Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Zaire Wade Expected To Join Jazz's G League Team

October 12th, 2021 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Dwyane Wade‘s son Zaire Wade is signing an NBA G League contract and is expected to land with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s NBAGL affiliate, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Dwyane is, of course, a part-owner of the Jazz.

The Jazz could secure Zaire’s G League rights for Salt Lake City by signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract and making him an affiliate player. But if the team doesn’t go that route and the younger Wade signs a general G League contract, the Stars would likely select him in the NBAGL draft on October 23.

Bojan Bogdanovic Participating Fully In Practice

October 10th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic was a full participant in practice Friday and Saturday after dealing with a sore shoulder, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.

One Reason Rudy Gay Joined The Jazz

October 8th, 2021 at 10:10pm CST by Rory Maher

One reason the Jazz appealed to Rudy Gay in free agency is they had the best regular season record in the NBA last season, so he doesn’t feel any pressure to rush his recovery process following heel surgery, tweets Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Gay Had Surgery On Right Heel

October 7th, 2021 at 8:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jared Butler has been the talk of the Jazz‘s training camp but he’ll have to exercise patience when it comes to playing time, Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune writes. The 40th pick of the draft won’t immediately take backcourt minutes away from Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson or Joe Ingles.

Jazz forward Rudy Gay underwent offseason surgery on his right heel, Walden tweets. It was previously reported that the surgery was done on his left heel. Gay is still working his way back from the surgery and isn’t expected to be ready for opening night.

Western Notes: Jazz, Payton II, Prince, Forrest

October 3rd, 2021 at 8:58pm CST by JD Shaw

Some newcomers on the Jazz made a strong impression during the team’s open practice on Saturday, as relayed by NBA.com. Utah welcomed thousands of fans to partake in a Q&A with head coach Quin Snyder and watch the final part of a team scrimmage via Zoom.

Players such as Hassan Whiteside, Eric Paschall and Jared Butler all played well. Whiteside joined the Jazz on a one-year, minimum deal this summer after spending last season with the Kings. He made the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team in 2016 and led the league in rebounding in 2017.

“His half roll, his short roll, obviously his floater,” Jazz star Donovan Mitchell said of Whiteside, specifically noting his game on the offensive end as well. “He’s done it against us, he’s done it for his whole career, I think that’s one thing that he brings.”

There’s more out of the Western Conference:

Warriors guard Gary Payton II has been limited in training camp as he recovers from an offseason hernia issue, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Slater notes in a separate tweet that Payton will be re-evaluated in one week, which could impact his chances of making the regular-season roster. As of now, veteran Avery Bradley appears most likely to receive the team’s final roster spot, according to Slater.
Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince is ready to get a fresh start in his first campaign with the team, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes. Prince underwent arthroscopic surgery on his ankle last April, and the 27-year-old now has a prime opportunity to compete for playing time in Minnesota’s frontcourt this season.
Sarah Todd of The Deseret News examines whether guard Trent Forrest could expand his role with the Jazz this year. Forrest, who’s on a two-way contract, appeared in 30 games (10.1 minutes per contest) with the club last season.

Jazz Release Justin James

October 1st, 2021 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have waived swingman Justin James, the team announced today in a press release. James had been occupying one of Utah’s two-way slots.

James spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings after being selected 40th overall in the 2019 draft out of Wyoming. He didn’t play a regular role for Sacramento, but appeared in 72 games across two seasons, averaging 3.2 PPG and 0.9 RPG with a shooting line of .446/.343/.544 in 7.5 minutes per contest. The 24-year-old was waived by the Kings earlier this offseason and signed a two-way deal with Utah last week.

The decision to waive James comes as a bit of a surprise, given how recently he was signed. If the Jazz had been aiming to secure his G League rights, they would’ve inked him to an Exhibit 10 contract, so perhaps the team had a change of heart about how it wants to fill its second two-way slot. Trent Forrest is Utah’s other two-way player.

With James on waivers, the Jazz now have 19 players under contract.

Rudy Gay Expected To Miss Start Of Season

October 1st, 2021 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

Jazz forward Rudy Gay won’t be ready to make his debut for his new team during the preseason or even by the start of the regular season, head coach Quin Snyder told reporters on Friday.

As Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune details, Gay underwent surgery on his left heel shortly after the 2020/21 season ended and is still recovering. He has been going through portions of practice with the Jazz, but hasn’t yet been cleared for contact, Walden writes. Gay is expected to remain sidelined through at least opening night.

Meanwhile, another Jazz forward – Bojan Bogdanovic – has also been held out of the full-contact portions of the team’s practices, according to Walden. However, it sounds like Bogdanovic is closer to returning to action than Gay. A team spokesperson said that Bogdanovic is experiencing some shoulder soreness and is being rested out of caution. If the regular season had begun, he’d likely be able to play, says Walden.

Jazz Notes: Gay, Front Office Changes, Vaccination Rate, Training Camp

September 28th, 2021 at 9:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Speaking to reporters at the team’s Media Day this week, forward Rudy Gay explained his interest in joining the Jazz this summer after spending four seasons as an effective tweener forward with the Spurs.

“I’ve played with [All-Star point guard Mike Conley] before, and it’s always good to know a guy on the team,” the 6’8″ Gay said of the decision, according to Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter).

Gay also mentioned that Jazz head coach Quin Snyder delivered a heck of a pitch in an effective 45-to-60-minute recruitment discussion, per Walden. Utah inked the 35-year-old to a three-year, $18.6MM deal this summer, with a player option for the 2023/24 season. In his 15th NBA season, Gay averaged 11.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 1.4 APG. He also boasted solid shooting splits of .420/.381/.804 across 63 games.

There’s more out of Utah:

The Jazz have recently announced a series on front office changes, per Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). The most significant change among these transitions is assistant general manager David Morway‘s decision to become the club’s senior basketball advisor, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Morway, who played a big role in recruiting the aforementioned Gay to Utah, reportedly opted to change his role in an effort to spend more time with his family, Jones adds (Twitter link).
In some exciting health news for the Jazz, general manager Justin Zanik stated that Utah’s entire organization is vaccinated during his Media Day presser, per Tony Jones of The Athletic (via Twitter).
The Jazz were off and running for their first day training camp for the 2021/22 season, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “We didn’t spend too much time on teaching much stuff,” Conley reflected following the club’s first practice. “Normally in training camp you spend a good amount of time just walking around and going through detail after detail. With the vets we brought in … we’re allowed to just skip all that and just go straight to live action or working on different things that can expedite our situation as a team. So having that kind of group is huge.” The Jazz were the top seed in the West for the 2020/21 season, but were knocked out in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. This revamped club, boasting more frontcourt flexibility and hoping for better health from its All-Star backcourt of Conley and Donovan Mitchell in the playoffs, appears hopeful to prove itself all over again.

Marques Bolden, Malik Fitts Join Jazz For Training Camp

September 28th, 2021 at 8:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

8:04pm: The Jazz confirmed the additions of Bolden and Fitts in a press release.

4:57pm: The Jazz have agreed to add a tandem of frontcourt players, center Marques Bolden and power forward Malik Fitts, ahead of training camp, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). Though terms of the deals have yet to be divulged, they are most likely Exhibit 10 contracts, generally the standard practice of training camp agreements. This brings Utah’s total training camp tally to 20 players.

After going undrafted in 2020 out of Saint Mary’s, the 6’8″ Fitts joined the training camp roster of the Clippers ahead of the 2020/21 season. He suited up for Los Angeles’s NBA G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, during the 2021 NBAGL “bubble” in Orlando. Fitts averaged 11.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 1.4 APG. He joined Los Angeles on a 10-day contract in the spring of 2021, appearing in just three games, averaging 3.7 MPG.

The 6’10” Bolden, meanwhile, went undrafted out of Duke in 2019. After playing for the Cavaliers’ Summer League club in 2019, he joined Cleveland’s training camp team before ultimately being waived. He then joined Cleveland’s NBA G League affiliate club, the Canton Charge (now the Cleveland Charge). He joined the Cavaliers on a 10-day deal and suited up for one game.

During the 2020/21 season, Bolden served as a two-way player for Cleveland, appearing in six games as a deep bench reserve. Cleveland waived him from its roster, but added him again to its G League affiliate later. Bolden averaged 9.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 2.1 BPG across 10 games for the Charge during the truncated 2020/21 G League “bubble” season.

Both players will be able to compete for roster spots with the Jazz. Utah has 13 players inked to fully guaranteed contracts, although one player, third-year swingman Miye Oni, is on a non-guaranteed deal until January and may have the edge in claiming an eventual roster spot. Both of the team’s two-way contract slots are currently occupied.

Key Training Camp Questions For Jazz

September 24th, 2021 at 10:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Sarah Todd of The Deseret News examines nine questions the Jazz should answer by the end of training camp next week, including whether their star guards – Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley – are healthy and pain-free after dealing with injuries late last season.