Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Favors, Thunder, Clarkson, Rubio

March 21st, 2021 at 3:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Longtime Jazz reserve big man Derrick Favors spoke extensively with Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune about his past and sunny new future with Utah, noting that he wasn’t surprised when Utah sent him to the Pelicans for future draft equity during the 2019 offseason to clear cap space for incoming point guard Mike Conley‘s contract.

“I wanted to be here,” Favors said. “I wanted to stay. I thought I was going to stay. But it was because of the money, the business side.”

The Jazz could have declined their $18MM team option on Favors for the 2019/20 season, but the Pelicans were happy to pay that sum in full upon making a deal. “If Utah would have waived me, I would have lost a lot of money, but they ended up trading me, and I’m blessed and thankful that New Orleans was willing to pick up that option for me,” Favors noted.

Favors’ Pelicans teammates raved about his fit within the club’s locker room and on the court. “Nothing but respect for D-Fav,” New Orleans guard Lonzo Ball said. “We know he did all the little things that we needed to win games.”

Favors was excited to get another opportunity in the 2020 offseason with the Jazz, who were all business in their recruitment.

“They literally just said, ‘Hey, you want to come back? We want you, here’s what we’re offering. Do you want to take it or not?’ It kinda felt like that!” Favors noted. “I didn’t want to waste my time or waste an opportunity… and I knew with Utah that they had other guys that they wanted to go after if I didn’t commit, so I didn’t want to waste Utah’s time.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The Thunder will likely receive inquiries on just about every player on their roster, as team president Sam Presti looks to acquire even more future draft picks, but Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman thinks veteran role players like George Hill, Al Horford, and Mike Muscala could be next in line to be dealt.
Jazz reserve guard Jordan Clarkson, the current favorite for 2021 Sixth Man of the Year honors at present, has taken a massive stride in his scoring output — but the growth of his passing deserves recognition, too, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “It’s just another growth part of my game that I’m trying to keep improving on,” Clarkson said.
After a rough start to the 2020/21 season, Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio has turned things around in the month of March, so much so that the 30-year-old vet has become a potential trade chip for a Minnesota team that now may not want to deal him away as the deadline looms, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. A reinvigorated Rubio seems to have developed great chemistry with No. 1 2020 draft pick Anthony Edwards and (former No. 1 draft pick) Karl-Anthony Towns.

NBA Concludes Millsap/Lindsey Investigation

March 16th, 2021 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced on Monday that it has concluded its investigation into Elijah Millsap‘s allegations that Jazz executive Dennis Lindsey made a racially insensitive comment during a 2015 exit meeting and found no evidence to support the claim, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The league interviewed Lindsey, GM Justin Zanik, and head coach Quin Snyder – all of whom were present at the meeting – as well as Millsap and agent Daniel Hazan. Lindsey, Zanik, and Snyder all denied the statement was made, while Hazan said Millsap hadn’t made him aware of it during his two season with the Jazz, per Wojnarowski.

Jazz Notes: Ilyasova, Fans, Mitchell, Gobert

March 12th, 2021 at 10:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ersan Ilyasova, who signed with the Jazz earlier this week, won’t get rushed into action, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Ilyasova bided his time in free agency, waiting for an opportunity this season, until Utah came calling.

“I think he’s anxious to contribute in any way that he can,” coach Quin Snyder said. “We don’t expect him to show up and be ready to go right away. That’s not to say that he won’t be in many senses, but there’s an adjustment period, and we’re patient with him. I want him to be patient with himself.”

Ilyasova jumped at the chance to join the team with the league’s best record, as a story posted on the team’s website notes. The veteran forward played for the Bucks the past two seasons.

“The communication is there. They trust each other,” he said. “I watched the games before — the way they play and the chemistry is at a high level. When you see the way they play, share the ball, move the ball, everybody back each other, this is what it takes to win a championship.”

We have more on the Jazz:

The team will allow more fans into Vivint Smart Home Arena during the second half of the season, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. Utah will host a max of 5,600 fans into the arena, which has a capacity of 18,300.
An article in The Athletic last spring suggested that the relationship between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert was irreparably damaged after Mitchell believed he contracted COVID-19 from his teammate. However, the two All-Stars are on very good terms now and that earlier report actually helped them patch things up, Mitchell told Jones in an in-depth article. “It brought out a level of determination in both of us that we never had,” Mitchell said. “I never had a controversy like that. Here we were, the two pillars of the team, and we had to go to the playoffs in two months. It brought out a different level of tenacity in both of us.”
Are Gobert and Jordan Clarkson the frontrunners for Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year, respectively? Join our discussion on the NBA’s 2020/21 awards right here.

Jazz Sign Ersan Ilyasova

March 10th, 2021 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 10: The Jazz have officially signed Ilyasova, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

MARCH 9: Free agent power forward Ersan Ilyasova has agreed to a sign a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract with the Jazz, sources tell Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Schultz, Ilyasova is expected to officially sign on Wednesday after completing the COVID-19 protocol.

Ilyasova, who made his NBA debut back in 2006, has appeared in over 800 regular season contests for the Bucks and five other teams. In 2019/20, he averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG with a .466/.365/.828 shooting line in 63 games (15.7 MPG) for Milwaukee.

Last season’s 36.5% mark from three-point range matches Ilyasova’s career rate, and his ability to stretch the floor from the power forward spot has been valuable over the years. While he’s not the most switchable or versatile defender, the 33-year-old has shown an uncanny knack over the years for taking charges on the defensive end.

Utah has had plenty of success this season with a forward rotation that includes Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, and Georges Niang, so it’s unclear if Ilyasova will see action outside of garbage time or if he’ll simply provide some extra frontcourt depth.

The Jazz had been carrying 13 players on standard contracts since waiving Shaquille Harrison on February 24. Since the NBA allows teams to dip below the required 14-player minimum for only two weeks at a time, they needed to add a player before the second half got underway this week, as we detailed on Monday. After signing Ilyasova, Utah will still have an open spot on its 15-man roster, but won’t have to fill it immediately — or at all.

Ilyasova will earn $17,567 per day for the rest of the regular season, with Utah’s cap hit working out to $11,100 per day. The exact rest-of-season figures will depend on when he officially signs — assuming it happens on Wednesday, he’ll earn $1,194,542 with a cap charge of $754,783.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Community Shootaround: Utah Jazz

March 8th, 2021 at 9:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The team with the best record in the NBA gets precious little respect.

The Jazz reached the All-Star break ahead of the pack in the rugged Western Conference but no one seems to take them seriously. Back in January, TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal refused to give Donovan Mitchell the superstar label, claiming that Mitchell doesn’t impact the game beyond scoring.

When it came time to choose sides in the NBA All-Star draft last week, Mitchell and Rudy Gobert were the last two picks by Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

“There’s no slander to the Utah Jazz,” James claimed. “You guys got to understand, just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah. Even as great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we would never pick those guys in video games. Never.”

Mitchell was not pleased by the perceived insult.

The best way for the Jazz to respond is to finish what they started. The Jazz have been a playoff team the last four seasons. They got knocked out in the first round the last two years after getting eliminated in the conference semifinals in back-to-back seasons.

Last season, Mitchell tried to will his team past Denver, averaging 36.3 PPG in an epic seven-game series, but the Jazz came up just short in Game 7.

Utah didn’t have Bojan Bogdanovic in that series due to a wrist injury. Otherwise, the Jazz have virtually the same rotation as they did at the end of last year. Their chemistry makes them tough to beat in the regular season but the postseason is a different animal, when the biggest stars shine.

That brings us to our topic of the day: Can the Jazz finally overcome their recent history and make a deep playoff run? Or is the team with the best record in the NBA destined for another early-round flameout?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Several 10-Day Contracts Expire; Multiple Teams Have Roster Spots To Fill

March 8th, 2021 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

All seven of the 10-day contracts that were signed during the final week of February have now expired. As our 10-day tracker shows, that list included three Nets deals (Tyler Cook, Iman Shumpert, and Andre Roberson), along with contracts signed by the Pelicans (Sindarius Thornwell), Raptors (Donta Hall), Lakers (Damian Jones), and Kings (Norvel Pelle).

None of those players have been re-signed to a second 10-day deal so far, but that comes as no surprise. The five teams that had players on 10-day contracts won’t begin their second-half schedules until Thursday at the earliest (Friday for the Lakers), so it doesn’t make sense to sign someone to a 10-day contract now and waste the first few days of the deal.

That doesn’t mean that all the players listed above will get a second 10-day stint with their respective teams later this week, but some of them seem like good bets to stick around a little longer. Jones, for instance, looked good during his 10 days as a Laker, putting up eight points in eight minutes in his first appearance and earning a start in Sacramento last Wednesday.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that the Lakers and Pelicans are now carrying 13 players on standard contracts, while the Nets are carrying just 12. The NBA requires teams to have a minimum of 14 players under contract (not counting two-ways), but clubs are permitted to dip below that minimum for two weeks at a time.

So even if those three clubs decide not to bring back the same players on 10-day contracts, they’ll have to add a player (two players in Brooklyn’s case, but one will be Blake Griffin) at some point during the next couple weeks.

The Jazz are also in this boat, but will have to add a player even sooner. They dipped to 13 players on standard contracts when they waived Shaquille Harrison on February 24, so we can probably expect them to sign a player to a 10-day deal before the second-half schedule gets underway this week.

The Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Rockets, Clippers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Suns, Trail Blazers, Kings, Spurs, and Raptors also have openings on their 15-man rosters, but aren’t under any pressure to fill them in the near future, since they’re all at the 14-player minimum.

Most teams with open roster spots will fill them before the end of the regular season, but for the time being, it makes sense for those teams to either hold them open or fill them with players on 10-day deals in order to maximize their roster flexibility for the March 25 trade deadline.

Mike Conley Replaces Devin Booker In All-Star Game

March 5th, 2021 at 7:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz guard Mike Conley has been named by Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured Suns guard Devin Booker on Team Durant in Sunday’s All-Star Game, according to a league press release.

It’s the first All-Star appearance for Conley, who is in his 14th NBA season. He’ll also sub for Booker in the 3-Point Contest, which will be held prior to the game.

Conley is averaging 16.1 PPG and 5.7 APG in 29 games this season for Utah, which has the league’s best record at 27-9. He joins Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell on Team Durant. Another Jazz starter, Rudy Gobert, is on Team LeBron.

Booker will miss the All-Star extravaganza due to a left knee sprain. He had been named as an injury replacement for Lakers forward Anthony Davis.

According to NBA rules, when a player selected to the All-Star Game is unable to participate, the Commissioner shall choose a replacement from the same conference.

Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert Fined By NBA

March 5th, 2021 at 12:54pm CST by Ben Stinar

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has been fined $25K for his public criticism of officials and his conduct upon leaving the court after being ejected on Wednesday, the NBA announced today in a press release.

As we previously detailed, Mitchell blasted the officiating after Wednesday’s loss to the Sixers, which saw him ejected in overtime when he picked up a pair of technical fouls. He knocked over Utah’s water cooler on his way off the floor (video link).

“We won this game in my personal opinion… It’s getting f—ing ridiculous,” Mitchell said post-game.

In addition to Mitchell, teammate Rudy Gobert was hit with a $20K fine of his own, per the NBA. Gobert, like Mitchell, is being disciplined for his public criticism of the officiating, which he said was “disrespectful” to the Jazz.

How Jazz Could Still Sneak Below Tax Line

March 4th, 2021 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

After waiving Shaquille Harrison last week, the Jazz are still about $1.2MM above the luxury tax line, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who suggests Utah could still get out of tax territory by paying a team to take on Juwan Morgan‘s contract before the trade deadline, then filling its open roster spots off-and-on with 10-day contracts for the rest of the season. Of course, a bigger trade that reduces team salary would also work.

Jazz Stars Mitchell, Gobert Blast Officiating After Loss To Sixers

March 4th, 2021 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

Following a tight 131-123 overtime loss to the Sixers in a battle of No. 1 seeds on Wednesday, Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert were among those critical of the officiating, suggesting the referees affected the outcome of the game, as relayed by Sarah Todd of The Deseret News and Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“It’s tough to go out there and see how we fight and compete, and to have a game like that taken from us,” Mitchell said, after praising the Sixers for their performance. “Now, I’m never ever one to blame a ref, to blame an official – I can say I could have done more – but this is getting out of hand. There have been games like this that we’ve won; there have been games like this that we’ve lost. But this whole refereeing stuff. … We’re nice, we don’t complain, we don’t get frustrated, we fight through things, and the fact (is) that we continually get … screwed, in a way, by this.

“We won this game, in my personal opinion. You know?” Mitchell went on. “But like I said, I’m going to give them credit. They won. Whatever. Cool. But it’s been a consistent thing, and the question is, ‘Can we do it? Can we sustain it? Are we for real No. 1?’ And, yeah, the hell we are. And it’s getting f—ing ridiculous that this is what is happening.”

Mitchell was called for a pair of technical fouls in overtime — the second came after he yelled at the game’s officials for what he believed was a missed foul call. The 76ers, who shoot more free throws than any other team in the NBA, had way more opportunities from the foul line than the Jazz on Wednesday, going 27-for-35, compared to 14-of-19 for Utah.

“Our guys are not able to get calls everybody else in the f—ing league gets,” Gobert said. “We know we are the Utah Jazz, and maybe some people don’t want to see us go as far as we can go, but it’s disappointing. Three times in a row, Mike Conley is going to the rim, and they’re grabbing him right in front of the officials, and there’s no calls. And on the other end, there are calls that are invisible that are being made.”

Gobert went on to say that the way the Jazz are treated by officials is “disrespectful,” and that he hopes they feel “ashamed” if they rewatch the game. The All-Star center also pointed to Utah’s small market as one reason he believes the team isn’t getting a fair whistle.

“I don’t want to say that, but I really believe it” Gobert said. “… That’s why I told the guys: ‘When you’re a small market, you’ve got to be better than just better. You’ve got to be elite, and you’ve got to control what you can control.'”

The Jazz’s 27-9 record is the NBA’s best mark by a full three games, so if the team has been held back at all by the officiating in the first half, it hasn’t shown up in the standings.

While the NBA never suspends players for complaints about officiating, fines aren’t uncommon, so it’s probably safe to assume Mitchell and Gobert should prepare to write checks to the league.