Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Three Players Signed, Waived By Jazz

October 15th, 2022 at 7:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz have placed forward Tyler Cook and guards Frank Jackson and Isaiah Miller on waivers, the team announced in a press release. Their signings were announced earlier today, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets.

Cook, a 25-year-old forward, appeared in 20 games with the Bulls last season on a two-way contract. He entered the league with the Cavaliers in 2019 and has also played for the Nuggets, Pistons and Nets.

Jackson spent the past two seasons with the Pistons and played two years with the Pelicans as well. The 24-year-old guard was the 31st pick in the 2017 draft.

Miller, a 24-year-old point guard, was waived by the Trail Blazers earlier this week. He spent last season with the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate.

All three players are likely to end up with Utah’s G League team, the Salt Lake City Stars, once they clear waivers.

Jazz Waive Cody Zeller, Jared Butler

October 15th, 2022 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

3:14pm: In addition to waiving Zeller, the Jazz are also cutting Jared Butler, according to Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team has issued a press release confirming that Zeller and Butler have been waived, reducing the roster count to 15 players on standard contracts.

The decision to waive Butler comes as a bit of a surprise, since the team was very high on the former Baylor guard after drafting him 40th overall a year ago.

Butler appeared in 42 games as a rookie, averaging 3.8 PPG and 1.5 APG on .404/.318/.688 shooting. Utah will be on the hook for his guaranteed $1,563,518 salary unless he’s claimed on waivers on Monday.

2:42pm: Cody Zeller won’t make Utah’s regular season roster, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the Jazz are waiving the veteran center.

Zeller fell victim to the roster crunch in Utah in part due to the nature of his contract. His minimum salary for 2022/23 is fully non-guaranteed, so the team won’t be on the hook for any dead money after cutting him.

The fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Zeller spent his first eight NBA seasons in Charlotte, then played for Portland in 2021/22. He played a limited role for the Blazers last season, averaging 5.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG in a career-low 13.1 minutes off the bench in 27 games before a right patellar avulsion fracture ended his season.

Having waived Saben Lee, Stanley Johnson, and Zeller, the Jazz will have one more roster move to make to get down to the regular season limit of 15 players on standard contracts. The club still has 16 players with guaranteed salaries. Udoka Azubuike, Leandro Bolmaro, and Rudy Gay are among the candidates to be the odd man out.

Jazz Waive Stanley Johnson

October 14th, 2022 at 11:46pm CST by Rory Maher

The Jazz have waived forward Stanley Johnson, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News (Twitter link).

The Jazz are facing a roster crunch with 17 players on guaranteed standard contracts, and with the regular season limit set at 15, they’ll need to release at least one more player by October 17. Utah will be on the hook for Johnson’s fully guaranteed $2,351,521 salary in 2022/23 if he goes unclaimed on the waiver wire.

Johnson was acquired by the Jazz as a salary-matching piece in the trade that saw Talen Horton-Tucker head to Utah, with Patrick Beverley sent to the Lakers. As Danny Leroux of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), the Lakers cannot sign Johnson for the rest of the league year due to a rule in the collective bargaining agreement.

According to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link), the Jazz tried to deal Johnson this week and were unable to find any takers despite playing decently for Los Angeles last season and having some good moments for Utah during preseason.

He averaged 6.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 APG and 0.9 SPG on .466/.314/.716 shooting in 48 games (27 starts, 22.8 MPG) for the Lakers in ’21/22.

The eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, Johnson has played for the Pistons, Pelicans and Raptors in addition to the Lakers. His relative lack of an offensive game is the main reason why he struggled to find an NBA contract last season before landing a 10-day hardship deal with Chicago last December (he never played for the Bulls), then multiple 10-day deals and later a two-year contract with the Lakers.

Udoka Azubuike Cleared To Practice In Full

October 14th, 2022 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Jazz center Udoka Azubuike, who underwent surgery on his right foot and ankle in March, was cleared to practice in full on Thursday for the first time in seven months, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I was excited about it,” Azubuike said. “We did some exercises in the morning before practice, and that felt good. Then, me going out there, getting a rep and you know, I’m just excited. It really felt good.” It remains to be seen if the former first-round pick will earn a spot on Utah’s regular season roster, since the team has 18 players on standard contracts and will need to make cuts by Monday.

Northwest Notes: Brown, Gay, Lillard, Trail Blazers

October 13th, 2022 at 9:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Nuggets addition Bruce Brown seems to be the exact defensive puzzle piece the team had been missing, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber-exclusive link).

“When I realized that Bruce was still available (as a free agent), that was, ‘Hey man, this is a guy that we need,’” head coach Michael Malone said, adding that he communicated that to team GM Calvin Booth during the offseason. “You might score on him, but he’s not gonna back down.”

The 26-year-old inked a two-year, $13MM deal with the Nuggets this summer.

Singer notes that the 6’4″ Brown possesses a versatility that allows him to cover opposing positions ranging from point guards to power forwards, and can function in a variety of ways on offense as well. Malone has been making a concerted effort to play Brown at the point to see what he can do as a play-maker.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The Jazz face some tough choices when it comes to how they want to use veteran power forward Rudy Gay this season, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. As Todd outlines, the team could look to showcase the 36-year-old either to boost his trade value or to use him as a mentor to their rebuilding roster, or the club could opt to waive the remaining two years and $12.7MM remaining on his current contract.
Though Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard could have demanded a trade out of town, he decided instead to stick around as the team re-tools. Logan Murdock of The Ringer details how Lillard questioned the team’s direction following a 2021 first-round playoff exit. “It just had reached the point where I was like, ‘Is what I want the same as what the organization wants?’” Lillard told Murdock. “Do we actually want to win, or is it a situation where, ‘We’re going to be good enough, we know Dame is going to put his best foot forward and it’s going to be entertaining, we’re going to be competitive, we’re going to have a chance in the playoffs.’”
Following an underwhelming 1-4 preseason finish, which included three blowout defeats, the Trail Blazers and second-year head coach Chauncey Billups could have a rough road reaching even a .500 record, let alone a postseason return, opines Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (subscriber-exclusive link).

Micah Potter Signs Two-Way Contract With Jazz

October 12th, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 12: Potter has officially signed his two-way contract with the Jazz, who waived Jeenathan Williams to open up a spot on the 20-man preseason roster, the team announced today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 20: The Jazz will sign center Micah Potter to a two-way deal, Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic report (via Twitter).

Utah had a two-way slot open and won’t need to make a corresponding roster move. Johnny Juzang holds the other two-way contract.

The Pistons waived Potter last week just days after officially signing him. He seemed likely to begin the season with the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ NBAGL team, since the Motor City Cruise previously acquired his returning rights from the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s affiliate.

However, Potter obviously found a better opportunity.

Potter, 24, initially signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Miami last fall after going undrafted out of Wisconsin. He was released before the regular season began and spent most of his rookie year with the Skyforce, averaging 17.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG on .539/.445/.731 shooting in 33 NBAGL games (28.8 MPG).

Potter’s strong performance at the G League level earned him a brief look at the NBA level. The Pistons signed him to a 10-day contract in December. He appeared in three regular season contests, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 31 total minutes.

Jae Crowder Rumors: Hawks, Jazz, Celtics, Grizzlies

October 12th, 2022 at 9:35am CST by Luke Adams

Rival teams are a little surprised by the way the Suns have handled the Jae Crowder situation, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who notes that keeping a player away from the team generally lowers his trade value. Crowder didn’t join the Suns for training camp this fall as the two sides attempt to find him a new NBA home.

“I thought the way Phoenix played the situation was strange,” a Western Conference executive told Fischer. “You’re not a super deep team. You’re a contender. Doesn’t it seem like there’s some other way to resolve this other than him sitting out and hurting your depth?”

An Eastern Conference exec who spoke to Fischer offered a similar assessment: “For Jae to hold out is pretty rare. It’s pretty extreme. It’s really interesting they didn’t just play hardball with him.”

A Shams Charania report earlier this week indicated that the Hawks are among the teams with interest in Crowder, and Fischer confirms that Phoenix and Atlanta have had conversations about the veteran forward throughout the offseason. The Hawks are believed to be one of Crowder’s preferred landing spots, along with the Heat, Fischer writes.

As for what the Hawks might be willing to give up for Crowder, that remains unclear. Front office personnel have speculated about the possibility of a Crowder/Landry Shamet package for Bogdan Bogdanovic, but one source told Fischer that Shamet isn’t part of the Suns’ discussions with the Hawks. Some league executives have wondered if Atlanta would give up De’Andre Hunter in a deal for Crowder, says Fischer, but there’s no indication the team is exploring that scenario.

As I suggested on Monday, a package of Justin Holiday and a young player such as Jalen Johnson could theoretically work from a salary-matching perspective. According to Fischer, it’s possible that structure would work if a third team were involved, allowing the Suns to acquire a different player on their wish list.

Here’s more on Crowder from Fischer:

The Suns have inquired about acquiring Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson in exchange for Crowder, sources tell Fischer. It’s unclear whether Phoenix would be willing to attach a draft asset to Crowder to land Clarkson. The rebuilding Jazz wouldn’t have much interest in Crowder as a player, so they’d need to be enticed to make a deal.
The Suns are believed to have interest in Celtics guard Derrick White, but Boston hasn’t entered the mix for Crowder so far, according to Fischer.
While the Grizzlies could theoretically build a package for Crowder around Danny Green‘s expiring contract, there are a couple roadblocks, as Fischer explains. The Suns don’t want to take on Green while he recovers from a torn ACL and are reluctant to send Crowder to a Western Conference rival unless the deal makes Phoenix significantly better. Sources tell Fischer that Memphis isn’t actively pursuing Crowder.

Jazz Sign Jeenathan Williams To Exhibit 10 Deal

October 11th, 2022 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 11: Williams’ signing is now official, the Jazz confirmed in a press release. To make room on the roster, Utah has waived guard Darryl Morsell, who signed with the team on Sunday.

JUNE 27: The Jazz and free agent swingman Jeenathan Williams have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal, sources tell Jon Chepkevich of Rookie Scale (Twitter link).

Williams, who declared for the draft this spring following his fourth college season, earned All-MAC First Team honors in 2022 after making the Second Team in 2021.

The undrafted rookie out of Buffalo averaged 18.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in 54 contests (31.8 MPG) over his last two seasons. He also shot an impressive 42.5% on three-pointers during that time.

As Chepkevich notes, Williams stands at 6’6″ but has a seven-foot wingspan.

Exhibit 10 deals are non-guaranteed pacts that can be converted into two-way contracts before the regular season begins. They also allow a player to earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived before the season and joins his team’s G League affiliate.

Jazz Waive Saben Lee, Sign Darryl Morsell

October 9th, 2022 at 9:09pm CST by Luke Adams

9:09pm: The Jazz have officially waived Lee and have completed their Exhibit 10 deal with Marquette guard Darryl Morsell, the team announced in a press release.

Utah’s agreement with Morsell was reported shortly after he went undrafted in June.

4:40pm: The Jazz are waiving guard Saben Lee, according to Tony Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 38th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Lee spent his first two NBA seasons with the Pistons, first on a two-way contract and then on a standard deal. He appeared in 85 total games for the team, averaging 5.6 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .434/.265/.731.

Lee was part of the trade that sent Bojan Bogdanovic to Detroit, heading to Utah in the deal along with Kelly Olynyk. He was included for salary-matching purposes, with the Pistons sending the Jazz the exact amount of cash necessary to cover his guaranteed salary for 2022/23 ($1,752,638). That was a sign that he might not be in Utah’s plans for the season, and Jones later stated that Lee would likely need to have a “hell of a camp” to stick with the team.

The move is the first of several the Jazz will have to make to clear their roster logjam before the regular season begins later this month. Once Lee is officially waived, Utah will still have 17 players with fully guaranteed salaries, plus Cody Zeller, who is vying for a regular season roster spot on a non-guaranteed deal.

Cutting Lee will open up a spot on Utah’s 20-man roster for the team to officially sign Micah Potter to a two-way contract, Jones notes (via Twitter). Porter’s agreement with the Jazz was reported last month.

Jazz Need Some Time To Develop Chemistry

October 9th, 2022 at 7:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Given how significantly they overhauled their roster this offseason, the Jazz will likely need more than just a few preseason games to develop a real sense of chemistry, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “It’s going to take us a while to get used to everyone and learn everyone,” Jordan Clarkson said. “We’re still just getting the basics down. We’re not even at the point of knowing guys’ spots and individual games.”