Former NBA point guard Kennedy Chandler has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Jazz, agent Ryan Davis tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 38th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Chandler spent his rookie season with Memphis but was waived during the 2023 offseason and hasn’t been in the NBA since then, having played for the Long Island Nets, Raptors 905, and Delaware Blue Coats in the G League in recent years.
In 36 games this season for the Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s NBAGL affiliate, Chandler has averaged 17.3 points and 9.7 assists in 35.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .449/.299/.686.
The Jazz currently have a full 15-man standard roster, but two of those 15 players are on 10-day deals, with Andersson Garcia‘s contract set to expire on Friday night and Bez Mbeng‘s deal running through Sunday.
While Chandler could simply replace one of those two players on the roster, Utah may also qualify for a hardship exception, allowing the team to temporarily exceed 15 standard contracts. A team becomes eligible for a hardship exception when it has at least four players who have missed three or more games and are expected to be out for at least two more weeks.
In the Jazz’s case, Jaren Jackson Jr., Walker Kessler, and Jusuf Nurkic have been ruled out for the season, while Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George are currently on the shelf with multi-week injuries. If either Markkanen or George is expected to miss the next two weeks, Utah would qualify for a hardship deal.
Chandler will earn $117,730 over the course of his 10-day contract. If the Jazz wait until Saturday to sign him, he could replace Garcia on the roster and his deal would cover the team’s next six games.
Calling him a former NBA player sounds like he came out of retirement
I think it’s good that a tanking team with the Jazz give some G-league players and prospects a chance in the league to prove themselves. Great opportunity
Hey, Jazz, I’m a free agent too. Think hard about signing me to pair of those 10-day contracts – no wins with me on the floor, that’s for sure, don’t take chances.