Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rudy Gay Signs With Jazz

August 3rd, 2021 at 10:25am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 6: Gay has officially signed his contract with the Jazz, the team announced today in a press release.

“Rudy brings a valuable veteran presence to the Jazz which will only enhance our group as it continues to evolve,” Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said in a statement. “He’s proven to be one of the most consistent players in the NBA over his 15-year career and we’re thrilled for him to join our club.”

AUGUST 3: The Jazz have reached an agreement with veteran forward Rudy Gay, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

It will be a two-year deal worth $12.1MM with a player option for the second season, according to his agents, Raymond Brothers and Sam Permut (Twitter link). Utah will use its taxpayer mid-level exception, adds John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Gay, who will turn 35 this month, spent the last four seasons with the Spurs, where he was a reliable contributor off the bench for Gregg Popovich. He averaged 11.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 63 games last season, which was his 15th in the NBA.

Gay will join Utah’s big man rotation in place of Derrick Favors, who was traded to the Thunder last week. He also reunites with re-signed point guard Mike Conley, a former teammate with the Grizzlies.

The Jazz will be limited to minimum-salary contracts for any further free agent signings.

Trade Rumors: Simmons, Baynes, Lakers, Cash

August 2nd, 2021 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

David Aldridge of The Athletic is the latest reporter to confirm that the Sixers‘ asking price for Ben Simmons remains “sky high.” According to Aldridge, the 76ers are seeking a minimum of two future first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps, and an All-Star level player in most of their discussions about Simmons. A handful of other reports within the last week have passed along details on what kind of packages Philadelphia sought from Toronto, San Antonio, and Golden State for Simmons.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA, with free agency about to begin:

The Raptors are exploring the trade market for center Aron Baynes, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Baynes has a non-guaranteed $7.35MM salary for 2021/22 and seems unlikely to return to Toronto. If the team doesn’t find a taker on the trade market, he’s a candidate to be released.
In an in-depth look at how the Lakers‘ acquisition of Russell Westbrook came about, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne shares several fascinating tidbits, including the fact that Westbrook called Kawhi Leonard in 2019 to talk about playing together in Los Angeles. According to Shelburne, the Lakers had been prepared to move forward on a Buddy Hield acquisition before the opportunity to land Westbrook arose.
Within his recap of last week’s draft activity, John Hollinger of The Athletic provides a housekeeping notes on trades, writing that the Trail Blazers sent $2MM in cash to the Pelicans as part of their trade for the No. 43 pick, while the Thunder sent $2MM in cash to the Jazz in the Derrick Favors trade.

Jazz Rumors: Conley, Niang, MLE, Porter, Gay

August 2nd, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz remain on track to finalize an agreement on a three-year contract with Mike Conley once free agency officially opens tonight, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic. Previous reports have indicated that Utah is the strong frontrunner to bring back Conley and that the team is preparing a three-year offer in the neighborhood of $75MM for the veteran point guard. Based on Jones’ report, it sounds like that hasn’t changed and a deal could be in place later today.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

League sources tell Jones that free agent forward Georges Niang is highly unlikely to return to the Jazz, since he’s unrestricted and is expected to draw significant interest from rival suitors.
Even though the Conley signing will take them well over the luxury tax line, the Jazz are willing to use the taxpayer’s mid-level exception (worth about $5.9MM) in free agency, writes Jones. However, the team won’t use it just for the sake of using it, and will want to land one of its primary targets.
Otto Porter and Rudy Gay are among the free agent forwards on Utah’s radar, according to Jones. However, Jones hears that Porter may be leaning toward the Nets, while Gay is believed to be eyeing the Lakers.
Following up on Utah’s trade that sent Derrick Favors to Oklahoma City, Jones reports that Favors will meet with the Thunder‘s front office on Tuesday. That meeting is expected to determine whether Favors sticks with OKC or whether another trade could be forthcoming. It’s worth noting that the Jazz wouldn’t be permitted to re-sign Favors if he were bought out by the Thunder, though a buyout is unlikely anyway since he has two years left on his contract.

Jazz Waive Matt Thomas

August 1st, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by JD Shaw

The Jazz have waived second-year wing Matt Thomas, the team announced on its website today. Thomas appeared in a total of 45 games with the Raptors and Jazz during the 2020/21 season.

Utah, having acquired Thomas from Toronto in exchange for a future second-round pick in March, chose not to guarantee his $1.78MM salary for next season.

The 26-year-old shooting guard averaged 3.1 PPG and 1.0 RPG with a .338 3PT% in 45 total games (7.2 MPG) with the Raptors and Jazz this season.

Thomas went undrafted in 2017 after spending four seasons at Iowa State. He then latched on with the Lakers’ summer league team one month later, spending the following two years overseas.

QO Roundup: Perry, Stanley, Brantley, Forrest, Coffey

August 1st, 2021 at 9:56am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets will extend a qualifying offer to power forward Reggie Perry, tweets Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. The 57th pick in the 2020 draft, Perry was acquired in a trade with the Clippers and earned a two-way contract as a rookie. He appeared in 26 games last season, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per night.

Because Perry was a two-way player with just one season in Brooklyn, his qualifying offer is limited to one year with a $50K guarantee. The QO means he will be restricted, giving the Nets the right to match any offer when free agency starts Monday.

There are a few more qualifying offers to round up:

Cassius Stanley received a QO from the Pacers, according to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). The shooting guard was also a rookie two-way player, so his offer is subject to the same terms as Perry’s. Stanely got into 24 games, averaging 1.5 PPG.
The Jazz extended qualifying offers to Jarrell Brantley and Trent Forrest, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Brantley, a power forward, averaged 2.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 28 games in his second NBA season, while Forrest, a rookie point guard, appeared in 30 games, averaging 2.9 points and 1.5 assists per night. Both are two-way players.
The Clippers made a qualifying offer to Amir Coffey, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The second-year shooting guard, also on a two-way contract, got into 44 games, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.0 RPG.

Jazz Not Expected To Extend QO To Juwan Morgan

July 31st, 2021 at 3:12pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Jazz are not expected to tender a qualifying offer to 24-year-old forward Juwan Morgan, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. If Morgan doesn’t receive a QO, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Although Morgan’s shooting dipped in his second season, Jones suggests that he is expected to have suitors on the open market because of his defense and his performance for the Jazz during the 2020 playoffs as a rookie, including starting multiple games.

Morgan saw his playing time drop in 2020/21, both in the regular season and the playoffs, though the fact that Utah’s better health luck and stronger depth played a part in that decline.

Jones adds that the two sides have not closed the door on a reunion, as the QO decision is more about the Jazz’s limited cap flexibility as they attempt to continue building a championship roster than it is about a lack of faith in Morgan as a player.

Northwest Notes: Wolves, J. Butler, Mudiay, Favors

July 31st, 2021 at 12:51pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Timberwolves‘ second stint with former No. 5 overall pick Ricky Rubio wasn’t the fairy tale reunion either side hoped for, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic in a breakdown of the team’s trade with Cleveland and what it means for the Wolves moving forward.

While the Wolves are receiving solid three-and-D wing Taurean Prince as the return for Rubio, Krawczynski writes that Prince isn’t viewed as the solution to the team’s long-running search for a starting power forward, but rather as a rotation wing.

One benefit to the deal is an added $4.8MM in cap flexibility, which could allow the Wolves to use their entire taxpayer mid-level exception while possibly adding last year’s first round pick Leandro Bolmaro as well. Kracwzynski writes that the team explored trades into the draft and for Hawksforward Danilo Gallinari, but in the end were satisfied with the return of Prince.

We have more news from around the Northwest Division:

Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune details the Jazz‘s excitement upon trading down in the draft to land Baylor guard Jared Butler with the 40th pick, as well as two future second rounders. Butler, whom Utah was initially targeting in the first round, is viewed as someone who can play off the bench immediately, or even fill in should the Jazz lose Mike Conley to free agency.
Veteran point guard Emmanuel Mudiay will play for the Trail Blazers during Summer League, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The former No. 7 pick has bounced around the league since being traded from the team that drafted him, the Nuggets, to the Knicks in 2018, but the 25-year-old will be looking for a chance to get his career back on track with a strong showing in Las Vegas.
Derrick Favors was caught off-guard by the trade that will send him from the Jazz to the Thunder,writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. “Honestly, I’m still trying to process what happened,” Favors said. “It was tough to go to New Orleans, but I thought that there was a chance that I would come back to Utah. Now, I know this is it. So, there’s a lot to think about and a lot to work out.”

Jazz Trade Derrick Favors To Thunder

July 30th, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

11:58am: The Thunder have officially confirmed the trade, announcing in a press release that they received Favors and a future first-round pick in exchange for a 2027 second-rounder and cash.

Oklahoma City likely took on Favors’ contract using the $10.1MM trade exception it had available from last year’s Danilo Gallinari trade. The Jazz will create a new $9.26MM trade exception in the swap.

7:10am: The Thunder and Jazz are in agreement on a trade that will send Favors and a future first-round pick to Oklahoma City in exchange for a future second-rounder, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Utah is sending its 2022 first-round pick (top-six protected) to Memphis in another deal, so the first-rounder going to Oklahoma City figures to be in 2024 or later due to the Stepien rule.

6:40am: The Thunder and Jazz are engaged in serious talks on a potential trade that would send center Derrick Favors from Utah to Oklahoma City, according to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Favors, 30, signed a three-year contract with Utah last fall and posted modest numbers in his first season back with the team after a year in New Orleans. Favors averaged a career-low 5.4 PPG to go along with 5.5 RPG and 1.0 BPG in 68 games (15.3 MPG). It was his first NBA season in which he didn’t start a single game.

Favors’ contract isn’t especially onerous — he has a $9.7MM guaranteed salary for 2021/22, followed by a $10.2MM player option for 2022/23. However, it’ll likely be considered a negative asset given his dip in production last season and the fact that the Jazz are facing a serious cap crunch. If Utah re-signs Mike Conley and doesn’t dump any salary, the team will face a substantial tax bill next season.

As a point of comparison, when the Pistons agreed to send Mason Plumlee to the Hornets on Thursday, Detroit moved down 20 spots in the draft to do so (from No. 37 to 57). Plumlee was more productive in 2020/21 than Favors and is owed less guaranteed money going forward.

The Thunder are no strangers to accommodating salary dumps, having used that approach multiple times to add to their stockpile of future draft picks within the last couple years. They could take on Favors without sending any money back to the Jazz by using one of their trade exceptions or by opening up cap room once the new league year begins.

It’s unclear what sort of asset the Jazz might attach to Favors to get a deal done. There were rumors earlier in the week that they were discussing possible trades involving the big man and the No. 30 pick, but a 2021 selection is less likely to be involved now that all of those picks have been made. As such, Utah and Oklahoma City may be discussing a future draft asset.

Jazz Preparing Three-Year Offer For Mike Conley

July 30th, 2021 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz will be “pressing hard” to re-sign point guard Mike Conley in free agency next week and are preparing an offer that’s expected to be in the range of $75MM over three years, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Multiple reports this week have stated that Utah is considered likely to re-sign Conley, who is the team’s top priority in free agency. There was an expectation that the Jazz may have to shed some salary in order to comfortably re-sign Conley, since they would’ve been in line for a massive luxury tax bill if they’d brought him back at a reasonable rate without making any other roster moves.

Utah has indeed lined up a deal to dump a contract, having reportedly agreed to trade Derrick Favors to Oklahoma City, which is another signal that the club is confident about its chances of re-signing Conley.

Conley, 33, had an up-and-down first year in Utah in 2019/20, but bounced back this past season, averaging 16.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 3.5 RPG with a .444/.412/.852 shooting line in 51 games (29.4 MPG). He earned his first All-Star appearance in his 14th NBA season.

If Conley returns to Utah, it’ll take one of this year’s top free agents off the board, but there will still be plenty of intriguing point guards available for teams looking for upgrades at the position, including Kyle Lowry, Spencer Dinwiddie, and RFA Lonzo Ball.

Jazz Sign MaCio Teague To Exhibit 10 Deal

July 30th, 2021 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 15: The Jazz have officially signed Teague, per a team press release.

JULY 30: The Jazz have agreed to sign undrafted rookie MaCio Teague to an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

After beginning his college career at UNC Asheville, Teague transferred to Baylor for his junior year and played a key role on the 2021 national champions as a senior. The 6’4″ guard was the Bears’ second-leading scorer with 15.9 PPG on .478/.395/.831 shooting in 30 games (31.7 MPG). He also chipped in 4.0 RPG and 1.7 APG.

An Exhibit 10 deal should give Teague the opportunity to attend training camp with the Jazz. While he may be a long shot for a regular season roster spot, the 24-year-old could be converted to a two-way contract or might become an affiliate player for Utah’s G League club, the Salt Lake City Stars.