- The Salt Lake City Stars drafted former NBA center Willie Reed with the No. 1 pick in this year’s G League draft, banking on his experience and close ties to the organization, as written by Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News. The Stars are the G League affiliate of the Jazz, a team that features the likes of Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Ekpe Udoh at center.
The 2018/19 NBA regular season gets underway tonight, which means it’s time to get serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from Bovada and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, to have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
Having already looked at the other five divisions, we’re moving onto the Northwest today…
Utah Jazz
- 2017/18 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2018/19: 50.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Grayson Allen
- Lost: Jonas Jerebko
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Jazz poll)
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2017/18 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2018/19: 48.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Thunder poll)
Denver Nuggets
- 2017/18 record: 46-36
- Over/under for 2018/19: 48.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Nuggets poll)
Portland Trail Blazers
- 2017/18 record: 49-33
- Over/under for 2018/19: 42.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Trail Blazers poll)
Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2017/18 record: 47-35
- Over/under for 2018/19: 41.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Timberwolves poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (59.5 wins): Over (53.63%)
- Toronto Raptors (55.5 wins): Over (56.95%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (54.5 wins): Under (51.19%)
- Brooklyn Nets (31.5 wins): Under (56.04%)
- New York Knicks (28.5 wins): Under (54.13%)
- Houston Rockets (56.5 wins): Over (69.33%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (45.5 wins): Under (53.4%)
- San Antonio Spurs (44.5 wins): Under (60%)
- Dallas Mavericks (34.5 wins): Over (55.16%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (34.5 wins): Under (60.87%)
- Indiana Pacers (47.5 wins): Over (62.04%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (47.5 wins): Over (73.7%)
- Detroit Pistons (38.5 wins): Over (56.36%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (30.5 wins): Over (55.42%)
- Chicago Bulls (29.5 wins): Over (61.8%)
- Golden State Warriors (62.5 wins): Over (53.45%)
- Los Angeles Lakers (48.5 wins): Over (55.2%)
- Los Angeles Clippers (36.5 wins): Under (55.7%)
- Phoenix Suns (29.5 wins): Under (53.4%)
- Sacramento Kings (25.5 wins): Under (63.87%)
- Washington Wizards (45.5 wins): Over (56.28%)
- Miami Heat (43.5 wins): Under (57.42%)
- Charlotte Hornets (35.5 wins): Over (56.73%)
- Orlando Magic (30.5 wins): Under (68.41%)
- Atlanta Hawks (23.5 wins): Under (58.38%
As usual, the 2018 NBA offseason featured plenty of player movement, with new rookies entering the league, free agents changing teams, and a total of 31 trades being completed between the end of the 2017/18 season and 2018/19’s opening night.
Some teams were more involved in that summer carousel than others. The Hawks, for instance, will enter the season carrying only seven players who finished last season with the team. The Suns will also bring back just seven players from last year’s squad, and that number figures to drop to six once the team completes its reported signing of Jamal Crawford, assuming Davon Reed is the odd man out.
Because teams are permitted to carry 15 players on standard contracts and two more on two-way deals, the maximum number of players a club could have brought back was 17. No team got that high, but the Heat and Jazz are each bringing back 14 players from last year’s rosters. Impressively, all 14 players on Miami’s standard roster are returning players — only the club’s two-way players are new.
[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Roster Counts]
While many teams turned over their two-way contract slots entirely, several clubs are bringing back those players, either keeping them on two-way deals or promoting them to their active rosters. The Nuggets, Bulls, Pacers, and Lakers are among the teams who retained both of their two-way players from last season.
[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]
Listed below are the number of returning players for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, from most to fewest. Bringing back a significant number of players doesn’t necessarily lead to regular season success, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few of the teams near the top of this list enjoy fast starts due to their players’ familiarity with each other, while teams near the bottom of the list may take some time to get used to their changes.
Here’s the returning-player count for each team:
- Miami Heat: 14
- Utah Jazz: 14
- Boston Celtics: 13
- Chicago Bulls: 12
- Denver Nuggets: 12
- New York Knicks: 12
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 11
- Indiana Pacers: 11
- Philadelphia 76ers: 11
- Portland Trail Blazers: 11
- Sacramento Kings: 11
- Toronto Raptors: 11
- Charlotte Hornets: 10
- Detroit Pistons: 10
- Golden State Warriors: 10
- Note: Patrick McCaw remains a restricted free agent. The Warriors’ returning player count could increase to 11 if he re-signs.
- Los Angeles Clippers: 10
- Milwaukee Bucks: 10
- Dallas Mavericks: 9
- Memphis Grizzlies: 9
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 9
- New Orleans Pelicans: 9
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 9
- Orlando Magic: 9
- Washington Wizards: 9
- Brooklyn Nets: 8
- Houston Rockets: 8
- Los Angeles Lakers: 8
- San Antonio Spurs: 8
- Atlanta Hawks: 7
- Phoenix Suns: 7
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Utah Jazz.
Signings:
Standard contracts:
- Derrick Favors: Two years, $33.8MM. Includes likely and unlikely incentives. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Dante Exum: Three years, $28.8MM. Includes unlikely incentives. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Raul Neto: Two years, $4.3MM. Includes unlikely incentives. Second-year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Georges Niang: Three years, minimum salary. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.
- Two-way contracts:
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Stephaun Branch: One year, minimum salary (waived).
- Isaiah Cousins: One year, minimum salary (waived).
- Isaac Haas: One year, minimum salary (waived).
- Jairus Lyles: One year, minimum salary (waived).
- Trey Lewis: One year, minimum salary (waived).
Trades:
- Acquired cash ($1.5MM) from the Rockets in exchange for the draft rights to Vince Edwards (No. 52 pick).
Draft picks:
- 1-21: Grayson Allen — Signed to rookie contract.
Departing players:
- Jonas Jerebko (waived)
- Erik McCree (two-way)
- David Stockton (waived)
Other offseason news:
- Hired Fotis Katsikaris as assistant coach to replace Igor Kokoskov. Katsikaris is the NBA’s first-ever native Greek coach.
Salary cap situation:
- Remained over the cap.
- Carrying approximately $115.7MM in guaranteed salaries.
- Full mid-level exception ($8.64MM) still available.
- Full bi-annual exception ($3.38MM) still available.
Check out the Utah Jazz’s full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
In a league where change is common, the Jazz were remarkably quiet during the offseason. First-round pick Grayson Allen is the only significant addition to the roster, while veteran forward Jonas Jerebko, who was waived in July and later signed with the Warriors, was the only significant loss.
That means last season’s surprise contender in the Western Conference will be back with virtually the same cast of characters that won 48 games and ousted the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. The emergence of Donovan Mitchell, who finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, helped to speed up the rebuilding process in Utah after Gordon Hayward left to sign with the Celtics.
The Jazz kept their rotation together by re-signing power forward Derrick Favors and reserve guard Dante Exum over the summer. Coach Quin Snyder should benefit from the continuity among a solid group that appears headed for a long string of postseason trips.
Key offseason additions:The Jazz got down to the NBA’s roster limit by waiving three players, the team announced on its website. The final cuts were guards Stephaun Branch, Isaiah Cousins and Jairus Lyles, who may all be ticketed for Utah’s G League affiliate in Salt Lake City if they clear waivers.
Branch was in the G League last season with the South Bay Lakers. He appeared in 50 games, starting seven, and averaged 10.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per night. The West Georgia product was just signed by the Jazz earlier this afternoon.
Cousins also spent last season in the G League, playing 36 games for Salt Lake City. He posted a 13.1/ 3.6/4.4 line while averaging 1.3 steals per game.
Lyles is a rookie out of UMBC who played for the Jazz during summer league. He averaged 20.2 PPG in college last season.
The Jazz have made a minor roster move, announcing today in a press release that center Isaac Haas has been waived. The transactions leaves Utah with 19 players on its roster, so more cuts will be necessary before Monday.
Haas, an undrafted rookie out of Purdue, joined the Jazz for Summer League play in July, then inked a camp contract with the team in August. His non-guaranteed contract won’t count against the club’s salary cap.
Haas will be a candidate to join the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate, after he clears waivers, assuming another NBA team doesn’t claim him.
Utah still has 17 players on standard NBA contracts and must reduce that number to 15 by Monday. Jairus Lyles and Isaiah Cousins are the probable casualties of the roster crunch.
- Jazz guard Raul Neto is slated to miss at least two more weeks of action, the team announced this week. Neto is dealing with a right hamstring injury and will be sidelined to start the regular season.
The Jazz announced today that they have exercised their third-year rookie scale team options for the 2019/20 season on guard Donovan Mitchell (link) and center Tony Bradley (link). The deadline to do so was October 31.
Mitchell, the 2017/18 runner-up for Rookie of the Year, joined David Robinson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain as the only rookies to lead their team in scoring while also winning 45-or-more games. His option decision was the definition of a no-brainer, with his future looking as bright as any young player in the league.
Meanwhile, Bradley, who was acquired by the Jazz on draft night in 2017, only saw action in nine games for the club as a rookie, but started 24 games for the team’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. He averaged 15.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks in 29.6 minutes per contest.
Mitchell’s 2019/20 cap hit will cost the Jazz a team-friendly $3.6MM, while Bradley will earn just under $2MM that season. Both players also have a fourth-year rookie scale team option for the 2020/21 campaign.
- Jazz forward Joe Ingles believes he’s among the league’s best shooters, relays Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. He has the statistics to back up that statement, shooting 44% from 3-point range over the past two seasons. “The numbers I’ve shot, the percentages, they obviously are what they are and people are going to dissect everything,” Ingles said, “but, I honestly feel like they’re all going to go in when I shoot the ball.”
The Jazz have re-filled their 20-man preseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed Isaiah Cousins to a contract. Cousins will replace Trey Lewis, who was waived by Utah earlier today.
A 6’4″ combo guard, Cousins was a second-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2016. Although the Kings drafted and signed Cousins, he didn’t stick with the club, instead spending the last two seasons in the G League and with French team Cholet Basket.
Last season, Cousins appeared in 36 games for Utah’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, recording 13.2 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 3.6 RPG with a .431/.408/.741 shooting line. The Jazz don’t project to have any openings on their 15-man NBA roster heading into the 2018/19 season, so they likely envision the 24-year-old as a G League piece once again.
Cousins was one of 32 veteran free agents who participated in a mini-camp with the Jazz back in June.