Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Sign Jordan Bell To One-Year Deal

July 12th, 2019 at 10:24pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12, 10:24pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 1, 6:02pm: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement on a guaranteed one-year deal with free agent big man Jordan Bell, agents Aaron Mintz and Michael Tellem of CAA tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (via Twitter), it’s a one-year, $1.6MM deal. Bell’s minimum salary for the 2019/20 season will be $1,620,564, so it sounds like that will be the value of his new deal with Minnesota.

Bell is technically a restricted free agent, having received a qualifying offer from the Warriors last week. However, based on the reporting, it sounds like Golden State will probably rescind that QO, freeing Bell up to sign outright with Minnesota. Offer sheets must span at least two seasons, and a sign-and-trade deal must be for at least three years (albeit with just one guaranteed). We’ll wait on additional details to be sure.

A former second-round pick, Bell averaged 3.3 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 68 games (11.6 MPG) for the Warriors in his sophomore season. According to Mark Medina of The Mercury News (via Twitter), the 24-year-old also received interest from the Rockets, Thunder, and Jazz. Medina adds that Bell zeroed in on Minnesota since he felt like it was his best opportunity for a bigger role.

Sixers Sign Raul Neto

July 12th, 2019 at 8:10am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 12: The Sixers have officially signed Neto to his new contract, the team announced today in a press release.

“By adding Raul to our roster, we’ve gained an experienced and valuable veteran who is a tremendous passer with great court vision,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “We’re fortunate that he’s now a member of the 76ers and we’re eager to integrate him into our team.”

JULY 3: Raul Neto, who was waived Sunday by the Jazz, will sign with the Sixers when the moratorium lifts on Saturday, tweets Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. It will be a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Utah had to get rid of Neto’s $2.15MM salary to open enough cap space to complete a trade with Memphis for Mike Conley. Neto’s contract for next season would have become fully guaranteed on July 6.

Neto, 27, had spent his entire four-year career with the Jazz after they acquired his draft rights from the Hawks. He has been a valuable backup point guard at times, but has only played 40, 41 and 37 games the past three seasons. He averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 assists this year in about 13 minutes per night.

The Sixers need a new point guard off their bench after losing free agent T.J. McConnell, who will sign with the Pacers.

Terrence Ross Says He Received Interest From Jazz

July 9th, 2019 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

As John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com details, Ross said he received either serious interest or a contract offer from the Lakers, Jazz, Mavericks, Pacers, and Kings while he was a free agent. Like teammate Nikola Vucevic though, Ross preferred to stick with the Magic.

Gobert Unfazed By Clippers' Moves

July 8th, 2019 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz center Rudy Gobert shrugs off the Clippers’ acquisitions of Kawhi Leonard and George, confident that the Jazz have done enough this offseason to become serious contenders. “We don’t want to pay too much attention into what the other teams are doing,” Gobert told Tony Jones of The Athletic. “We want to keep working hard, and we want to stay hungry. We know what we have to do. Whenever we step out onto the court, the goal is to win. We know that we have a chance to do some good things this year. But we want to take things one step at a time.”

Free Agency Notes: Raptors, Stephenson, Kyrie, Sefolosha

July 8th, 2019 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The defending-champion Raptors will be a different team in 2019/20, with Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and starting shooting guard Danny Green off to Los Angeles. In the wake of Leonard agreeing to join the Clippers and Green committing to the Lakers, Toronto president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri issued a statement thanking the two former Spurs for their contributions to this year’s title team.

“We are very thankful for the year that Kawhi and Danny played with us here in Toronto, and I know the city and the entire country of Canada are grateful for everything they did to help us to win our first NBA Championship,” Ujiri said. “On behalf of the Raptors, I say a very heartfelt thank you to Kawhi and to Danny, and we send them and their families nothing but good wishes. As an organization, the Raptors will focus on the future and continue our pursuit of a second championship.”

After losing two All-NBA caliber defenders in Leonard and Green, the Raptors seem to be seeking out a certain archetype as they peruse the free agent market, writes Blake Murphy of The Athletic. As Murphy points out, new additions Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are both versatile forwards with size who should help Toronto maintain its identity as a strong defensive club.

Here’s more on free agency:

It doesn’t appear there’s anything brewing at the moment for free agent guard Lance Stephenson, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic. According to Agness, Stephenson continues to seek a new contract and may have to settle for a minimum-salary deal.
While we already know that Kawhi Leonard reached out to Kevin Durant and Paul George before making his free agency decision, ESPN’s Zach Lowe adds Kyrie Irving to the list of players Leonard explored recruiting. Durant and Irving were set on heading to Brooklyn, so those discussions likely didn’t go far.
The Jazz haven’t completed closed the door on the idea of a reunion with free agent wing Thabo Sefolosha, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic.
Speaking to Mark Medina of The Mercury News about his decision to join the Timberwolves, Jordan Bell said he was looking for a team that would give him playing time, rather than seeking out the most lucrative offer available. “An opportunity just to play,” Bell said when asked what he prioritized. “Money wasn’t really the issue.” The former second-round pick is getting a one-year, minimum-salary deal from Minnesota.

Jazz Sign Bojan Bogdanovic To Four-Year Deal

July 7th, 2019 at 7:15pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 7: The Jazz have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Bogdanovic.

JUNE 30: The Jazz have agreed to a four-year, $73MM deal with free agent Bojan Bogdanovic, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Bogdanovic scored a career-high 18 points per game last season with Indiana, also holding career-best shooting marks of 49.7% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range. The Jazz have agreed to trade veteran forward Derrick Favors – who has a $17.65MM non-guaranteed salary – to New Orleans to clear space for the incoming forward.

Utah plans to add Bogdanovic, a talented offensive option on the wing, to a roster that already includes the likes of Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert.

In addition to Bogdanovic, the Jazz also agreed to a two-year, $10MM deal with free agent forward Ed Davis.

As for the Pacers, they pivoted away from Bogdanovic – and many of their other free agents – by agreeing to acquire T.J. Warren, Malcolm Brogdon, and Jeremy Lamb.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Ekpe Udoh To Play In China

July 7th, 2019 at 2:13pm CST by clarkcrum

Free agent Ekpe Udoh has agreed to a one-year deal with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association, per a report from Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.

Per Varlas, the 32-year-old big man who last played for the Jazz during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons after being drafted No. 6 overall by the Warriors back in 2010, will become the highest-paid non-Chinese player in the CBA.

Confirming Eurohoops’ report, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News adds that Udoh was strongly considering a return to the EuroLeague (where he played from 2015 to 2017), with reportedly up to five multi-million dollar offers from strong franchises in Spain, Italy and Turkey on the table.

A seven-year NBA veteran, Udoh holds career averages of 3.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 14.8 minutes per game. In addition to the potential financial incentive of heading overseas, Udoh also figures to play a more prominent role in China than he did in the NBA. After all, he was successful enough to earn Final Four MVP during his previous stint overseas.

Free Agency Notes: Cap Holds, Williams, Magic, Wizards

July 7th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Nearly half the teams in the NBA renounced their rights to multiple free agents this week as they prepared to make new roster moves official, per RealGM’s transactions log. In some cases, like when the Clippers renounced the rights to Garrett Temple and Wilson Chandler, those free agents already new homes lined up, and removing their cap holds was simply a formality to create cap room for incoming additions.

In other cases, the housekeeping moves were a bit more noteworthy. The Pacers, for instance, renounced Darren Collison‘s Bird rights, so if the 31-year-old – who announced his retirement before the start of free agency – ever attempts an NBA comeback, Indiana will no longer have a leg up to re-acquire him.

Besides those two teams, the Hawks, Bucks, Nets, Jazz, Sixers, Clippers, Pelicans, Lakers, Kings, Celtics, Wizards, and Bulls also renounced various free agents, according to RealGM’s log.

Here are a few more notes related to free agency:

The Lakers have withdrawn their qualifying offer to two-way player Johnathan Williams and renounced his rights, according to RealGM. That doesn’t preclude the Lakers from bringing back Williams on a new two-way deal, but he’ll be able to sign outright with a new team if he so chooses.
At least nine teams are now confirmed to attend the Amar’e Stoudemire/Monta Ellis workout taking place in Las Vegas on Monday, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. We previously relayed word of Stoudemire’s and Ellis’ attempts to make NBA comebacks.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides salary cap updates on a pair of Southeast teams, tweeting that the Magic and Wizards are both safely out of luxury tax territory for now. According to Marks (Twitter links), Orlando has $3.5MM in breathing room under the tax line, counting Khem Birch‘s $1.8MM cap hold, while Washington is about $4MM below that threshold after cutting Jonathon Simmons.

Grizzlies Trade Mike Conley To Jazz

July 6th, 2019 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The trade sending Conley to the Jazz is now official, per the NBA’s transactions log. Darius Bazley, who was selected with the No. 23 overall pick last month, will be re-routed from Utah to Oklahoma City in a subsequent deal, while Korver will be sent to Phoenix.

JUNE 19: The Grizzlies and Jazz have reached an agreement on a trade that will send standout point guard Mike Conley to Utah, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Memphis will receive a package made up of Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, the No. 23 pick in the 2019 draft, and a future first-round pick. Per Wojnarowski (via Twitter), that second first-rounder will be a 2020 pick, which features protections through 2024.

Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian provides the full details on those protections, tweeting that the Grizzlies will get the pick in 2020 or 2021 if it falls in the 8-14 range. If it doesn’t convey in either of those drafts, it would become top-six protected in 2022, top-three protected in 2023, and top-one protected in 2024.

The deal will be completed once the new league year begins in July for cap reasons, according to Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). The Jazz will have to absorb Conley using their newly-opened cap room, but won’t necessarily have to waive Derrick Favors‘ non-guaranteed contract to make the deal work, Marks notes (via Twitter).

It’s a huge acquisition for the Jazz, who will be able to pair Conley with Donovan Mitchell in their backcourt, with Favors and Rudy Gobert up front and Joe Ingles providing floor spacing on the wing.

Conley, 31, is coming off perhaps the best season of his NBA career, having averaged a career-high 21.1 PPG to go along with 6.4 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and a .438/.364/.845 shooting line.

Utah reportedly tried to land Conley at the trade deadline, putting an offer on the table that featured expiring contracts and a first-round pick, but that wasn’t enough to get Memphis to accept. The Jazz figured to face competition for the point guard from possible suitors like the Pacers, Heat, Celtics, and Mavericks when they circled back this offseason, but they were able to get a deal done early in the summer.

The Jazz can now focus on filling out their roster with complementary players. With Conley’s lucrative contract set to hit their books, they’ll no longer be a player for major free agents, but will have the room exception available. It’s projected to be worth $4.76MM.

Conley is owed $32.5MM in 2019/20 and $34.5MM in 2020/21 before his contract expires in 2021. His deal aligns him with Utah’s other core pieces — currently, Mitchell and Gobert are both on track to reach free agency in 2021 as well.

As for the Grizzlies, they’re expected to shift into rebuilding mode after trading long-time cornerstones Marc Gasol in February and Conley now. They’re poised to select Ja Morant with the No. 2 overall pick in tomorrow’s draft to supplant Conley as their point guard of the future. He and Jaren Jackson Jr. project to be the franchise’s building blocks going forward.

It’s not clear yet whether the Grizzlies intend to keep all the players and draft picks they’re acquiring in exchange for Conley. Crowder and Korver are on fairly modest expiring contracts (Korver’s salary is only partially guaranteed) and could appeal to contenders. Allen and the picks, on the other hand, represent solid assets for Memphis’ rebuild, though David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears that the club will listen to offers for the No. 23 selection.

The Grizzlies are also in position to create a massive traded player exception in the swap, assuming they remain an over-the-cap team. Cap expert Albert Nahmad estimates the value of that exception to be about $25MM (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Poised To Be Different Next Season

July 4th, 2019 at 7:59pm CST by JD Shaw

The Jazz — along with the rest of the league — will have a much different feel entering the 2019/20 season, Doug Robinson of The Deseret News writes. Utah will acquire star guard Mike Conley, lose longtime Jazz forward Derrick Favors, and add scoring wing Bojan Bogdanovic, reshaping and improving their roster over the span of a couple weeks.