- After struggling on-court to adjust to a new role and new teammates at the beginning of last season and coping off-court with the death of his mother from cancer, Jae Crowder finally feels at home with the Jazz, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult,” Crowder told The Tribune. “It was hard being thrown into the fire. But, from Day One, the locker room and my teammates [in Utah] were great. The coaching staff was great. … It helped build toughness.”
- Per Aaron Falk of UtahJazz.com, Jazz forward Derrick Favors is looking for an increased role on offense next season. During his free agent meeting with Utah’s front office, the two parties spoke about getting Favors more cuts to the basket and playing out of pick-and-roll or dribble-handoffs more often.
4:08pm: The signing is now official, the Jazz confirmed in a press release.
2:39pm: The Jazz will sign Naz Mitrou-Long to a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
“I’m just happy that the Jazz were so patient with me and just kept contributing to the fact that they wanted to see me grow,” the guard said (via Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News on Twitter).
Mitrou-Long earned two 10-day deals with the Jazz last season, as the team needed to add depth at the guard spot with Ricky Rubio battling injuries. He didn’t see any real action for the NBA club though, entering just one contest for a total of one minute.
Mitrou-Long also played for Utah’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, last season. The soon-to-be 25-year-old appeared in 40 games with the Stars, averaging 18.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per contest.
8:47pm: The signing is official, according to a Jazz press release.
8:10pm: It’s a three-year, $5MM contract with a first-year guarantee, according to Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News.
7:11pm: The Jazz have agreed to a multi-year deal with forward Georges Niang, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Niang was a restricted free agent after Utah extended a qualifying offer late last month. He played on a two-way contract last season.
Niang received the two-way deal in January after playing for the Warriors’ G League team in Santa Cruz. He made nine brief appearances with Utah last season, averaging 1.0 PPG and 1.o RPG in 3.6 MPG.
The 6’8” Iowa State product saw action in 23 games with the Pacers the previous season.
8:06pm: Lyles has an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Jones (Twitter link). He can make between $5K and $50K if he is waived by the Jazz, is assigned to the team’s G League affiliate and spends at least 60 days there.
JULY 12, 6:57pm: The Jazz have signed UMBC guard Jairus Lyles, the team announced on its website. Terms of the deal were not released, so it’s not clear if Lyles will receive any guaranteed money.
It’s not a two-way contract, tweets Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune, who suggests it’s a path to get Lyles to the organization’s G League affiliate.
The 23-year-old is playing for Utah’s team in the Las Vegas Summer League, posting 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in his only appearance. He also played in two games in the Utah Jazz Summer League.
Lyles gained national prominence after his UMBC team upset top-seeded Virginia in this year’s NCAA Tournament. He put up a 20.2/5.5/3.5 line in 33 games with the Retrievers.
Okaro White has a chance to win a roster spot with the Cavaliers, but first he has to overcome the effects of a broken left foot he suffered in November, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. White’s foot has fully healed, but he is still struggling with the psychological aspects of the injury and admits he’s “babying” it.
“I just gotta get through,” said White, who is part of the Cavaliers’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League. “I’m old enough, I’m not young anymore, so I gotta get over it [mentally] and try to find a way to showcase my ability.”
White started four games for the Heat before the injury, but it wound up ending his season. He was shipped to the Hawks at the trade deadline, then signed with the Cavs in March, but never took the court for either team. The 25-year-old forward has a non-guaranteed $1,544,951 contract for 2018/19.
There’s more news out of Cleveland:
- The Cavaliers passed on an opportunity to trade up on draft night and snag Luka Doncic, Vardon reports in a separate story. A source tells Vardon that Cleveland had an offer from Atlanta that included the No. 3 pick and Kent Bazemore, who will make more than $18MM next season with a $19.27MM option for 2019/20. However, the Cavs wanted Collin Sexton and were confident they could get him at No. 8.
- With LeBron James gone, the Cavaliers should take a gamble on Jabari Parker, according to Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report. The second player taken in the 2014 draft, Parker could become a dynamic scorer and rebounder if he can fully bounce back from his second ACL surgery. Swartz suggests Cleveland should use its $8.6MM mid-level exception to offer Parker a two-year contract. That would give him $13.3MM more in guaranteed money than if he accepts his $4.3MM qualifying offer with the Bucks, and it would put him back on the open market in 2020 when he’ll only be 25. Swartz recommends a few other moves for the Cavs, including re-signing Rodney Hood, working out an extension with Larry Nance Jr., trying to trade veterans such as J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson and taking on unwanted contracts to stockpile draft picks.
- Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com suggests several trades involving Kevin Love, listing the Trail Blazers, Heat, Lakers, Suns and Jazz as possible destinations.
JULY 12: The Warriors have officially signed Jerebko, the team announced today in a press release. The one-year deal with be worth the veteran’s minimum.
As Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News tweets, Golden State’s offseason roster activity figures to be almost over. The team has 13 players under contract and is expected to bring back Patrick McCaw. The Dubs will likely keep their 15th roster spot open to begin the regular season in order to save some money and retain flexibility.
JULY 7: Free agent Jonas Jerebko, who was waived by the Jazz earlier today, plans to sign with the Warriors after he clears waivers on Monday, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Jerebko is expected to clear waivers, as any team who makes a waiver claim for Jerebko would be required to to guarantee his $4.2MM salary for this season. It was already reported by Wojnarowski earlier this morning that there was strong mutual interest between Jerebko and Golden State, so Jerebko’s plans come as no surprise.
Because the Warriors already used their taxpayer mid-level exception on DeMarcus Cousins, have no cap room, and will assuredly be above the apron this season, Jerebko will only be eligible to sign a one- or two-year deal at the minimum salary.
The Rockets and Clint Capela may not be that far apart in negotiations toward a new deal, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) is hearing that the team’s initial offer was not as low as previously reported. Sources tell Feigen that the July 1 offer was for $85MM over five years with Capela having the ability to earn up to $90MM based on incentives.
Rumors claiming the center wanted an offer in the neighborhood of $100MM over four years, similar to Steven Adams‘ pact, surfaced recently. Previous reports had Houston offering approximately $60MM over four years.
One source tells Feigen that the Rockets are optimistic about reaching a deal. Houston has the ability to match any offer, as Capela is a restricted free agent.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Magic Johnson said he consulted LeBron James before bringing Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo, and JaVale McGee to the Lakers, as Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet relays (Twitter link). “LeBron’s won championships, been to eight straight Finals. You think Rob [Pelinka] and I are not going to ask him? No, we’re going to definitely ask him his opinion because he knows those players better than us,” Johnson said.
- Stephenson said the Lakers want him to “bring intensity” every night, as Spectrum SportsNet’s Mike Trudell passes along (Twitter link). The 27-year-old wing officially signed his one-year deal today.
- Chemistry was a major reason why the Jazz decided to keep their core intact. “Chemistry is a hard thing,” GM Dennis Lindsey said (via the Associated Press). “It’s a hard thing to predict. You can get five great people in the room and have it just not click for whatever reason, so we didn’t want to overthink that.”
- Free agent swingman Nick Young has received some interest from the Kings, Grizzlies, Rockets, Cavaliers, Jazz, and Timberwolves, among others, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. According to Wolfson, Young views Minnesota as as “good opportunity” but the club’s interest hasn’t been as aggressive as it was a year ago.
The Jazz have informed center Ekpe Udoh and his representatives that they intend to keep him on their roster, guaranteeing his salary for the 2018/19 season, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Udoh, 31, returned to the NBA in 2017 after a two-season absence, inking a two-year deal with the Jazz. However, that contract was only guaranteed for the first year. Utah could have avoided the second-year guarantee for Udoh by waiving him today. Instead, his $3.36MM salary will become guaranteed.
Udoh didn’t have a significant role with the Jazz in 2017/18, averaging just 12.6 MPG in 63 contests. However, he showed off his impressive shot-blocking ability in those limited minutes, posting 1.2 BPG. As Jones writes, the big man also provided veteran leadership to younger teammates in the locker room.
With Udoh set to return, Utah’s roster for 2018/19 is all but set, according to Jones. The Jazz entered the offseason with seven players on guaranteed contracts. They’ve subsequently drafted Grayson Allen, re-signed Derrick Favors, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto, and guaranteed salaries for Thabo Sefolosha and Udoh.
Royce O’Neale‘s non-guaranteed salary is also a lock to be guaranteed, which increases the club’s roster count to 14 players, leaving one spot on the projected 15-man roster. For now, David Stockton occupies that spot, but he also doesn’t have a guaranteed salary. If the Jazz do add a 15th man in Stockton’s place, it figures to be a younger player, sources tell Jones.
Georges Niang, who is a two-way restricted free agent for the team, could be a candidate for that last roster spot based on his Summer League play so far.