Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic To Host Bulls, Jazz In Mexico City Games

August 7th, 2018 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA will be returning to Mexico City once again during the 2018/19 regular season, with the Magic set to play the Bulls and Jazz at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico on December 13 and December 15, respectively. Orlando announced the news today in a press release.

It will be the third consecutive season that the NBA has played two regular season games in Mexico City. In 2016/17, the Suns played a pair of games in Mexico, while the Nets did so during the 2017/18 season. In those cases though, Phoenix and Brooklyn gave up one home game apiece — both Mexico City games in 2018/19 will count as Magic home games, as John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com notes.

“Any time we have the opportunity to travel and represent the league internationally it is very attractive,” Magic CEO Alex Martins told Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “It helps us to expand our brand in certain cities around the world. It certainly helps in relation to the promotion of our ownership’s interests in Amway, and that’s certainly the case with Mexico City as Mexico is a growing market for the Amway Corporation. So it’s a great brand-building opportunity for the Orlando Magic but also for the Amway Corporation.”

According to Robbins, Magic officials aren’t concerned about the Mexico City games general travel or rest issues for the team, since they believe the league has created a schedule that will allow for extra rest around that time. Martins also tells Robbins that the club won’t lose any revenue as a result of giving up two home games, and may even come out ahead.

The NBA projects to continue playing two games per year in Mexico City through at least the 2020/21 season, according to Orlando’s press release. This year’s games will mark the 27th and 28th games played in Mexico since 1992, and that figure will increase to 32 by ’20/21.

Udoh's Defense Led To Contract Guarantee

August 3rd, 2018 at 5:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey doesn’t seem inclined to break up his smallish backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports notes. Olshey recently said he plans to keep his core group together, despite the team’s first-round flameout in the Western Conference playoffs last season. It might be wise to deal one of them for an impact forward but either Olshey has great faith in his guards or he’s tested the market and couldn’t find a worthwhile deal, Feldman adds.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Hamidou Diallo feels a sense of relief after signing a contract with the Thunder but isn’t sure what kind of role he can carve out, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman reports. The second-round rookie shooting guard was acquired in a draft-night deal. “We haven’t even spoken about a role yet,” Diallo told Dawson. “We’re still playing pickup ball and stuff like that, still training. Guys are just coming in, veteran players, and trying to teach us as much as possible as early as possible.” Diallo, who received a three-year, $4MM contract, will compete with newcomers Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Abdel Nader for backup minutes.
The Jazz brought back big man Ekpe Udoh because of his defense and positive attitude, according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. Udoh was signed by Utah last season because of his reputation as a strong defender and he lived up to that billing, posting an average of 1.2 blocks per game. He also showed a superior ability to guard on the perimeter during switches and pick-and-rolls, Jones continues. Udoh, who will serve as the team’s third center, never complained last season when his role diminished, Jones adds. Udoh had his $3.36MM salary guaranteed last month.
Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas had to settle for a one-year, $2MM contract in free agency but he’s determined to be a major bargain for his new team, as he told Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. “This has been tough, but it was only a tough year because I wasn’t healthy. My job is to get as healthy as I possibly can and then show the world what I’m capable of doing,” he said.

How Non-Bird Rights Impact Promotions For Two-Way Players

August 2nd, 2018 at 9:08pm CST by Luke Adams

When NBA teams sign undrafted free agents or second-round picks to contracts, those clubs need to have cap space or a mid-level exception available to lock up those players for longer than two years or to pay them more than the minimum salary.

While most teams make sure to earmark some cap room or a portion of their mid-level exception to use on those players – particularly second-rounders – that’s not always the case. The Grizzlies, for instance, used their entire mid-level exception on Kyle Anderson‘s offer sheet, meaning they could only sign 32nd overall pick Jevon Carter to a two-year, minimum-salary deal.

This offseason though, a new tool has come in handy in allowing teams to sign players to longer-term or more lucrative contracts than the minimum salary exception would allow, without having to use cap room or the mid-level exception to do it. The catch? Those players had to have finished the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the club.

When a player is on a two-way contract, a new kind of deal introduced in the NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement, he’s not technically on a club’s 15-man roster, but he accrues Bird rights just as a player on the roster would. That means that any player who finished last season on a two-way deal had Non-Bird rights this summer.

Non-Bird rights don’t allow teams to give players major raises — Non-Bird deals can only start at up to 120% of the player’s previous salary or 120% of his minimum salary, whichever is greater. However, they do allow for contracts of up to four years, which has paid off for some teams and players this summer.

Consider the case of Georges Niang, who was on a two-way contract with the Jazz last season. Buoyed by an impressive Summer League showing with Utah last month, Niang earned a three-year contract with the club. Typically, to go up to three years, the over-the-cap Jazz would have had to dip into their mid-level exception, but that wasn’t the case for Niang — his Non-Bird rights allowed for a three-year deal.

While Niang’s contract is only worth the minimum, Non-Bird rights do allow for slightly larger salaries, as noted above. For example, the Knicks re-signed former two-way player Luke Kornet to the maximum allowable salary using his Non-Bird rights. Instead of earning his minimum salary ($1,349,383), Kornet will make 120% of that amount ($1,619,260). Without his Non-Bird rights, New York would have had to use its mid-level or bi-annual exception to give Kornet that kind of raise.

Non-Bird rights haven’t paid off for every team with a two-way player who’s getting a promotion. For instance, the Nuggets moved Torrey Craig to their standard roster by giving him a new two-year, $4MM contract. Denver had to use part of its mid-level exception to complete that signing, since it exceeded the salary Craig could’ve earned with Non-Bird rights. The Nuggets did take advantage of the Non-Bird rules with their other two-way player though, giving Monte Morris a new three-year contract.

Two-way contracts remain in their relative infancy, so it’s interesting to see how teams are taking advantage of the rules surrounding them. Players like Niang, Kornet, and Morris are among the first group of two-way players to be promoted to standard contracts via Non-Bird rights, but they certainly won’t be the last.

Here’s the full list of two-way players whose teams have promoted them to standard contracts this offseason:

Ryan Arcidiacono (Bulls)
Jabari Bird (Celtics)
Antonio Blakeney (Bulls)
Torrey Craig (Nuggets)
Derrick Jones (Heat)
Luke Kornet (Knicks)
Monte Morris (Nuggets)
Georges Niang (Jazz)

Note: Jamel Artis, Danuel House, Daniel Hamilton, and Kadeem Allen have signed or agreed to standard NBA contracts with new teams after finishing last season on two-way deals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Making Effort To Sign Stanton Kidd?

August 2nd, 2018 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

After he played well for them in the Utah and Las Vegas Summer Leagues last month, the Jazz are reportedly interested in bringing Stanton Kidd to training camp. However, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Kidd remains under contract with Turkish team Darussafaka for another year and his deal doesn’t have an NBA out.

Carchia reports that the Jazz and Kidd’s camp are exploring ways to get him out of his deal overseas, but until that happens, Utah won’t be able to add the former Colorado State swingman to their offseason roster. If Kidd does come stateside, it’s not clear what sort of his contract he’d sign — Carchia suggests a two-way deal is a possibility, but Naz Mitrou-Long and Tyler Cavanaugh currently occupy the Jazz’s two-way contract slots.

David Stockton Will Play In Germany

August 2nd, 2018 at 1:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Stockton, who finished last season with the Jazz, has signed with Medi Bayreuth in Germany, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

Stockton inked a pair of 10-day contracts with Utah in March, then signed for the rest of the season in early April. He appeared in three games and played nine total minutes, then saw brief action in two playoff contests.

Stockton, the son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, has previous overseas experience in Croatia and New Zealand. He also played three games for the Kings in 2015.

Oddly, despite the fact that Medi Bayreuth has already put out an announcement confirming its deal with Stockton, the veteran guard remains under contract with the Jazz, since his rest-of-season contract last year included a non-guaranteed salary for 2018/19. Presumably, Utah will soon waive Stockton, freeing him up to officially join his new German club.

Erik McCree Will Play In Italy

August 2nd, 2018 at 12:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Erik McCree, a two-way player with the Jazz last season, has signed with the Italian team Consultinvest VL Pesaro, tweets Keith Smith of Real GM.

After going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech, McCree joined the Heat for training camp but was waived before the season began. He agreed to a two-way deal with the Jazz in December and appeared in four NBA games, seeing just eight total minutes of playing time.

The 24-year-old small forward spent most of the season in the G League, splitting time between Sioux Falls and Salt Lake City.

Jazz Sign Tyler Cavanaugh To Two-Way Contract

August 1st, 2018 at 6:04pm CST by clarkcrum

The Jazz have signed forward Tyler Cavanaugh to a two-way contract, per an official release from the team.

Cavanaugh, 24, played for the Hawks last season as a rookie after going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft. He appeared in 39 games (one start) during the 2017/18 season, posting respectable averages of 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game.

Cavanaugh also saw action in the G League with Atlanta’s affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, where he averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 boards in 23.6 minutes per contest. He was waived by the Hawks back in May, likely in response to an ankle injury, coaching change, and imminent salary guarantee date.

Having already signed Naz Mitrou-Long to a two-way deal, the Jazz have now filled up both of their two-way slots in anticipation of the 2018/19 season. Both players will be eligible to spend up to 45 days with the Jazz during the G League season.

Jazz Hire First Greek-Born NBA Coach

July 30th, 2018 at 7:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have hired Fotis Katsikaris as an assistant to Quin Snyder, the team announced in a press release. Katsikaris becomes the first-ever native Greek NBA assistant coach. He was a head coach in Spain last season and served as head coach of the Greek national team from 2014-16.

Jae Crowder Feels At Home In Utah

July 24th, 2018 at 4:56pm CST by clarkcrum

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.”

Derrick Favors Looking To Be More Involved In Offense

July 18th, 2018 at 6:17pm CST by clarkcrum

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.