Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

West Draft Workouts: Jazz, T-Wolves, Blazers, Suns

June 4th, 2018 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday and Duke guard Grayson Allen were among the first-round prospects that the Jazz evaluated on Monday, according to a team tweet. Holiday is ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on his latest Top 100 prospects list, while Allen checks in at No. 30. Creighton’s Khyri Thomas (No. 27), Villanova’s Jalen Brunson (No. 34), Louisville’s Ray Spalding (No. 52) and San Diego State’s Malik Pope were the other prospects who visited Utah.

We have some other draft workouts involving Western Conference clubs to pass along:

Villanova point guard Donte DiVincenzo and Miami (Fla.) shooting guard Bruce Brown were the top prospects that the Timberwolves worked out on Monday, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP. DiVincenzo and Brown are ranked No. 28 and No. 29 by Givony. They were joined by Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), D.J. Hogg (Texas A&M) and Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech). Contrary to a previous report, Okogie visited Minnesota for the first time (Twitter links here).
Kentucky shooting guard Hamidou Diallo headlined the prospects that the Trail Blazers brought in on Monday, according to a team press release. Diallo is ranked No. 36 by Givony. Anfernee Simons, Jairus Lyles (UMBC), Victor Sanders (Idaho), Trevon Duval (Duke) and Shake Milton (SMU) were the other guards that Portland checked out.
French guard Elie Okobo topped the list of prospects the Suns evaluated on Monday, according to a team tweet. Okobo is ranked No. 21 by Givony. He was joined by Jevon Carter (West Virginia), Joel Berry (North Carolina), Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky), Thomas Welsh (UCLA) and Ajdin Penava (Marshall).

Jazz Notes: T. Brown, Gobert, Lang, Favors

June 2nd, 2018 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Utah’s desire to add players who can handle multiple positions could make Oregon’s Troy Brown attractive in the draft, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. The 6’7″ freshman, who worked out for the team Friday, has displayed an ability to play anywhere from point guard to small forward.

“I just wanted to show that I’m more of a playmaker and that I can score the ball and shoot the ball,” Brown said. “I wanted to show that I can play the game the right way. I want to be able to do everything on the floor. I want to be a two-way player. Just being versatile is important to me.”

The Jazz, who own the 21st pick, were happy with the results of Friday’s session, which also included Michigan’s Moritz Wagner, West Virginia’s Jevon Carter, Kansas’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman and Georgia’s Yante Maten.

There’s more tonight from Utah:

Center Rudy Gobert, one of the finalists for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, received a similar honor today from the players’ union, relays Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. Gobert was the winner of the Locksmith Award, presented to the league’s best defender as part of the Players’ Voice Awards. “It really means a lot to me knowing that the guys that I compete against every night are showing some love and recognition and I really appreciate it,” Gobert said. Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell was chosen as the NBPA’s Leader of the New School.
The Jazz made a coaching move today, promoting assistant Antonio Lang to the front of the bench, Woodyard writes in a separate story. Lang, who was among Quin Snyder’s first hirings in 2014, will replace Igor Kokoskov, who left to become head coach of the Suns. “I’m truly blessed,” said Lang, who played six years in the NBA before turning to coaching. “Hope to continue to improve and help the group.”
The Wizards, Bucks and Warriors are all potential destinations for free agent Derrick Favors if he leaves Utah, according to Frank Urbina of HoopsHype. Favors, who started a career-high 77 games this season, has been with the Jazz since arriving from the Nets in a 2011 trade.

Draft Notes: M. Bridges, Pinson, Farrell, Rowsey

June 1st, 2018 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

With the deadline passing for underclassmen to withdraw from the NBA draft, pre-draft workouts are taking on a new level of importance. Here are a few notes to pass on as the draft looms 20 days from now:

Villanova’s Mikal Bridges and North Carolina’s Theo Pinson will work out for the Hornets on Saturday, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell has sessions scheduled Monday with the Lakers and Wednesday with the Nuggets, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link).
Marquette’s Andrew Rowsey has workouts upcoming with the Raptors, Mavericks, Lakers and Kings, tweets Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox.
The Kings are welcoming six players for a session today, relays Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento (Twitter link). On hand will be Creighton’s Marcus Foster, West Virginia’s Daxter Miles, SMU’s Ben Emelogu and Seton Hall’s Desi Rodriguez, along with Missouri’s Alize Johnson and Jordan Barnett.
The Jazz have a workout set for today with Oregon’s Troy Brown, West Virginia’s Jevon Carter, Georgia’s Yante Maten, Michigan’s Moritz Wagner and Kansas’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman, the team announced on Twitter.
Newman was in Phoenix for a workout on Thursday, the Suns tweeted. He was joined by Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop, Virginia’s Devon Hall, Colorado’s George King, Xavier’s J.P. Macura and USC’s Chimezie Metu.

St. John’s Shamorie Ponds Returning To College

May 29th, 2018 at 7:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

St. John’s Shamorie Ponds has decided to withdraw his name from the draft prior to Wednesday’s deadline, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.

The Lakers, Nets, Cavaliers, Jazz and Nuggets were among the teams that worked out the 6’1” guard this month. However, the odds were stacked against him when he didn’t receive an invite to the draft combine.

The sophomore guard put up a 21.6/5.0/4.7 line for the Red Storm this past season. He was ranked No. 61 among ESPN Jonathan Givony’s Top 100 prospects.

Draft Updates: Elmore, Morgan, Jazz

May 28th, 2018 at 9:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Marshall’s Jon Elmore has withdrawn his name from the draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. Elmore did that same thing last year after his sophomore campaign. That stat-stuffing guard posted 22.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.8 APG and 1.6 SPG in his junior year.

In other draft-related developments:

Cornell’s Matt Morgan is headed back to school, Goodman reports in another tweet. Morgan, a 6’2” guard, averaged 22.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG for the Big Red as a junior.
The Jazz own the No. 21 and No. 52 picks and VP of player personnel Walt Perrin said the team is leaning toward developmental players with upside, Ryan McDonald of Deseret News reports. “I think next year with the majority hopefully of our team coming back, if not all of them, you look at more upside,” Perrin told McDonald. “You’re looking more at, ‘Can we bring this player in and work with him, probably play him a little bit with the [G League’s Salt Lake City] Stars, and how much better can we get him in, say, two or three years?’”
The Jazz have been busy working out prospects. Get the latest update here.

Draft Workouts: Jazz, Warriors, Knicks, Suns

May 28th, 2018 at 5:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz worked out Shake Milton (SMU), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), Theo Pinson (North Carolina), Omari Spellman (Villanova), Thomas Wilder (Western Michigan) and Elijah Stewart (USC) on Monday, according to team’s Twitter feed. Milton, a borderline first-round guard prospect ranked No. 34 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, headlined that group.

The Jazz will host six more prospects on Tuesday — Kameron Chatman (Detroit), Sedrick Barefield (Utah), Kenneth Ogbe (Utah Valley), Dayon Goodman (Westminster), Tyler Rawson (Utah) and Ryan Richardson (Weber State) (Twitter links).

We have more draft workout news:

Wichita State’s Landry Shamet worked out for the Warriors on Sunday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. The point guard is ranked No. 42 by Givony.
Syracuse swingman Tyus Battle, rated No. 32 by Givony, worked out for the Knicks on Friday, Zagoria reports in another tweet. Small forward Brian Bowen, who was ineligible to play college ball last season, worked out for New York the same day and the Lakers on Sunday.
The Suns brought in UCLA’s Aaron Holiday and Anfernee Simons, who spent a post-grad year at IMG Academy, and four other prospects on Monday, the team tweets. Holiday is rated No. 17 by Givony while Simons is ranked No. 21. Hamidou Diallo (Kentucky), Tony Carr (Penn State), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Kansas) and Bruce Brown (Miami, Fla.) joined them.

GM: Team Could Return Intact

May 27th, 2018 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz might keep their core group intact going into next season, GM Dennis Lindsey told Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. “My best guess is the option that we’ll ultimately consider, is bringing the team back intact, but I don’t know what other things are going to come our way,” Lindsey said. In order to do that, they’d have to sign unrestricted free agent Derrick Favors and restricted free agent Dante Exum. If both players receive significant raises and the Jazz make other moves, they could find themselves close to the luxury tax. They currently have approximately $90MM in salary guarantees next season.

Details On 2018 NBA Playoff Pool Money

May 25th, 2018 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s playoff pool money has increased to $20MM this season, up from $15MM for the last two years and $14MM for the two years before that, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. This pool represents money awarded to teams for certain achievements, which is then divvied up among the club’s players.

According to Zillgitt, the breakdown for 2018’s playoff pool money is as follows:

Regular season achievements:

Best record in NBA (Rockets): $576,843
No. 1 seeds in each conference (Rockets, Raptors): $504,737 each
No. 2 seeds (Warriors, Celtics): $405,684 each
No. 3 seeds (Trail Blazers, Sixers): $302,843 each
No. 4 seeds (Thunder, Cavaliers): $238,001 each
No. 5 seeds (Jazz, Pacers): $198,317 each
No. 6 seeds (Pelicans, Heat): $135,263 each

Postseason achievements:

Teams participating in first round (all playoff teams): $298,485 each
Teams participating in Conference Semifinals (Rockets, Warriors, Jazz, Pelicans, Celtics, Cavaliers, Sixers, Raptors): $355,159 each
Teams participating in Conference Finals (Rockets, Warriors, Celtics, Cavaliers): $586,898 each
Losing team in NBA Finals (TBD): $2,346,947
Winning team in NBA Finals (TBD): $3,541,896

Draft Notes: Wright-Foreman, Davis, Clippers, Kings

May 24th, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman is returning to school for his senior year, he announced on Twitter. The 6’1” point guard averaged 24.4 PPG and 3.2 APG in his junior season. Ole Miss guard Terence Davis is also going back to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. The 6’4” Davis averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in his junior year.

In other draft-related news:

The Clippers and Lakers worked out forwards Omari Spellman (Villanova) and Terry Larrier (UConn) on Thursday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Larrier also has workouts lined up with the Nets (June 5), Knicks (June 6) and Mavericks (June 14), Zagoria adds in another tweet. Spellman is ranked No. 49 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on his Top 100 prospects list.
Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado will work out for the Jazz in the near future after visiting the Lakers on Thursday, according to Zagoria (Twitter link).
The Kings will bring in centers Jock Landale (St. Mary’s) and Dusan Ristic (Arizona); forwards Todd Withers and Billy Preston; and guards Joel Berry (North Carolina) and Jordan McLaughlin (USC) on Friday, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.
Rhode Island guard E.C. Matthews has worked out for the Nets, Knicks and Celtics, Zagoria tweets.

Draft Workouts: Grizzlies, Delgado, Huerter, Alkins

May 24th, 2018 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

While the Grizzlies hold the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, the group of prospects working out for the team on Thursday won’t be candidates to come off the board that early. Memphis also holds the No. 32 selection, so today’s workout participants will vie to receive consideration at that spot. According to a team release, Braian Angola (Florida State), Justin Bibbs (Virginia Tech), Chris Chiozza (Florida), Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech), Admiral Schofield (Tennessee), and Jonathan Stark (Murray State) are getting a look today from the Grizzlies.

Here’s more pre-draft workout news:

Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado and Maryland guard Kevin Huerter each have workouts on tap with the Lakers and then the Jazz, per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter links).
In addition to his previously reported workouts, Arizona guard Rawle Alkins has an audition with the Suns scheduled for next week, according to Zagoria, who adds that Alkins will also have a Pro Day next Thursday.
Zagoria provides another workout update, tweeting that Miami’s Dewan Huell has auditioned for the Thunder, Cavaliers, Bucks, Hawks, and Grizzlies so far. Huell, who is testing the waters without an agent, remains undecided about whether or not to stay in the draft.
After working out for Washington this week, Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham will work out for the Suns, Hawks, Rockets, Grizzlies, and about six or seven teams after that, he tells Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link).
Xavier’s J.P. Macura, who has a workout lined up with the Spurs, met with the Bucks, Clippers, Magic, and Pacers at this week’s Pro Basketball Combine, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.