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Western Notes: Wolves, Hyland, Dundon, Durant, Suns

August 14th, 2025 at 3:58pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Due to their proximity to the second tax apron, the Timberwolves may only carry 14 players on standard contracts to open the 2025/26 season, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. While Minnesota has checked in on several free agent guards, including Cameron Payne, Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet, all signs point to Bones Hyland being the frontrunner for the 14th spot, Krawczynski reports.

Hyland signed a two-way contract with the Wolves last season, appearing in four games. As Krawczynski notes, Hyland was a former first-round pick by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.

While breaking down the roster, Krawczynski writes that Johnny Juzang — who agreed to a training camp deal with the Wolves — is a long shot to make the cut but that Luka Garza forced his way onto the team with similar odds last year. Young players like Jaylen Clark, Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. are expected to have larger roles this season, Krawczynski adds.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • A group led by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon reached an agreement on Wednesday to buy the Trail Blazers. That group includes Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global who is married to Dr. Sejal Hathi, the head of Oregon Health Authority, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report writes (Substack subscriber link). The group’s local connection through Tyle is one of a few reasons why it stood out among the bidders, per Highkin.
  • After suggesting in a recent podcast that the Rockets might be reluctant to sign Kevin Durant to a maximum-salary extension, Tim MacMahon said on an NBA Today appearance that there isn’t any urgency to complete a multiyear agreement. MacMahon said the Rockets have other matters to attend to, including an extension for Tari Eason. “Kevin Durant is their best player, he’s not necessarily their priority,” MacMahon said. “That’s not an insult to him, their priority is making sure they have as long of a runway as possible while trying to cash in on this window that they created by getting Kevin Durant.“
  • Plenty of “ifs” stand in the way of the Suns making the playoffs, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports writes. While they could be a surprise team if things break the right way, Bourguet has them just on the outside looking in of the Western Conference playoff picture for next season, sitting at No. 11 in his conference power rankings. The Suns basically remade their depth after trading away Durant and waiving Bradley Beal, adding the likes of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams via trades.
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Johnny Juzang, Timberwolves Agree To One-Year Deal

August 1st, 2025 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Johnny Juzang has reached an agreement with the Timberwolves and will sign a one-year contract with the team, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

While Charania doesn’t provide any further details on the deal, it’s safe to assume it’s a minimum-salary contract, and Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link) reports that it won’t be guaranteed. Juzang will get the chance in camp to compete for a spot on the 15-man roster or a two-way deal., Hine adds.

Juzang, 24, caught on with Utah after going undrafted out of UCLA in 2022 and has spent the past three seasons with the Jazz — two on two-way deals, then last season on a standard contract. He actually signed a four-year deal with Utah last August, but only the first season was guaranteed, so he was waived in June before his $2.84MM salary for 2025/26 was locked in.

Juzang made just 38 total appearances during his first two NBA seasons, but earned a rotation role in ’24/25, averaging 19.8 minutes per night across 64 outings. He put up 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, with a respectable .429/.376/.849 shooting line. However, the Jazz were the NBA’s worst defensive team and Juzang did little to help matters on that end — his 120.3 defensive rating was the second-worst among players who logged at least 500 minutes for Utah.

The Timberwolves entered the day with 13 players on standard guaranteed contracts and a pair of players on two-way deals, so they’ll have 16 players on their offseason roster once they’ve officially signed Juzang. They also still have a two-way qualifying offer on the table for Tristen Newton.

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Jazz Waiving Johnny Juzang

June 30th, 2025 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz are placing guard/forward Johnny Juzang on waivers, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

A decision was due today on Juzang, whose $2.84MM salary for the 2025/26 season would have become fully guaranteed if he hadn’t been cut by the end of the day, as our tracker of early guarantee dates shows. Now, Utah won’t be on the hook for any of that money.

Waiving Juzang will also help with the Jazz’s roster crunch. Entering the day, the team had 11 players on guaranteed contracts for ’25/26 and four on non-guaranteed deals, plus incoming first-round picks Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr.

After playing sparingly in his first two NBA seasons, Juzang took on a more prominent role with the Jazz in 2024/25, averaging 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 19.8 minutes per game across 64 outings (18 starts). The 24-year-old posted a respectable shooting line of .429/.376/.849.

Juzang had signed a four-year, $11.4MM contract with Utah last summer, but only the first season was guaranteed. According to Charania, the former UCLA standout is expected to draw interest from teams. He’ll clear waivers on Wednesday if no club places a claim.

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Northwest Notes: Jazz, Porter, Gordon, Conley

March 10th, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have four players with non-guaranteed contract for next season — KJ Martin, Svi Mykhailiuk, Jaden Springer and Johnny Juzang. Will they retain any of them?

Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune examines each player’s case, concluding that their futures depend on what else the Jazz do with their roster this summer and whether they’ll have trade value if their contracts are retained. Springer, for example, hasn’t played much, while Mykhailuk has already passed through a number of organizations.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Nuggets have only lost four games since the beginning of February and all have come against playoff-bound clubs – the Lakers, Bucks, Celtics and Thunder. Forward Michael Porter Jr.  says they have to be more efficient against the elite teams in order to win the championship. “Things that you get away with against mediocre teams are not things that you’re going to get away with against the best teams,” he told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post (Twitter link). “And I think that we haven’t done a good job this year at winning those games against some of the top teams.”
  • Forward Aaron Gordon wasn’t available for the Nuggets when they faced the Thunder again tonight. He was out due to right calf injury management and a left ankle sprain, Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette tweets. Gordon left the matchup against the Thunder on Sunday during the first quarter due to calf tightness, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman tweets.
  • Mike Conley was reinserted into the starting lineup against Miami on Friday ahead of Donte DiVincenzo. It turned out to be a good move by Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, as Conley produced 15 points in 25 minutes, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic notes. Conley remained in the lineup against San Antonio and turned in another sharp performance with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists with no turnovers in 23 minutes. Conley has one year remaining on his two-year, $20.75MM contract.
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Eighteen More Players Become Trade-Eligible

January 15th, 2025 at 7:00am CST by Luke Adams

Today is Wednesday, January 15, which means that a total of 18 players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.

Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:

  1. The player re-signed with his previous team.
  2. He got a raise of at least 20%.
  3. His salary is above the minimum.
  4. His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.

The following players met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Wednesday:

Most of the players on NBA rosters are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt.

That group includes Kings forward Doug McDermott, who becomes trade-eligible on Thursday, Celtics sharpshooter Sam Hauser (trade-eligible on January 23), Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (Jan. 26), Grizzlies big man Jay Huff (Jan. 28), Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (Feb. 2), and Knicks center Ariel Hukporti (Feb. 5).

Additionally, there are several players who won’t become trade-eligible at all prior to this season’s February 6 deadline, including stars like Joel Embiid, Lauri Markkanen, and Jamal Murray.

Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be dealt.

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Jazz Notes: Juzang, Williams, Harkless, Markkanen

January 12th, 2025 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz‘s matchup with the Heat on Thursday gave them a first-hand look at the sort of player they envision as a model for third-year wing Johnny Juzang, writes Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Head coach Will Hardy referred to Heat forward Duncan Robinson as the “poster boy” for the type of unheralded prospect who earns a spot in the NBA with his reliable three-point shooting and length on defense. Like Robinson, Juzang went undrafted out of college, and Hardy said this week that he spoke to the former UCLA standout when he arrived in Utah about how he could stick in the NBA.

“We had a pretty honest conversation about what I felt like he needed to do to make it,” Hardy said. “He was sort of an all-around scorer in college, had the ball a lot. Johnny has two really great gifts. He can really shoot and he is in really good shape. We felt like him becoming a real threat from the three-point line, and making that the centerpiece, would allow him to stick.”

Juzang played sparingly while on a two-way contract during his first two seasons with the Jazz, appearing in just 38 total contests. But he showed enough to earn a multiyear deal this past offseason that includes a guaranteed $3.1MM salary in 2024/25.

The remaining three seasons on the 23-year-old’s contract are non-guaranteed, so he’ll have to continuing proving to Utah’s front office that he deserves his roster spot. He’s off to a promising start this season, having averaged 7.3 points per game with a .400 3PT% through 32 appearances (17.8 MPG), including 9.2 PPG with a .446 3PT% since the start of December.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

  • Juzang missed Saturday’s game in Phoenix due to a fracture in his right hand, but the club doesn’t believe that injury will require a lengthy absence. As Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune relays (via Twitter), the Jazz stated that once the inflammation subsides, they “anticipate he will be able to play with the fracture as pain tolerates.”
  • Saturday’s 13-point performance against Phoenix was a promising sign for rookie Cody Williams, who has badly struggled offensively in the first half of the season, Larsen writes for The Tribune (subscription required). Williams’ ball-handling and footwork still need work, but he has shown good touch near the basket out to about 15 feet, Larsen observes. His 13 points on Saturday represented a career high and he was a plus-7 across 22 minutes in a game Utah lost by eight points.
  • Elijah Harkless, who signed a two-way contract with Utah at the start of January, made his NBA debut on Saturday vs. the Suns, Larsen notes in the same story. While Harkless has been shooting the ball well this season in the G League, making 40.8% of his three-pointers, he’s best known for his defense. Asked last week by Larsen to introduce his game to Jazz fans, Harkless replied, “I’m competitive. Best on-ball defender on the planet.” He went scoreless with four rebounds in nine minutes on Saturday.
  • In case you missed it in our Community Shootaround discussion on Saturday, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was among the players labeled by scouts and executives who spoke to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link) as one of the season’s disappointments so far. “He’s probably not super motivated because the team is tanking,” one executive said of Markkanen, who signed a long-term extension with Utah in August. “But his numbers and his overall level is down across the board.”
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Jazz Notes: Hendricks, Collins, Williams, G League

October 29th, 2024 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

The gruesome right leg injury that Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks suffered on Monday is expected to sideline him for the rest of the 2024/25 season, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN. While Hendricks will undergo further testing on Tuesday, he was diagnosed on Monday night with a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle.

“That’s hard to stomach,” head coach Will Hardy said of the injury. “He’s put in a lot of hard work. He’s a great kid, and so we’re really just trying to focus on him, his health, keeping him up, his spirits up as he begins the road of his recovery. But these are the moments in sports that suck.”

Hendricks, who will turn 21 next month, played sparingly as a rookie, especially in the first half of the season, finishing with 23 starts in 40 total outings. The Jazz had planned to increase his role and his responsibilities in his second year. The 6’9″ forward started each of Utah’s first three contests and averaged 26.6 minutes per night in his two full games, well above the 21.4 MPG he logged last season.

“This is far from over for him,” Hardy said, per MacMahon. “This is a pause button for Taylor. You can see [his work paying off] even in the early parts of this season. You can see the flashes, you can see where this could be going with him, and that’s a credit to him.”

I expect the Jazz to apply for a disabled player exception following Hendricks’ injury, but that exception would be worth just $2.92MM (half of his salary) and wouldn’t grant the team an extra roster spot, so its usefulness would be limited.

Here’s more on Hendricks and the Jazz:

  • Hendricks’ teammates were devastated to see him go down with such a significant injury, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. “It’s just put me in an emotional state,” fellow 2023 first-rounder Keyonte George said. “That’s just my brother. I didn’t know him growing up, and then building a relationship with him over the year, he felt like family. I told him I loved him, told him I’m here for him, whatever he needs.” Third-year center Walker Kessler echoed that sentiment: “The biggest thing is just being there for him physically and checking up on him. Right now, he just needs a lot of support from a lot of people.”
  • Hendricks’ absence will leave an opening in the Jazz’s starting lineup and a significant gap in the rotation, according to Larsen, who considers in a separate story for The Salt Lake Tribune how the team might plug those holes. As Larsen writes, while John Collins is an obvious candidate to take Hendricks’ spot in the starting lineup, units that featured him, Lauri Markkanen, and Kessler weren’t effective last season. With that in mind, Larsen believes rookie forward Cody Williams might be the better option. While he expects Utah’s decision to come down to Collins vs. Williams, Larsen also mentions Brice Sensabaugh, Johnny Juzang, and Kyle Filipowski as longer-shot options for promotions to the starting five.
  • The Salt Lake City Stars have announced their training camp roster for the 2024/25 season (via Twitter). It includes a handful of players who were with Utah during training camp and the preseason, including Isaiah Wong, Taevion Kinsey, Max Abmas, and Justin Lewis.
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Jazz Notes: Filipowski, Juzang, Cap Room, Samanic, Tshiebwe

August 13th, 2024 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz didn’t use the second-round pick exception to sign No. 32 selection Kyle Filipowski. Instead, Utah dipped into its remaining cap room to give Filipowksi a four-year, $12MM contract that includes a $3MM first-year salary, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

By comparison, a “maximum” deal using the second-round exception would have been worth $9,062,682 over four years, with a $2,087,519 first-year salary.

Filipowski’s contract, which includes a flat $3MM cap hit across all four seasons, is fully guaranteed for the first two years, with a non-guaranteed salary in 2026/27 and a non-guaranteed team option for 2027/28, Hoops Rumors has learned. Filipowski will have to remain under contract through June 30, 2026 to ensure he receives his full ’26/27 salary.

As our chart of rookie scale salaries shows, The Jazz rookie will receive more guaranteed money in the next two seasons than the final eight picks of the first round.

We have more out of Utah:

  • Johnny Juzang‘s new four-year contract with the Jazz is worth a total of $11,425,252, with a first-year salary of $3,087,519 for 2024/25, Hoops Rumors has learned. The final three years of the deal are non-guaranteed, so if Utah were to waive Juzang next June, the club wouldn’t be on the hook for his remaining cap hits of approximately $2.84MM (2025/26), $2.71MM (’26/27), and $2.79MM (’27/28). Re-signing Juzang using his Early Bird rights pushed the Jazz slightly over the 2024/25 cap ($140.6MM) — they’re now carrying $141.6MM in player salaries.
  • According to RealGM’s transaction log, the team renounced Luka Samanic‘s free agent rights as part of its series of moves in recent days. Samanic signed a contract with Turkish club Fenerbahce earlier this month.
  • With Lauri Markkanen no longer a trade candidate for the 2024/25 season, oddsmakers are projecting the Jazz to win between 27-30 games, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required). That wouldn’t be enough wins to contend for a play-in spot, but may be too many to give the team a good shot at a top-four pick. With that in mind, Larsen considers what’s next for Utah, suggesting that the team could improve its odds in the 2025 draft lottery by giving significant playing time to young players and/or trading away veterans like John Collins and Jordan Clarkson, even if it’s not getting anything of value in return for those vets.
  • Oscar Tshiebwe‘s two-way contract with the Jazz is for one year, Hoops Rumors has learned, so the 24-year-old will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2025.
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Jazz Re-Sign Johnny Juzang To Four-Year Contract

August 13th, 2024 at 7:34am CST by Rory Maher

AUGUST 13: The Jazz have officially re-signed Juzang, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

JULY 12: The Jazz are re-signing restricted free agent Johnny Juzang to a four-year, $12MM contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

A 6’7″ wing who starred in college at UCLA, Juzang went undrafted in 2022 before signing a two-way deal with Utah. He has spent his first two NBA seasons on two-way contracts with the Jazz, appearing in a total of 38 games.

Juzang played in 20 games for the Jazz in 2023/24, averaging 7.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.2 APG on .464/.416/.714 shooting in 18.6 MPG. Nearly all of those statistics were accumulated in the last month-plus of the season, with Juzang only making three appearances before March 4.

In addition to his NBA minutes, Juzang has been a regular contributor for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s NBA G League affiliate. In 33 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Stars last season (31.9 MPG), the 23-year-old averaged 20.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 2.5 APG on .465/.369/.904 shooting.

Based on the reported terms, it sounds like Juzang will receive more than a minimum-salary contract. The Jazz currently have the most cap room in the NBA, so they can afford to hand out a long-term deal in the hope that Juzang becomes a rotation regular going forward. If that occurs, the contract will look team-friendly; if not, it’s still a relatively modest cap hit.

While the exact details have yet to be confirmed, Juzang’s new deal is unlikely to be guaranteed for all four years.

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Northwest Notes: Clingan, Shannon, Juzang, Braun

July 14th, 2024 at 9:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Donovan Clingan didn’t do much offensively in his Trail Blazers Summer League debut but the former UConn center showed off his defensive prowess, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report notes. Clingan had 13 rebounds and five blocks while altering numerous other San Antonio shots.

“I thought he was awesome,” Portland Summer League coach Jonah Herscu said. “I thought he protected the paint. His size really impacts the other team at the offensive end.”

The lottery pick was less impressed by his outing than his coach was.

“I feel like there were a couple shots around the rim that I could have contested better or blocked,” Clingan said. “There were some floaters they made that I’m not happy with. I wish I’d rebounded the ball a little bit better in the first half.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. isn’t guaranteed a rotation spot with the Timberwolves but he had a solid showing in his Summer League debut. Shannon, selected with the No.27 pick, played with force and physicality while racking up 25 points. “I was just proud of how he handled the game, managed it. He took great shots; he didn’t force anything,” Summer League coach Chris Hines told The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “But one of the things that I loved about him was he competed on defense.”
  • The Jazz‘s decision to offer restricted free agent Johnny Juzang a four-year contract shows that they are looking within the organization to round out the roster, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune writes. There are better players on the free agent market than Juzang, Larsen notes, but the Jazz feel he can play a spot role. They filled Juzang’s two-way slot with Taevion Kinsey, who played last season for the G League Salt Lake City Stars.
  • Christian Braun is the logical successor to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — who left for Orlando as a free agent — as the Nuggets’ starting shooting guard, but he’s not taking that for granted, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “We have a lot of similarities, I think,” he said. “Defensively, kind of being pests. Offensively, we both fit alongside Nikola (Jokic). And it’s the reason we were brought in. I was brought in to play with those guys, and so was he. … I think I’m gonna do a great job the same way he did a great job. And I’m excited for that. I’m excited for the opportunity to, like I said, go out and earn it.”
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