also keeping a close eye on Lauri Markkanen, who is having a bounce-back season with the Jazz on the heels of a down year in 2024/25. After averaging 19.0 points per game on .423/.346/.876 shooting in 47 games last season, Markkanen has put up 30.6 PPG on .485/.385/.885 shooting through 14 outings this fall, so he’d have more trade value now — if Utah is open to dealing him.

“He’s putting up monster numbers,” a West executive said. “They’re running everything through him. If he goes to a place that he’s an additive piece … you have to have the right team around him to go after him.”

Here are a few more highlights from Bontemps’ look at all 30 NBA teams:

Scouts around the league are speculating about Doug Christie‘s job security in Sacramento and are waiting to see if the Kings begin looking to trade veterans like Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and/or Zach LaVine. “They’re a disaster,” an Eastern Conference scout told Bontemps. “They’re going nowhere fast. They just have to put a rock on the accelerator and keep going into the tank … they’re expensive, bad and aging.”
Multiple executives who spoke to ESPN believe the Nets have the least talented roster in the NBA. Brooklyn is off to a 2-12 start, with its only victories coming against fellow bottom-feeders Washington and Indiana.
There’s skepticism about whether 2024 lottery pick Rob Dillingham can become the Timberwolves‘ point guard of the future, Bontemps writes. Dillingham is still just 20 years old but is off to a slow start in his second season, having shot just 37.3% from the floor, including 20.0% on three-pointers. “I’m not sure that’s ever going to work,” one scout said. “Maybe things come around, but it’s hard to see it.”
According to Bontemps, there was “virtually no talk” during the preseason about a possible rookie scale extension for Jalen Duren, with the Pistons and the big man believed to be far apart on a potential deal. Duren, who turned 22 on Tuesday, has taken a significant step forward in the early going this season, with averages of 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, and appears to be in line for a significant payday next summer.
Scouts have been impressed by the work first-year head coach Jordan Ott has done with the Suns, who are outperforming expectations so far with a 9-6 record and could be a playoff contender. “They’ve been way better than I thought,” a Western Conference scout said. “They’ve got enough pieces around Devin (Booker) where they’ll win the games they should win. (Ott) has them playing the right way and competing.”

And-Ones: NBA Schedule, Breakout Players, Cap Room, More

November 20th, 2025 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who has advocated in the past for shorter regular seasons, is beating that drum again this fall with soft tissue injuries on the rise around the NBA, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Kerr said he’s “very concerned” about the increase in injuries, pointing to an increased pace of play and a relentless schedule as two factors he believes are contributing to the trend.

“The pace difference is dramatic,” Kerr said after Tuesday’s game vs. Orlando. “This team tonight has really upped their pace compared to last year. I think across the league everybody understands now it’s just easier to score now if you can beat (the other team) down the floor, get out in transition. But when everybody’s doing that, the game’s are much faster paced, and everyone has to cover out to 25 feet because everyone can shoot threes.

“… We have all the data,” Kerr continued. “Players are running faster and further than ever before, so we’re trying to do the best we can to protect them, but basically have a game every other night and it’s not an easy thing to do … (The medical staff) believe that the wear and tear, the speed, the pace, the mileage, it’s all factoring into these injuries.”

Kerr said the NBA has done a commendable job of trying to reduce back-to-backs and instances of four games in five days, but points out that it has resulted in teams rarely getting more than one day off between games, which results in little recovery time and almost no opportunities for practices.

“We literally have not had a single practice on this road trip. Not one,” Kerr said after the fifth game of a six-game trip. “We’ve gone a week, or longer, eight days, not one practice. It’s just game, game, game. So not only is there no recovery time, there’s no practice time. What was different back in the day — you did have four in five nights, which was not great, but then you’d have four days before your next game. So you’d take a day off, and you’d actually have a couple good practices and scrimmage. So there’s no easy answer here.”

Kerr isn’t alone in believing that playing fewer regular season games would benefit the players — Knicks forward Josh Hart agreed with that sentiment on Thursday, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post relays. However, both Kerr and Hart acknowledged that it would be very difficult to actually implement that change due to the loss of revenue that would occur..

“Do I think there’s too many games? Yeah,” Hart said. “Conversely, will (team owners) and the league and players take a pay cut to not do that? I don’t know. It’s easy to sit there and say that we play too many games — which we do — but conversely, we’re also blessed to be able to benefit greatly from it.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

In a pair of stories for The Athletic, Fred Katz takes a look at some of the NBA’s most improved players so far this season, while John Hollinger zeros in on several of the league’s breakout players. Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Pistons center Jalen Duren show up on both lists, with Hollinger suggesting Duren appears to be on track for max or near-max money when he reaches restricted free agency next summer.
Previewing the salary cap landscape for the 2026 offseason, Keith Smith of Spotrac projects that six teams will operate with cap room, led by the Wizards with over $80MM in space. We conducted a similar exercise earlier this month, noting that the Wizards, Jazz, Nets, and Bulls are best positioned to go under the cap, while several other teams – like the Lakers and Clippers – are in the “maybe” category depending on what happens with certain free agents and player options.
A panel of ESPN’s NBA insiders takes an early look at potential trade-deadline needs for eight NBA teams hoping to contend this season, including the Pistons, Lakers, Warriors, Timberwolves, and Knicks. In the view of Bobby Marks, the Pistons are better positioned than any other Eastern Conference playoff team to make an in-season move, given their cap flexibility, movable contracts, and extra draft picks.

Kevin Love Discusses Trade To Utah, Role With Jazz

November 18th, 2025 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

After joining the Heat during the 2022/23 season, veteran big man Kevin Love didn’t expect to be on the move again. Love tells D.J. Siddiqi of ESportsInsider.com that he and his family “laid down roots” in Miami and that the trade sending him to Utah during the 2025 offseason was “definitely unexpected.”

“(The Heat) got better (in the trade); they got Norman Powell,” Love said. “They got better. But yeah, it still stung in the few weeks after the facts. I’ve seen all this before. It doesn’t make it any easier.”

Love, who turned 37 this year, was considered unlikely to stick with the rebuilding Jazz for long. Reporting in early September indicated that the expectation around the NBA was that he’d be traded or bought out before the regular season tipped off.

However, Love tells Siddiqi that the organization has been “amazing” to him and that it has been a “truly great experience” to be part of the Jazz so far. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the 18-year veteran will finish the season in Utah, but he’s in no hurry to part ways with his new team.

Love has had a role both on and off the court in Utah so far, appearing in seven of the past eight games and averaging 14.0 minutes per night off the bench while also providing veteran leadership on a young roster.

“Walker Kessler going down has provided me more minutes, at least in the near future, in the last several games,” Love said, referring to Kessler’s season-ending shoulder surgery. “But again, even if I’m not playing, I think my role — it’s great to have a role in my 18th season — is being able to be that veteran leader, a sound voice, somebody that preaches and acts on accountability and just continues to show what professionalism looks like every single day.

“… I think that that is extremely important, especially with a young team. I think sometimes people can maybe overvalue a veteran in a locker room, but I do believe that the Jazz honor that, and they’re appreciative of it as well. It makes me want to lean in even more and be the vet that, honestly, I never had.”

Love is in the final season of a contract that can’t be extended, so he’ll reach unrestricted free agency next summer if he’s not waived or bought out before then. He’s not sure how much longer he’ll continue playing, suggesting that he’s taking things on a “year-by-year” basis going forward, but he didn’t close the door on the idea of pursuing a reunion with the Cavaliers before he calls it a career.

“I don’t want to make any assumptions — they’ve been so good to me here already with Utah, and if this is it, then I’m very happy with that,” Love told Siddiqi. “Obviously, Cleveland is a near and dear place to me. But regardless if that happened or not, I’m always going to go back to Cleveland. They were so good to me for my eight-and-a-half seasons there, and continue to be.”

And-Ones: Brown, Adams, Luxury Tax, Top Rookies

November 14th, 2025 at 4:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Free agent guard/forward Troy Brown Jr. has signed a rest-of-season contract with the Adelaide 36ers of Australia’s National Basketball League, writes Olgun Uluc of ESPN.

The 15th pick in the 2018 draft, Brown spent six years in the NBA, suiting up for the Wizards, Bulls, Lakers, Timberwolves and Pistons. The 26-year-old last played in the league during the 2023/24 campaign.

Brown spent part of last season in Turkey, then briefly played in Puerto Rico in the spring.

“Troy has great size and length,” 36ers GM Matt Weston said in a press release. “He’s a legitimate shooter who is very good on the defensive side of the ball with great hands.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The Brisbane Bullets of the NBL have released former NBA point guard Jaylen Adams, Uluc reports for ESPN. Adams went undrafted in 2018 out of St. Bonaventure and spent most of his rookie year on a two-way deal with Atlanta, ultimately making 41 total NBA appearances through the 2020/21 campaign. He has spent most of the past four seasons in the NBL, including winning MVP in ’21/22 and leading the Sydney Kings to a title that season. However, the 29-year-old has looked disengaged of late, according to Uluc, and his statistics are down considerably from last season. The team cited behavioral and cultural concerns as reasons why it decided to cut Adams loose, sources tell Uluc.
Eric Pincus of SportsBusinessClassroom.com has updated his NBA luxury tax tracker for the ’25/26 season, with 16 clubs currently below the tax line and 14 teams in tax territory. The Nets and Jazz have the most room under the tax, while the Cavaliers have — by far — the most expensive roster in the league, with a projected tax bill of nearly $164MM.
ESPN’s Zach Kram ranks the top 10 NBA rookies, writing that his list is based on how each young player has performed through the first three weeks of the season and not a projection or a prediction on who might win Rookie of the Year. Three Hornets (Sion James at No. 8, Ryan Kalkbrenner at No. 5, and Kon Knueppel at No. 3) are on Kram’s list, with Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe ranked second and Grizzlies wing Cedric Coward coming in at No. 1.

Injury Notes: Bulls, Shannon, Niang, Ivey, Kuminga, Thiero

November 14th, 2025 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Injured Bulls guards Coby White (calf) and Josh Giddey (ankle) both practiced in full on Friday, with contact, and are expected to play at some point during the team’s upcoming stretch of five games in seven days that begins on Sunday in Utah, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links).

With two separate sets of back-to-back games on tap during that week, the Bulls are still figuring out which games White and Giddey will play and what sort of workload they’ll see, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter links). That’s especially true of White, who has yet to play this season and expects to be on a restriction of about 24 minutes per game when he returns.

White joked that he’s trying to get the Bulls’ medical staff to allow him to play in all five games next week, but acknowledged that’s not realistic and said he’s “pushing for three” (Twitter link via Johnson).

Meanwhile, big man Zach Collins, who has yet to play this season while recovering from left wrist surgery, is having his splint removed and will begin passing and shooting with that left hand, head coach Billy Donovan told reporters (Twitter link via Lorenzi). Donovan added the results from a CT scan were very positive and he doesn’t think it will take long for Collins to rebuild his strength in the injured hand.

Here are a few more injury updates from across the NBA:

Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has been diagnosed with a left foot fifth metatarsal bone bruise and will be reevaluated in one week, according to a press release from the team. Shannon has already been sidelined for the past four games due to what the team was calling left foot soreness.
Jazz forward Georges Niang, who has yet to make his season debut, continues to progress through his rehab work as he makes his way back from a stress reaction of the fourth metatarsal in his left foot, the team announced today in a press release. According to the Jazz, Niang is ramping up toward a return to action and will be reevaluated in one week.
Pistons guard Jaden Ivey has begun doing on-court work as part of his rehab process following arthroscopic knee surgery, tweets Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Ivey underwent that procedure in mid-October and was ruled out at the time for at least four weeks.
The Warriors have ruled out Jonathan Kuminga for Friday’s contest vs. San Antonio due to bilateral knee tendinitis, but Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link) says there are no structural concerns with Kuminga’s knees and the forward’s absence should be “relatively short-term.”
Lakers rookie Adou Thiero has a chance to play in his first NBA regular season game on Friday, having been upgraded to probable, tweets Dan Woike of The Athletic. Thiero underwent knee surgery in college and experienced swelling in that same knee this fall, postponing his debut.

Northwest Notes: McDaniels, Bailey, Valanciunas, Blazers

November 14th, 2025 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels has been a perennial All-Defensive candidate in recent years, but didn’t command significant attention from opposing defenses. Entering this season, McDaniels had never averaged more than 12.2 points per game in a season or had a usage rate higher than 16.3%.

Early in his sixth NBA season, however, the 25-year-old is showing signs of developing into a legitimate two-way threat, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Through 11 games, McDaniels is averaging 18.4 points per game on a scorching hot .550/.538/.844 shooting line, with a 21.3% usage rate. While those shooting percentages probably aren’t sustainable, McDaniels has looked more comfortable handling the ball, getting to the rim, and creating shots for both himself and teammates, according to Krawczynski.

“We’re going to keep giving him the ball, putting the ball in his hands,” teammate Anthony Edwards said. “He can play with the ball in his hands; he’s just got to make the right play. If he makes the right play, we can be 10 times better, you know? Because he’s a great scorer. We just need him to be another facilitator for us.”

McDaniels’ talents as a perimeter defender have made him a valuable role player and quality starter despite a lack of offensive production, but if he continues to play like he has on the other end of the court, he could be on his way to establishing himself as a star in his role.

“He’s one of the best two-way players in the league,” Julius Randle said, per Krawczynski. “We’ve got to be consistent in that and keep feeding him confidence, trusting him.”

We have more from around the Northwest:

Ace Bailey‘s stats so far this season (8.7 PPG on .415/.324/.824 shooting) have been modest, but the Jazz rookie has scored double-digit points in four consecutive games and is earning praise for his team-first approach, says Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. “He’s highly intentional. He, even at 19, fits in with us. He wants to do the right thing always,” veteran big man Kevin Love said. “Ten games in, once he gets to 20, he’s gonna make another step — once he gets to 40, and once he gets a full season.”
The offseason addition of veteran center Jonas Valanciunas has allowed the Nuggets to slightly reduce Nikola Jokic‘s workload (he’s averaging 33.9 MPG after playing 36.7 last season) and to be more competitive when the three-time MVP isn’t on the floor (the team has a -4.0 net rating when Jokic sits, compared to -9.3 last season). Mark Medina of Essentially Sports spoke to Valanciunas about his experience in Denver so far and to head coach David Adelman about what the 33-year-old has brought to the team. “Attitude-wise, culture-wise, statistically, everything has been positive,” Adelman said of Valanciunas. “He brings such a good energy every day with the team. I feel like there is a part of him that is just really enjoying being on a successful team. He can be an impact guy on that team and play really important games.”
A spokesperson for Paul Allen‘s estate denied a report claiming that the Allens would be retaining a 20% stake in the Trail Blazers once the sale of the team to Tom Dundon is complete, per Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (Substack link). That spokesperson stated that the Blazers will be owned entirely by Dundon’s group once the sale closes, with the Allen estate no longer holding any shares.

Northwest Notes: Hartenstein, Edwards, Hardy, Markkanen

November 8th, 2025 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

Isaiah Hartenstein erupted for a 33-point night in the Thunder‘s win over Sacramento on Friday. Along with his career high in points, Hartenstein grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked three shots.

“He was on one today,” Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell told Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. “Hart is a great player. We were able to find him, and he had a great game. He made it very easy for us.”

Hartenstein is averaging a double-double for the banged-up Thunder, with 12.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game in the early going this season.

“He’s played great as time has gone on here,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s getting better and better with his teammates here inside the system. He was obviously highly impactful at the beginning, but he’s only gotten better, especially on the offensive side of the floor.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

In his second game back from missing four due to a right hamstring strain, Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards poured in 37 points in a 40-point romp over Utah. “He’s our leading light, and he’s got to be aggressive, and he’s got to be himself,” head coach Chris Finch told The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “That’s what we need. And I thought he played quick and clean. Thought we all did to start the game, and it was just really good, really fun to watch.”
Jazz coach Will Hardy has been very vocal this season and that’s by design, according to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. “It’s all intentional,” Hardy said. “There is a real process right now of trying to have all of our players, especially our young players, understand that every time you take the court, you’re trying to win.” Hardy’s team is currently holds a 3-6 record. “I feel like I need to give the team the urgency every single night to not let moments pass them by, to not take their minutes for granted, to not take this moment in their career for granted — because nothing’s guaranteed,” he said.
Lauri Markkanen was held to 12 points in 21 minutes on Friday but the Jazz forward is still averaging 28.3 points per game, which would easily be a career best. “He can truly play any style,” Hardy told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “He can play with anybody there. You could name any All-Star player, and I would say Lauri could play with them. Because he doesn’t dribble too much, because he’s not really an iso player, because he’s not a pick-and-roll ball handler who needs X number of screens a night. It’s nice having somebody who’s that caliber player who doesn’t necessarily dictate your style. There are certain players that dictate the style you kind of have to play. Lauri gives us a lot of flexibility. It’s a real luxury as a coach and it would appear that that would be a luxury from a team-building standpoint.”

Northwest Notes: Dudley, Jazz, Ainge, Thunder

November 5th, 2025 at 4:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jared Dudley had a lengthy NBA career. As an assistant coach with the Nuggets, Dudley now finds himself in charge of Denver’s defensive schemes. His main mission is a simple one.

“Coming up with a defense that protects (Nikola Jokic),” he told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.

Dudley is doing so by having Denver’s guards and wings take on more responsibilities at that end of the floor, so that Jokic can conserve his energy for the offensive side.

“I can’t teach (him) anything offensively. You’re already this. You’ve got that,” Dudley said. “But defensively, I can teach you. I’ve played with different centers. I’ve played with Boban (Marjanovic), who’s bigger than you and slower than you. … I only want him to think about going back to the rim, Point A to Point B. I don’t want him having him to go guard these guards on the wings, in rotations.”

We have more on the Northwest Division:

How are the Jazz‘s young players faring thus far? Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune takes a closer look, breaking down the team’s last three draft classes and evaluating each of those players’ performances.
Austin Ainge is the Jazz‘s new president of basketball operations and Larsen spoke with the Celtics’ top executive, Brad Stevens, about the son of longtime Celtics and Utah executive Danny Ainge. Stevens is confident that Austin will step out of his father’s shadow and build a winner in Utah. “He’s always been a guy that I think has a good sense for putting a team together and what wins, both in the regular season and then certainly in the playoffs,” Stevens said.
The undefeated Thunder will be playing without several rotation players in Portland tonight. Alex Caruso (rest), Luguentz Dort (right upper trapezius strain) and Chet Holmgren (lower back sprain) are all listed as out, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman tweets.

Walker Kessler To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

November 5th, 2025 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

After just five games, Walker Kessler‘s fourth NBA season is over. The Jazz center will undergo left shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the 2025/26 campaign, according to reports from Tony Jones of The Athletic and NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter links).

Kessler has been diagnosed with a torn labrum, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who confirms that the big man is out for the season.

According to Haynes (Twitter link), Kessler injured the shoulder early in training camp and recently reaggravated the injury. He’s expected to undergo the procedure on Thursday, Haynes adds.

The 22nd overall pick in the 2022 draft, Kessler was traded from Minnesota to Utah in the Rudy Gobert blockbuster that summer. The 24-year-old has since emerged as the Jazz’s starting center, establishing new career highs last season in points (11.1), rebounds (12.2), and assists (1.7) per game across 58 outings. He also matched a career high with 2.4 blocks per contest and led the NBA with 4.6 offensive rebounds per night.

Kessler started Utah’s first five games this season, averaging 14.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 3.0 APG in 30.8 MPG, before being held out of the past two contests due to what the team initially referred to as left shoulder bursitis.

Kessler’s injury probably won’t significantly impact Utah’s outlook this season — the Jazz had already been considered a very likely lottery team, given that they’ll lose their 2026 first-round pick if it lands outside the top eight. However, it’s a brutal turn of events for a young player whose contract will expire next summer after he didn’t come to terms with the team on a rookie scale extension before the regular season got underway.

Kessler will earn a salary of $4.88MM this season and will become a restricted free agent in 2026 as long as Utah issues him a $7.06MM qualifying offer. In that scenario, the Jazz – who project to have a significant chunk of cap room available – would carry a cap hold of roughly $14.64MM for Kessler. They could use his Bird rights to go over the cap to re-sign him to a starting salary higher than that once they use up their room.

With Kessler unavailable, Jusuf Nurkic figures to continue starting in the middle for the Jazz, while second-year big man Kyle Filipowski plays regular minutes off the bench. Veteran power forward Kevin Love has also entered the rotation since Kessler went down, averaging 15.5 minutes over the past two games.

Injury Notes: Smith, Harris, Lively, Middleton, Collier

November 3rd, 2025 at 7:47pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. sustained a sprained right ankle in Saturday’s win at Boston and was ruled out for Monday’s game against Dallas, tweets Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. Tari Eason, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, started in Smith’s place.

Head coach Ime Udoka is optimistic that Smith will return for Wednesday’s game in Memphis, Lerner adds.

Smith, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, signed a five-year, $122MM rookie scale extension with Houston in July. The new deal kicks in next season.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Pistons forward Tobias Harris is also dealing with a right ankle sprain and missed Monday’s contest at Memphis, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Big man Isaiah Stewart got the starting nod at power forward with Harris out, notes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Harris, 33, is on an expiring $26.6MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
Third-year center Dereck Lively II missed his fourth straight game on Monday in Houston. He will have his right knee reevaluated when the Mavericks return to Dallas, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters (Twitter link via Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News). After having his fourth-year option exercised, Lively will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason.
Veteran forward Khris Middleton missed his first game of the season on Monday against New York, the Wizards announced (Twitter link). Middleton, who was initially listed as questionable before being ruled out, is battling a left elbow contusion. The three-time All-Star is earning $33.3MM this season and will be a free agent in 2026.
Isaiah Collier is active on Monday for the first time this season after battling a right hamstring strain, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. However, Jazz head coach Will Hardy suggested prior to the game that he wasn’t sure whether or not the second-year point guard would actually play against the Celtics. The Jazz picked up their third-year option on Collier last week, locking in his $2,763,960 salary for 2026/27.