Jazz, Tibor Pleiss Discuss Deal

FRIDAY, 8:24am: It appears there will be no deal between the Jazz and Pleiss this season, according to Pick (on Twitter).

1:21pm: The talks have encountered a hurdle, Pick hears (Twitter link). Barcelona has offered to trade Pleiss to Brose Baskets Bamberg, Carchia reports, but Pleiss and Barcelona are haggling over money, which would make such a trade difficult, according to Carchia. Utah is reportedly set to sign Bryce Cotton to a 10-day contract, though with two open roster spots, that wouldn’t necessarily signal the team is ready to move on from Pleiss, particularly since he and Cotton play different positions.

MONDAY, 11:46am: The Jazz and draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss are working on a deal that would bring the 7’2″ center to Utah, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The 25-year-old is on a contract with Barcelona of Spain that runs until 2016, as Mark Porcaro’s log of draft rights held players shows, but Barcelona isn’t satisfied with his play and is willing to let him go, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports (Twitter links). Pleiss isn’t pleased with his role in Spain, Carchia adds, and a source told Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune last week that there was a decent chance he’d leave Barcelona.

Pleiss has remained overseas since he became the 31st overall pick in 2010. His playing time this season with Barcelona is down sharply from last year, when he was with Laboral Kuxta, another Spanish team. He’s putting up 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game this season as opposed to his 12.4 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 21.8 MPG in 2013/14.

Utah acquired his rights from the Thunder last week in the three-team trade that sent Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City. It’s unclear if Barcelona would demand a buyout to spring Pleiss from his contract, but the Jazz have nearly $2.826MM in cap room and two open roster spots, allowing for plenty of flexibility.

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