Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Gobert, Alexander-Walker, Clarkson

September 2nd, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The market for Damian Lillard would have been limited even without his insistence on playing for the Heat, Sean Deveney writes in a Forbes article. Two months have passed since Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, and an unidentified executive tells Deveney that not many teams would have pursued Lillard regardless of his preference.

“I don’t think anyone likes the idea of Dame coming in and forcing the Blazers’ hand like this, forcing them to take a deal from a team that does not have the assets,” the executive said. “That’s a bad precedent, and it is one we are seeing too much of. But if Dame had not said, ‘Miami or nothing,’ where else was Portland really going to go for a deal? Maybe Brooklyn? But where else? There’s not that many teams that are going to give you a bunch of players and picks for a 33-year-old who can’t stay healthy and has a giant contract sitting there.”

Lillard will make about $215MM over the next four years, including a two-year extension he signed last summer that will pay him $58.5MM when he’s 35 and $63MM when he’s 36. There are also injury concerns after Lillard was shut down early the past two seasons.

The Heat are one of the few teams willing to absorb that deal, Deveney adds, and Lillard is a good fit with their other personnel, so Miami would have been a natural destination even if Lillard hadn’t mentioned the city.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

After a disappointing World Cup run with France, Rudy Gobert is looking forward to starting his second season with the Timberwolves, per Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops. Gobert said there were a lot of adjustments to deal with last season, but he saw positive developments, even though it ended with a first-round playoff ouster. “We didn’t go as far as we wanted to go but we were resilient,” he said. “We had a lot of injuries and a lot of things that didn’t go our way. But we kept fighting. I liked the mindset that we had. Especially in the playoffs.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker is looking forward to having stability when he reports to Timberwolves camp, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Alexander-Walker has been traded three times in his four-year career, but he signed a two-year, $9MM contract with Minnesota this summer.
After scoring 34 points as the Philippines closed out World Cup play with a win over China, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson told fans in Manila that he plans to continue playing for the national team, BasketNews relays. “I do not think this was my last performance with this jersey,” Clarkson said. “I have more time, and I still can hoop.”

Team USA Notes: Lithuania Matchup, Edwards, Kessler, Bridges

September 2nd, 2023 at 9:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Team USA got its toughest World Cup test so far in Friday’s win over Montenegro, and another challenge awaits on Sunday against Lithuania, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The Americans will be the de facto top seed if they can reach the quarterfinal round with a perfect record, but Lithuania is also in contention for that honor after going 3-0 in pool play and crushing Greece on Friday.

The U.S. hasn’t fared well against larger teams, which will be an issue when it faces Jonas Valanciunas and the Lithuanians. Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 16 rebounds for Montenegro on Friday while getting Jaren Jackson Jr. in early foul trouble. Lithuania is the top rebounding team in the tournament and has six players who are at least 6’9″.

Vardon suggests that head coach Steve Kerr might consider a lineup change, starting either Paolo Banchero or Bobby Portis alongside Jackson to get more size on the court. But that would take away the advantage in transition offense that allows the Americans to get so many fast break points.

“We understand teams are gonna try to be physical and slow the game down, and (Montenegro) did a good job of that,” Kerr said. “But our whole thing is we feel like over 40 minutes, we can wear the other team down if we stay solid.”

There’s more on Team USA:

Anthony Edwards led the rally against Montenegro with 17 points in the second half, notes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The Timberwolves guard has emerged as the team’s primary scoring option, but he’s not making a big deal out of the role. “It’s a team sport,” Edwards said. “If I wanted to punch my chest and do that, I’d go play golf or tennis or swimming like Michael Phelps. I’d go do something that’s an individual sport. But it takes five guys to win a basketball game.”
Walker Kessler thought he might be getting bad news when Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said he had a phone call for him, per Ryan Kostecka of NBA.com. Instead, it was head coach Will Hardy on the other end of the line informing Kessler that he had been selected to the World Cup team. “I was kind of freaking out, thinking I might get traded, but then he said it was coach,” Kessler said. “He then told me congrats on making the USA team. … I was definitely kind of speechless, but here I am.”
Mikal Bridges told Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops that the depth of talent on the U.S. roster creates difficult matchups for other teams. “It makes it so tough to beat,” Bridges said. “Even if the starters struggle, we have guys from the bench who are gonna play better than the starters.”

And-Ones: Executives, Value Deals, Super-Max, Milestones

September 1st, 2023 at 10:03pm CST by Rory Maher

Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports recently ranked 25 of the NBA’s top decision-makers in terms of how successful they’ve been at drafting, making trades, and signing free agents over the course of their respective careers. The other five lead executives were not evaluated due to a small sample size.

As Rohrbach writes, with how his system is set up, having a high score over a long career is more impressive than an executive who performed similarly with fewer years of experience. Still, there’s an obvious caveat: his evaluation process is subjective.

Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is ranked No. 25, followed by Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak and Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas. The top three executives in Rohrbach’s system are Jazz CEO Danny Ainge (No. 1), Raptors president Masai Ujiri, and Spurs GM Brian Wright.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype created three all-contract-value teams comprised of players at each of the five positions. Players on rookie deals and those with maximum salaries were excluded from consideration. Gozlan’s first team features four members of the United States’ World Cup roster — Jalen Brunson, Austin Reaves, Mikal Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen takes the final spot.
Signing players to a Designated Veteran contract, also known as the “super-max,” is a polarizing topic among NBA executives, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “Super-max isn’t a guarantee of the result you’re looking for,” one general manager told Heavy Sports. “Just because you qualify doesn’t make you that guy. Inflated contracts are even harder to move. The additional penalties in the new CBA should slow the roll of everybody giving out a super-max deal the first time a guy qualifies for it. Just because a guy qualifies for it doesn’t necessarily make him entitled to it. That’s become the issue in the league. If you’re going to call yourself a franchise-level player, which is what I think the super-max number says, you’ve got to have more than just putting up numbers.”
ESPN.com lists some noteworthy milestones and anniversaries to watch for the 2023/24 season, noting that Lakers superstar LeBron James is on track to surpass 40,000 career points if he maintains his stellar production and stays healthy. James became the league’s all-time leading scorer last season.

Teams With Full 21-Man Offseason Rosters

September 1st, 2023 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The offseason roster limit for NBA teams has historically been 20 players, but the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement raised that limit to 21 to account for the fact that each team’s total two-way contract slots have increased from two to three.

By the time training camps open at the start of October, we can expect most – if not all – of the NBA’s 30 teams to be carrying full 21-man rosters. There’s little downside to filling up the roster, as doing so gives teams more bodies in camp and more roster flexibility during the preseason.

[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Roster Counts]

For now though, only eight teams have maxed out their rosters. The other 22 clubs are carrying fewer than 21 players and will likely have more moves to make in the next month or so.

Here are the eight teams that currently have full 21-man offseason rosters:

Denver Nuggets

15 guaranteed, three Exhibit 10s, three two-ways

It’s still possible the Nuggets could make a change or two to their projected regular season squad, but right now their roster decisions appear pretty straightforward. Once the defending champions cut their three Exhibit 10 players, their roster will be set for opening night.

Memphis Grizzlies

17 guaranteed, one TBD, three two-ways

We still don’t know the details on Shaquille Harrison‘s new deal with the Grizzlies — I expect it’ll be non-guaranteed, but even if that’s the case, Memphis would have to trade or release two players on guaranteed deals in order to set their roster for the start of the regular season. Isaiah Todd and Josh Christopher are among those whose spots appear to be most in danger.

Miami Heat

12 guaranteed, one partially guaranteed, five Exhibit 10s, three two-ways

With the Damian Lillard sweepstakes unresolved, the Heat’s roster is still very much subject to major changes. But if no Lillard trade materializes, perhaps Miami will consider promoting one or two of their two-way players (including Jamal Cain) to the standard roster, allowing their Exhibit 10 players to compete for a two-way deal.

Milwaukee Bucks

15 guaranteed, three Exhibit 10s, three two-ways

Eric Nehm of The Athletic reported today (via Twitter) that newly signed forward Alex Antetokounmpo has already been waived. But that transaction hasn’t shown up in NBA.com’s log yet, and he’s still listed on the Bucks’ official roster, so we’re assuming the team is still carrying 21 players for now.

Of course, Antetokounmpo and his fellow Exhibit 10 signees will likely be cut sooner or later, but maybe there will be an opportunity for one of them to earn a conversion to a two-way deal with a strong preseason. Players like Lindell Wigginton, whose two-way deals carried over from 2022/23 to ’23/24, typically have less job security than those who have signed new contracts since July.

New York Knicks

12 guaranteed, three non-guaranteed, three Exhibit 10s, three two-ways

The Knicks may opt to shake things up a little before opening night. One of their 12 players on guaranteed contracts – Evan Fournier – is an obvious trade candidate, and none of their three players on non-guaranteed deals (Isaiah Roby, DaQuan Jeffries, Duane Washington) are locks to make the 15-man roster.

Oklahoma City Thunder

15 guaranteed, one partially guaranteed, two non-guaranteed, three two-ways

Setting the Thunder’s roster won’t be as simple as cutting the players without full guarantees. Two of those guys – Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe – were solid rotation players last season and another – Jack White – was newly signed in July. We took a closer look last week at where the Thunder’s roster crunch stands and which players might end up on the outside looking in.

Toronto Raptors

15 guaranteed, one non-guaranteed, two Exhibit 10s, three two-ways

Pascal Siakam has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason, but if the Raptors don’t make a deal before the season starts, the only drama may be whether Jeff Dowtin (on a non-guaranteed deal) can play well enough to crack the 15-man opening night roster.

Dowtin would earn a $900K partial guarantee if he makes it to opening night. In that scenario, Malachi Flynn, Garrett Temple, or Otto Porter might be the odd man out.

Utah Jazz

12 guaranteed, two partially guaranteed, one non-guaranteed, three Exhibit 10s, three two-ways

If Romeo Langford had received a small partial guarantee or signed a standard non-guaranteed contract, I’d view him as a threat to earn a 15-man roster spot. However, the Exhibit 10 clause reported to be included in his deal suggests the Jazz aren’t counting on that and will be happy to stick with their 15 players on standard contracts, including the three guys without full guarantees (Kris Dunn, Omer Yurtseven, and Luka Samanic).

World Cup Notes: Quarterfinals, USA, Canada, Fontecchio

September 1st, 2023 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Four teams at the 2023 World Cup punched their tickets to the quarterfinals with victories on Friday, as the U.S., Lithuania, Germany, and Slovenia all pushed their records to 4-0 and secured their spots in the eight-team knockout round, eliminating Montenegro, Greece, Australia, and Georgia.

As Armando Caporaso of Sportando tweets, that leaves four win-or-go-home games set for Sunday to determine the other four World Cup quarterfinalists. Those matchups will be Italy vs. Puerto Rico, Brazil vs. Latvia, Serbia vs. the Dominican Republic, and – perhaps most intriguingly – Canada vs. Spain.

Any European team that doesn’t advance to at least the quarterfinals will fail to clinch a spot at the 2024 Olympics in this event and would have to win a qualifying tournament next year in order to try to claim one of the last four Olympic berths.

Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Canada would keep themselves in the running for an Olympic spot with a win on Sunday. If just one of those four teams makes the quarterfinals, that club would join Team USA as the two Americas clubs that will qualify for the Olympics through the World Cup.

As we wait to see how the second round of the World Cup plays out, here are a few more notes on the tournament:

Team USA earned its spot in the quarterfinals by defeating Montenegro in what was its toughest test yet. Montenegro led at halftime and kept the game close until the final minutes, but a closing lineup that included reserve guards Tyrese Haliburton and Austin Reaves helped the U.S. put the game away, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Haliburton and Reaves took the place of starters Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart while Anthony Edwards scored all 17 of his points in the second half to help lock up the victory.
Team Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez had harsh words for his players after Friday’s upset loss to Brazil, tweets Oren Weisfeld. “Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) has to score the ball and play-make and he didn’t,” Fernandez said. “And I can go down the line. Kelly (Olynyk) has to play-make, rebound and score efficiently – he didn’t. RJ (Barrett) has to run the floor and score efficiently and defend and he didn’t.”
As Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca notes (via Twitter), a loss on Sunday for Canada would ensure that Brazil finishes ahead of them in their group standings, regardless of whether the Brazilians win or lose on Sunday. So the Canadians will need a victory if they want to hang onto a chance to clinch an Olympic berth this year.
Italian forward Simone Fontecchio played a limited role for the Jazz in his first NBA season in 2022/23, but he showed in Friday’s upset victory over Serbia what he’s capable of. As Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops details, Fontecchio led the charge in Italy’s comeback win over the Serbians, pouring in 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

Northwest Notes: Giddey, Australia, Markkanen, Nuggets

August 31st, 2023 at 12:36pm CST by Rory Maher

The Australian national team reshaped its starting lineup ahead of the 2023 World Cup, with Thunder guard Josh Giddey taking over as the team’s lead play-maker, writes Olgun Uluc of ESPN.

The results have been a little uneven through three games at the World Cup, which is to be expected with different players playing together. Still, the Boomers advanced out of their group after going 2-1, and they believe the move will pay long-term dividends, per Uluc.

“Josh Giddey’s growth throughout his career has just been astounding,” Boomers assistant coach Adam Caporn said. “Being around him, you see why. Every game, he’s studying the opposition, he’s improving things, he’s got great feedback and input for us on what he needs and what he feels like the team needs. It’s really great having that level of floor leader out there. Super fun. The ball will be in his hands a lot, and he’s gonna do a lot of great things.”

Giddey, 20, is averaging 19.0 PPG, 7.3 APG and 5.0 RPG on .528/.222/.684 shooting thus far (28.7 MPG).

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Next up for Australia is a rematch of the bronze medal game from the Tokyo Olympics, with the Boomers set to face off against Slovenia on Friday. Giddey says he’s looking forward to competing against Mavericks star Luka Doncic, according to Uluc. “It’s a lot of fun,” the Thunder‘s 2021 lottery pick said of Doncic. “Obviously a lot of people are here to see him. He carries a heavy load for Slovenia, so a lot of our game plan is gonna revolve around him, just like it did with Lauri [Markkanen] and Yuta [Watanabe] tonight. We’ve had the opportunity to play against these teams where they have a superstar or an NBA player, so Luka is obviously on a different level, but we’ve got Josh Green, Matisse [Thybulle] — those types of guys — for that job. We’ll be ready for it. Just one game at a time, and keep moving forward.”
The Finnish national team has been eliminated from medal contention at the World Cup, but the team is still competing in the classification games. On Thursday, Jazz star Lauri Markkanen was dominant in Finland’s victory over Cape Verde, recording a game-high 34 points (on 12-of-19 shooting), nine rebounds and a game-high plus-23 in 27 minutes of action, notes Eurohoops.net.
Former Nuggets point guard Andre Miller will return as head coach of the Grand Rapids Gold for a second season in 2023/24, the team announced in a press release. The Nuggets’ NBA G League affiliate will also have a new general manager in Ben Tenzer, who will continue to serve as Denver’s vice president of basketball operations. Travess Armenta will be the Gold’s new associate head coach. Armenta has had various roles with the Nuggets and Gold over the years, per the release.

Jazz Sign Taevion Kinsey, Romeo Langford, Nick Ongenda

August 30th, 2023 at 4:19pm CST by Rory Maher

The Jazz have officially signed Taevion Kinsey, Romeo Langford and Nick Ongenda, per a team press release.

While the terms of the contracts were not disclosed, the Jazz said the trio of free agents were added to their training camp roster, so they’ll likely all be on Exhibit 10 deals — it has already been reported that Langford will receive an Exhibit 10 contract.

Kinsey, a 6’5″ guard, went undrafted in June after five college seasons, all at Marshall. As a “super senior” in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

Ongenda, a 6’11” center, also went undrafted in June. He spent all four of his college seasons at DePaul, averaging 12.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 4.4 BPG in 2022/23. However, those numbers came in a small sample size — the Canadian big man was limited to just eight games (30.5 MPG) this past season due to a wrist injury.

Both Kinsey and Ongenda played for the Jazz during Summer League action in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

The Jazz have now reached the offseason maximum of 21 players under contract, with 15 players on standard deals (12 guaranteed) and all three two-way slots filled.

If Kinsey and Ongenda signed Exhibit 10 contracts and are waived before the season starts, they could each receive a bonus worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted into two-way contracts, though as we previously noted, Langford is ineligible for a two-way deal because he has already played four NBA seasons.

Jazz, Romeo Langford Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 30th, 2023 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have agreed to sign free agent wing Romeo Langford to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Tony Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Langford, who will turn 24 this October, was drafted 14th overall by the Celtics in 2019 when current Jazz CEO Danny Ainge was Boston’s head of basketball operations.

The former Indiana Hoosier spent his first two-and-a-half NBA seasons in Boston before being traded to San Antonio, where he has played since February 2022. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after the Spurs opted not issue him a qualifying offer.

Langford is a solid defender, but has struggled to make much of an impact on the offensive end of the floor. In 141 career regular season games, he has averaged 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .430/.288/.659.

Since he has four years of NBA service under his belt, Langford will be ineligible to have his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal. However, if he doesn’t earn a spot on Utah’s standard 15-man regular season roster and then spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, he’d be in line for a bonus worth up to $75K.

With 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, the Jazz currently have three open spots on their 21-man offseason roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to create space for Langford.

Collin Sexton Hoping To Earn Jazz’s Point Guard Job

August 29th, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

The competition to become the Jazz‘s starting point guard is expected to be wide open entering training camp this fall, with Collin Sexton, Kris Dunn, Talen Horton-Tucker, Jordan Clarkson, and even rookie Keyonte George all considered candidates for the job.

Appearing at the Powder League, a popular pro-am summer league in Utah, Sexton told Tony Jones of The Athletic that he intends to do all he can to prove that he deserves that starting point guard role following an injury-plagued 2022/23 season.

“I want to show that I’m back and healthy and 100 percent,” Sexton said. “Every year for me is important, so I don’t put too much pressure on myself from that standpoint. I’m my biggest critic, so I’m always going to have a lot of expectations for myself.

“I’ve been watching a lot of film this summer. I want to be able to try and take over the point guard role. I want to show them that I can run the show. I’m getting back into the groove of things. I think this season is going to be fun.”

Mike Conley was Utah’s starting point guard last season until the trade deadline, when he was sent to Minnesota in a three-team deal that also included the Lakers. The Jazz acquired Russell Westbrook in that trade, but he was bought out before ever appearing in a game for the team, opening up the point guard spot.

Although Horton-Tucker finished last season as Utah’s starting point guard, he’s not a traditional distributor. Neither are Sexton or Clarkson, who are both score-first combo guards. Dunn is perhaps the most prototypical point guard on the roster, but he’s on a non-guaranteed contract and has only appeared in 40 games over the past three seasons, so it’s not as if he’ll be handed the job.

Sexton has shown off an impressive ability to score over the course of his five-year career, posting 19.0 points per game on .464/.380/.826 shooting. However, he has averaged just 3.2 assists – compared to 2.4 turnovers – in his 266 regular season contests, and is undersized as a defender. Still, he’s confident he can handle the duties required of a point guard.

“When it comes to making the right plays, I know that I’m capable of doing it,” Sexton said. “I just have to go out and do it. But knowing this season is going to be important for me and for us as a team, I’m excited. I think that we have a chance to be really good.”

Sexton was limited to 48 appearances last season and started just 15 of them. While the 24-year-old would like to start more often this season, he’s willing to accept a reserve role if it’s for the good of the team.

“Everyone has to buy in for a common goal this season, and that’s to win,” he told Jones. “At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. If we win, everything takes care of itself. And if we win, everybody eats. So that’s the way that we all have to look at things going into camp and into the season.”

And-Ones: Offseason Moves, Coach Contracts, Kerr, Hawaii

August 24th, 2023 at 10:02pm CST by Rory Maher

In a three-part series for The Athletic, David Aldridge ranks the teams that he believes improved the most and least this offseason. Aldridge’s most improved team is unsurprisingly the Spurs, who won the draft lottery and selected French phenom Victor Wembanyama. The Cavaliers and Suns rank Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

In the middle section, Aldridge has the Jazz at No. 11, the Pistons at No. 15, and the Warriors at No. 20. He gives the Trail Blazers an incomplete, since there’s no way to fairly evaluate their offseason until the Damian Lillard situation is resolved.

At the bottom end, the defending-champion Nuggets are No. 29 on Aldridge’s list after losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in free agency; the No. 28 team is the Raptors, who lost Fred VanVleet to Houston.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The contracts signed by Monty Williams and Gregg Popovich will be used as benchmarks by top NBA coaches going forward. As Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes, a trio of accomplished head coaches — Steve Kerr (Warriors), Erik Spoelstra (Heat) and Tyronn Lue (Clippers), all of whom are members of Team USA — could be the primary beneficiaries of those deals. Kerr and Spoelstra are entering the final year of their respective contracts, while Lue has two years left on his deal, Windhorst notes.
Kerr has purchased a minority stake in European football (soccer) club Real Mallorca, according to Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez of ESPN. Kerr said he was offered the opportunity by longtime friend Andy Kohlberg, who is the team’s president and recently became majority owner, per ESPN. “Andy Kohlberg and I have been friends for many years,” Kerr said. “We were together this summer. He told me there was a shift in the ownership group and he offered me the chance to be part of the new investment group. I was so excited, having been in Mallorca last summer watching a game, following the team and becoming a fan. It was a really exciting opportunity and I jumped at it.” Mallorca competes in La Liga, Spain’s top league.
The Jazz and Clippers will be playing their first preseason game in Hawaii on October 8, with all proceeds going to the wildfire relief effort, Ryan Kostecka writes for Utah’s team website.