Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Scotto’s Latest: Gafford, Knicks, Mavs, Dinwiddie, Markkanen

January 12th, 2024 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks inquired earlier this season on Wizards big man Daniel Gafford, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype told ESPN’s Bobby Marks in the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast.

While Scotto doesn’t say exactly when that inquiry occurred, it was presumably sometime after New York lost Mitchell Robinson to the left ankle injury that is expected to sideline him for most or all of the season. It seems safe to assume, Scotto continues, that whatever level of interest the Knicks had in Gafford decreased after the club acquired Precious Achiuwa from Toronto in the OG Anunoby deal.

Here are a few more items of interest from the HoopsHype podcast:

The Mavericks are interested in upgrading at the forward position, according to Scotto, who suggests the team would be looking at either the three or the four. Scotto’s comment on the Mavs came during a more general conversation about Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant as a potential trade candidate — while Scotto views Dallas as a fit for Grant, he doesn’t explicitly say that the Mavs have expressed interest.
The Nets and Spencer Dinwiddie, who is on track for unrestricted free agency this summer, had brief extension discussions prior to the season when he became eligible to sign a new deal, per Scotto. The two sides reportedly explored a one- or two-year deal, but Dinwiddie wanted something longer. During their discussion, Scotto and Marks wondered if Dinwiddie’s days in Brooklyn may be numbered, which is a topic that Collin Helwig of NetsDaily also explored after the veteran guard didn’t play in crunch time on Sunday and barely saw any action in the second half on Thursday.
The trade speculation about Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen earlier this season seemed more like something other teams were trying to speak into existence rather than anything real, says Scotto, adding that Markkanen will be eligible for a contract renegotiation and extension with Utah next summer and seems interested in pursuing that.

Kings Rumors: Siakam, LaVine, Kuzma, Monk, Murray, Ellis

January 10th, 2024 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

When the Kings and Raptors discussed a possible Pascal Siakam trade, the two teams are believed to have talked about a package that would have included Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, Davion Mitchell, and a first-round pick, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype said on the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast.

Shams Charania reported earlier in the week that Sacramento wanted to get a deal done quickly and pulled out of those talks when Toronto didn’t immediately accept the Kings’ initial offer. However, James Ham of The Kings Beat and ESPN 1320, appearing with Scotto on the HoopsHype podcast, said he thinks the Kings would still be in on Siakam if they felt more confident about their chances of re-signing him.

While Ham hasn’t been able to independently confirm the reporting of his ESPN 1320 colleague Damien Barling, he told Scotto that Barling has heard from his sources that Siakam made it clear he wouldn’t re-sign with Sacramento if the team were to acquire him.

Reports dating back to June have suggested that Siakam would be unwilling to re-sign with a team that trades for him — or at least would maintain that stance. The two-time All-Star would be eligible for a super-max contract during the 2024 offseason if he makes an All-NBA team this season, but only if he’s still a Raptor, as a trade would make him ineligible. With those financial considerations in mind, it makes some sense that Siakam might want to dissuade teams from trading for him.

It’s also worth noting that Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca reported over the weekend that the Kings aren’t interested in giving Siakam a standard (non super-max) maximum-salary contract. If that’s accurate and that was conveyed to the 29-year-old, it could also explain why he’d be hesitant to commit to Sacramento.

Here’s more on the Kings from Scotto and Ham:

Scotto has heard that the Kings and Bulls at least briefly discussed Zach LaVine earlier in the season. Barnes and Huerter came up in those talks, according to Scotto, who adds that Chicago likes Huerter and has done some background research on him. However, Ham is unconvinced that LaVine is a top target for Sacramento, given Mike Brown‘s focus on defense and LaVine’s massive contract.
Ham views Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma as a player who might be a better fit for Sacramento, noting that he has a more modest contract and pointing out that the Kings nearly traded Buddy Hield to the Lakers during the 2021 offseason for a package that would’ve included Kuzma. The team also had interest in Kuzma this past offseason, per Ham, but ultimately decided to extend Barnes to address the power forward position.
The Kings will hold Early Bird rights on Malik Monk when he reaches free agency this offseason, giving them the ability to offer up to $78MM over four years. Ham isn’t sure if that will be enough to retain the sharpshooting guard, who is averaging a career-best 14.8 points per game and a 41.2% three-point percentage, noting that he expects Monk to “chase money” if he gets an offer well above what Sacramento could put on the table. For what it’s worth, I’d be a little surprised if there’s a team willing to offer Monk much more than $20MM per year, but we’ll see how his season – and the market – plays out.
Ham says he asked a team source last year whether the Kings would be willing to trade Keegan Murray in a deal for Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen and was told, “No, we believe he’ll be better than Markkanen.”
While Ham doesn’t expect the Kings to fill their 15th roster spot with a rest-of-season signing prior to the trade deadline, he views two-way player Keon Ellis as a prime candidate to claim that spot if it’s still open after the deadline. “They have a lot of faith in who he is as a player and what he’s becoming,” Ham said of Ellis.

Jazz Notes: Lineup, Preston, George, Confidence

January 9th, 2024 at 10:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz coach Will Hardy has been doing a lot of tinkering with the starting lineup and rotation and it’s paying off, according to Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. Utah has had 12 different players in the starting lineup at some point.

“I think it just shows our depth and that we can win in a lot of different ways,” guard Collin Sexton said. “You’ve just got to be ready when your number is called.”

In their win over Milwaukee on Monday, the Jazz started John Collins, Lauri Markkanen, Simone Fontecchio, Sexton and Kris Dunn.

We have more on the Jazz:

Jason Preston received a two-year two-way contract from the Jazz on Monday, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Preston will get the maximum two-way guarantee for next season, which is equivalent to an Exhibit 10 bonus –that figure was worth $75K this season and will increase at the same rate as the salary cap. Utah waived Josh Christopher to make room for Preston, who had been playing for the Memphis Hustle in the G League.
Keyonte George admits it’s been a struggle for him since returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him for six games, he told Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune. The rookie has been relegated to a bench role, though he delivered a 19-point, four-assist performance against Milwaukee on Monday. “Yeah, to be honest, a little difficult for sure. I mean, I’m human,” George said. “It’s gonna take some time to get back to where I was and try to figure out times be aggressive and times where you’re trying to get people involved.”
After winning eight of their last 10 games, including road victories over Philadelphia and Milwaukee, the Jazz are feeling better than they have all season, Walden writes. “I like to call it ‘swag,’ and our swag is a little up right now,” Dunn said. “We just keep doing the right things. We have a lot of talent on this team. If we move the ball, if we guard at a high level, good things can happen, as we showed in this three-game road trip.”

Jazz Waive Christopher, Sign Preston To Two-Way Deal

January 8th, 2024 at 10:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have waived Josh Christopher and signed Jason Preston to a two-way deal, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets.

Preston spent training camp with the Grizzlies but was waived prior to the season. He was also cut by the Clippers at the beginning of October before his $1.8MM salary became fully guaranteed. He appeared in 14 games with L.A. last season and spent most of his time in the G League.

Prior to getting a contract with Utah, Preston was playing for the G League’s Memphis Hustle. Preston played in 17 games (16 starts) for the Hustle, averaging 12.4 points (on 48.1% shooting), 8.6 assists, and 7.9 rebounds per contest.

Christopher appeared in 138 games with Houston from 2021-23 but hasn’t seen any NBA action this season. He has appeared in 18 games (17 starts) for the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in 29.0 minutes per contest.

He was signed to a two-way deal in mid-October.

Stein’s Latest: Carter, Jazz, Hawks, Murray, Sixers, More

January 5th, 2024 at 5:54pm CST by Rory Maher

In his latest Substack article, Marc Stein reports that Magic center Wendell Carter is a “player to monitor” ahead of the February 8 trade deadline.

As Stein explains, Orlando has played above expectations through 34 games (the team is currently 19-15), but it has a deep frontcourt featuring Carter, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner, Goga Bitadze and Jonathan Isaac. Carter has only appeared in 13 games due to hand and knee injuries, and has been coming off the bench of late after he returned.

Those factors, plus needing to eventually re-sign or extend Franz Wagner and Banchero beyond their rookie scale contracts, has led rivals to believe that Carter will be available this winter, Stein writes.

A former lottery pick who is still just 24 years old, Carter has been a productive starter for the Magic the past few seasons and is on a fairly team-friendly contract, which will pay him $35.85MM over the next three seasons (it declines annually, down to $10.85MM in 2025/26). However, he has also missed at least 18 games in every season of his six-year career due to a variety of injuries.

Here are some more trade rumors from Stein:

It has been reported multiple times that the Jazz were expected to be sellers ahead of the trade deadline, but they’ve gone 9-3 over their past 12 games and are currently 16-19, a game out of the final play-in spot in the West. That rise up the standings has rival front offices wondering what Utah will do now, per Stein. League sources tell Stein that John Collins is one player the Jazz are continuing to try and move, though it’s unclear how much success they’ll have after acquiring him in the offseason in a salary dump.
Stein confirms recent reporting from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports about the Hawks, who are actively involved in trade conversations regarding Dejounte Murray and possibly several players on the roster outside of Trae Young and Jalen Johnson. Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to be widely coveted by rival teams, according to Stein.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report said in a live stream on Friday that the Sixers and Lakers could be eventual Murray suitors, and the Knicks have been “increasingly” linked to the former All-Star guard, Stein adds.
The Sixers are unlikely to pursue Zach LaVine or Pascal Siakam, with the team looking to take a “thoughtful” approach at the deadline, according to Stein, who gets a “strong sense” that Philadelphia will likely make moves around the edges if it makes more in-season trades.
Multiple reporters have linked the Lakers to LaVine, but Stein continues to hear they haven’t been interested — at least to this point — in taking on his long-term money. The two-time All-Star is in the second season of a five-year, $215MM contract.

Northwest Notes: McLaughlin, Olynyk, Jazz, Thunder

January 4th, 2024 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Jordan McLaughlin hasn’t seen much playing time this season for the Timberwolves, but he made an instant impact in his 12 minutes on Monday in New York, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune, and logged a season-high 17 minutes on Wednesday vs. New Orleans.

Minnesota lost both games, but McLaughlin was a plus-18 in his 29 minutes of action and appears on track to securing a more consistent role in head coach Chris Finch‘s regular rotation, according to Hine.

“Every single time he’s come in and had a super positive impact,” Finch said after the loss to the Knicks. “… We still believe that position (the ninth man) could be situational, but if somebody comes and takes it, then somebody comes and takes it and it looks like J-Mac is on his way to doing that right now.”

As Hine writes, McLaughlin was limited last season due to a calf injury, and a knee issue affected him for several weeks earlier in 2023/24, but he looks like he’s back in form as of late. The 27-year-old is in the final season of a three-year contract with the Wolves and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Big man Kelly Olynyk has had the most “robust” trade market so far of the Jazz players presumed to be available, Ben Anderson of KSL Sports says in a mailbag. That doesn’t necessarily mean that an Olynyk trade would result in the most significant return — it’s more likely that his skill set (and expiring contract) appeals to the widest range of teams.
After searching for an optimal rotation for much of the season, the Jazz seem to have found it lately, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Since Kris Dunn entered the lineup as the starting point guard on December 21, Utah has won six of seven games. A starter earlier in the season, Jordan Clarkson has been thriving in a bench role, recording the Jazz’s first triple-double in 16 years on Monday.
In a pair of stories on the ascendant Thunder, Zach Kram of The Ringer takes a look at how impactful Chet Holmgren has been in his first 33 NBA games, while Anthony Slater of The Athletic explores how the team has taken advantage of its versatility and been “open-minded and experimental” in building a top-five offense.
Despite the Thunder‘s impressive 23-10 start this season, which includes recent wins over top teams like Boston, Denver, and Minnesota, the young team’s stars aren’t interested in discussing where they fit among the NBA’s contenders, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “We know we have a long ways to go,” Holmgren said after the victory over the Celtics on Tuesday. “We’re at 32 games into the season, so we still have 50 games left. We got a lot of lessons to learn, a lot of lessons we’ve already learned from that we’ve got to kind of keep in the back of our mind.”

Hendricks Gaining Experience In G League

January 2nd, 2024 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz lottery pick Taylor Hendricks is also getting additional experience in the G League after appearing in 11 NBA games. Coach Will Hardy believes that will beneficial to his development, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. “He’s gonna get way more minutes than he was when he was with us and continue to improve,” Hardy said. “The road is long for Taylor. I’m not overreacting to anything that goes on with him right now.”

Northwest Notes: Thunder, Finch, Gordon, Hardy

December 31st, 2023 at 3:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

At 21-9, the Thunder are currently the second seed in a deep Western Conference. The team’s excellence is in part a credit to the ongoing greatness of its Big Three, as Joel Lorenzi The Oklahoman details.

Oklahoma City’s triumvirate of top-tier talent is made up of All-Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, rookie center Chet Holmgren, and power forward Jalen Williams. Williams put on an offensive masterpiece in a 129-120 win against the Knicks Wednesday, scoring a career-most 36 points.

“He just gets more comfortable — every game, every week — with his reps,” Gilgeous-Alexander raved of the second-year forward. “Biggest thing with him was just him being aggressive early in his career. He’s starting to get around to that and trust his work.”

Williams also noted that his two-man game with Holmgren is improving by leaps and bounds.

“We’re trusting each other a lot more than we had been earlier in the year,” Williams said.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Although the Timberwolves are current a Western Conference-leading 24-7, head coach Chris Finch is convinced the team still needs to improve its scoring attack, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “There’s a lot of ways to be immature,” Finch said. “And generally, this team has been very mature. But we’ve got to grow up offensively. It’s time.”
After suffering a dog attack on Christmas night that left him with hand and face lacerations, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon is set to return to the team, informing Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link) that he will be able to play on Monday against the Hornets. His own Rottweiler is the dog responsible for biting him on Christmas, Gordon reveals. “He’s a good boy,” Gordon claimed. Prior to the news, reserve point guard Reggie Jackson indicated that Gordon was more focused on the reigning champs’ progress this season than his own recovery, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. “Aaron’s still concerned about the team,” Jackson said. “He wants to be back with the group, but we just want what’s best for him.”
With three wins in their past four road games, the Jazz are in an improved headspace, in the view of head coach Will Hardy, writes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. “Overall, it’s been a good road trip,” Hardy said. “We’ve been playing much better basketball the last three weeks than the beginning of the season… I do think our team is trending in the right direction.”

Jazz Notes: Horton-Tucker, Sexton, Olynyk, Play-In Tournament

December 28th, 2023 at 9:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Talen Horton-Tucker didn’t get off the Jazz bench Tuesday night despite being available to play after missing two games with a sore left foot, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Coach Will Hardy explained it was because other guards have been playing well during the team’s three-game winning streak, but Todd believes Horton-Tucker is in danger of being dropped from the rotation.

“There’s only so many people that can play in the game,” Hardy said. “Kris (Dunn) and Collin (Sexton) have been in a good groove. Talen has played well. It’s nothing that he’s done wrong, but he is coming off an injury and we had won two games in a row. It didn’t feel right to the team to disrupt that rhythm. I think it would have been the same if it had been somebody else.”

Todd points out that the same standard didn’t apply to rookie Keyonte George, who logged 24 minutes Tuesday after missing six games with a foot injury. Horton-Tucker began the season as a starter in Utah’s backcourt, but George took over that role in the team’s eighth game and held it until his injury.

At that time, it was Dunn who was out of the rotation, Todd adds, but he and Sexton have been meshing well together recently, so Hardy is relying on what has been working. With an $11MM expiring contract, Horton-Tucker may not be part of the team’s future unless something changes.

There’s more from Utah:

Sexton has been working with assistant coaches to dissect the pick-and-roll so he can become more of a play-maker, Todd states in a separate story. As he expands his options, Sexton has raised his assists to 3.6 per game after averaging 2.9 last season. “He’s just sort of in a groove right now,” Hardy said. “I think the best thing for me is that he’s had a couple of games where he’s made a lot of good decisions and he’s still scored a lot of points and I think it’s just showing him that though he has a scoring mindset, you don’t have to think ‘score’ on every play to score a lot of points in this league.”
Replacing Walker Kessler with Kelly Olynyk in the starting lineup has helped unclog the team’s offense, observes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Although Kessler remains one of the league’s best shot blockers in his second season, he doesn’t put enough pressure on opposing defenses. Jones notes that Hardy can run a five-out approach with Olynyk, which creates room for Sexton and Lauri Markkanen to attack the basket.
The Jazz are focused on overcoming their slow start to reach the play-in tournament, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. The recent hot streak has moved Utah to within two-and-a-half games of 10th place. “You’ve got to just keep building,” Olynyk said. What’s happened in the past happened; now you gotta learn from it, grow, keep building, and not let the past dictate the future.”

Injury Notes: Duren, Jazz, Wright, Len, B. Brown

December 26th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Pistons looking to avoid becoming the first team in NBA history to ever lose 27 consecutive games in a single season, starting center Jalen Duren appears poised to make his return from an eight-game absence due to a left ankle sprain. He’s listed as probable to play vs. Brooklyn on Tuesday, tweets James L. Edwards of The Athletic.

While no player on the Pistons has particularly flattering on/off-court numbers this season, the team has played better with Duren available. Detroit’s net rating in the big man’s 404 minutes this season is -7.9; that net rating slips to just -12.8 in the team’s 988 minutes without him on the court.

Here are a few more injury-related updates ahead of Tuesday’s slate of games:

The Jazz will get a couple guards back in their rotation on Tuesday, as both Keyonte George (left foot inflammation) and Talen Horton-Tucker (left foot inflammation) have been upgraded from questionable to available, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. George has missed Utah’s past six games, while Horton-Tucker was unavailable for the last two.
The Wizards haven’t listed any injuries for Tuesday’s game against Orlando, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (via Twitter), which means veteran guard Delon Wright should be available for the first time since spraining his left knee on November 10.
Kings center Alex Len, who last played on November 13, has been upgraded to available and been cleared to return from a high right ankle sprain, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Len will actually play at all in Portland on Tuesday, given that he only logged 41 total minutes across six appearances prior to the injury.
Pacers wing Bruce Brown has been ruled out of Tuesday’s game in Houston as a result of a right knee bone bruise (Twitter link via Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files). It’ll be the second consecutive missed game for Brown after he appeared in each of Indiana’s first 27 contests this season.