- The Wizards want to re-sign unrestricted free agent Jared Dudley, but the Jazz are expected to make a run at the forward this summer as well, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
- On team that is indeed interested in Anderson are the Jazz, who plan to be aggressive this offseason in recruiting free agents, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. However, Utah is unlikely to land the stretch-four, Jones adds, classifying Luol Deng and Hill as more realistic targets.
The three-way trade between the Hawks, Jazz, and Pacers that will send George Hill to Utah isn’t yet official, but Utah is already making plans to account for the team’s crowded depth chart at the point guard position. According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Jazz have made former ninth overall pick Trey Burke available in trade talks.
When Utah’s acquisition of Hill was first reported, I speculated that the move may push Burke to the trade block, and I was far from the only one, so Stein’s report doesn’t come as a real surprise. If the Jazz can find a taker for the former Michigan star, they’ll likely move forward with Hill as the starting point guard and Dante Exum as his backup. Shelvin Mack, Raul Neto, and second-round draftees Marcus Paige and Tyrone Wallace could all be vying for roster spots and roles as well.
[RELATED: Utah Jazz depth chart at RosterResource.com]
Burke, who entered the league in 2013, was Utah’s primary starter at point guard in his first two seasons, averaging 12.8 points and 5.0 assists per game over the course of 146 contests. However, he struggled with his shot in his first two years in the NBA, making just 37.4% of his field-goal attempts, including 32.4% from beyond the arc.
The Jazz moved Burke into a reserve role in 2015/16, reducing his minutes, and he responded by upping his FG% to 41.3% — he’s also still just 23 years old, so there’s room for further growth. Still, with Exum around, and Hill now in the picture as well, the team doesn’t appear to have Burke in its long-term plans.
If he’s dealt during the 2016/17 league year, Burke’s $3.387MM salary shouldn’t be too difficult for potential suitors to accommodate. He’s eligible for a contract extension this offseason, and could become a restricted free agent in 2017 if he’s not extended.
4:14pm: The Jazz are also expected to have interest in Heat forward Luol Deng, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Andy Larsen of KSL.com relays (via Twitter). It remains to be seen if Deng would be willing to accept a reserve role with Utah, given his longtime status as a starter in the league and the fact that the Jazz aren’t expected to be title contenders in 2016/17.
3:58pm: Solomon Hill was a first-round pick in 2013, but rather than heading for restricted free agency a year from now, he’ll reach the open market later as an unrestricted free agent this week, since the Pacers turned down his fourth-year option for 2016/17 last fall. According to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune, the Jazz are one of the teams with interest in Hill, whose market will be “fertile,” per Jones’ source.
Hill, who started 78 games for the Pacers in 2014/15, moved back to a bench role this past season, and saw his minutes slashed significantly. In 59 games (14.7 MPG), Hill averaged 4.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and posted a .447 FG%.
Despite those modest numbers though, Hill is aiming high in free agency. As Jones explains, the 25-year-old is a versatile perimeter defender capable of playing shooting guard, small forward, and power forward, and he played his best ball in the playoffs this spring. In Indiana’s first-round loss to the Raptors, Hill was a crucial bench piece for the Pacers, averaging 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while shooting an impressive 57.9% from three-point range (he made 2.0 threes per game).
Add it all up and the former Arizona standout will be seeking between $9-13MM per year in free agency, according to Jones, who suggests that more than one team will be willing to meet that number. Jones hints that Utah could be one of those clubs, pointing out that the Jazz are well below the projected salary cap floor at the moment. Hill and the Jazz are believed to have mutual interest, Jones writes.
While the Jazz aren’t likely to offer Hill the opportunity to start, the free-agent-to-be is being advised to look for an ideal fit, not necessarily simply a spot in a starting lineup, sources tell Jones.
- Although the Jazz front office likes the team’s core, Utah intends to fortify its roster via free agency or trades this summer, writes Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. While the acquisition of George Hill was a start, GM Dennis Lindsey has more in mind, and has described the club’s approach to the coming offseason as “active” and “aggressive,” as Genessy details.
The Suns will hire Tyrone Corbin as an assistant to head coach Earl Watson, tweets Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. This is Corbin’s first coaching job since he was dismissed as head coach of the Kings midway through the 2014/15 season.
He started his coaching career in 2004/05 as an assistant with the Jazz. He was promoted to head coach in the middle of the 2010/11 season and compiled a 112-146 record in three and a half seasons.
Corbin landed an assistant’s job in Sacramento in 2014/15 and was appointed interim head coach when Michael Malone was fired. He held that position for 28 games, posting a 7-21 record, until the Kings hired George Karl.
Earlier this month, Corbin was mentioned as a candidate for the lead assistant’s position with Golden State.
With the 2016 NBA draft now in the books, the term draft-and-stash will be mentioned quite often in regard to international players and late second-rounders. While some of these athletes will eventually sign with an NBA team, it seems like the majority of them stay overseas and never make it to the league. Those players in the latter category aren’t without value as they become trade assets for the teams holding their rights.
While many players fail to work out the way teams expect them to, they can at least become tradeable assets for teams that don’t want to part with a future second-round pick in a deal. Each team must give up something in a trade, which is why many swaps include top-55 protected second-round picks. Older draft rights held players who clearly will never come over to the NBA are essentially the same as flipping those heavily protected second-rounders, for all intents and purposes.
Listed below are the current unsigned draftees for the teams of the Northwest Division. These listings don’t include players selected in this year’s draft:
Denver Nuggets
- Nikola Radicevic — Selected No. 57 overall in 2015.
- Izzet Turkyilmaz — Selected No. 50 overall in 2012.
- Cenk Akyol — Selected No. 59 overall in 2005.
- Sani Becirovic — Selected No. 46 overall in 2003.
- Xue Yuyang — Selected No. 57 overall in 2003.
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Bojan Dubljevic — Selected No. 59 overall in 2013.
- Paulao Prestes — Selected No. 45 overall in 2010.
- Henk Norel — Selected No. 47 overall in 2009.
- Lior Eliyahu — Selected No. 44 overall in 2006.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Dakari Johnson — Selected No. 48 overall in 2015.
- Semaj Christon — Selected No. 55 overall in 2014.
- Alex Abrines — Selected No. 32 overall in 2013.
- Tomislav Zubcic — Selected No. 56 overall in 2012.
- DeVon Hardin — Selected No. 50 overall in 2008.
- Yotam Halperin — Selected No. 53 overall in 2006.
- Sofoklis Schortsanitis — Selected No. 34 overall in 2003.
- Szymon Szewczyk — Selected No. 35 overall in 2003.
- Paccelis Morlende — Selected No. 50 overall in 2003.
- Abdul Shamsid-Deen — Selected No. 53 overall in 1990.
Portland Trail Blazers
- Daniel Diez — Selected No. 54 overall in 2015.
- Nedzad Sinanovic — Selected No. 54 overall in 2003.
- Federico Kammerichs — Selected No. 51 overall in 2002.
- Doron Sheffer — Selected No. 36 overall in 1996.
- Marcelo Nicola — Selected No. 50 overall in 1993.
Utah Jazz
- Olivier Hanlan — Selected No. 41 overall in 2015.
- Ante Tomic — Selected No. 44 overall in 2008.
- Shan Foster — Selected No. 51 overall in 2008.
- Mario Austin — Selected No. 36 overall in 2003.
- Peter Fehse — Selected No. 49 overall in 2002.
- After the Jazz sent the No. 12 overall pick to Atlanta earlier this week, Utah general manager Dennis Lindsey tried hard to get back into the first round on Thursday night, but was unsuccessful, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News.
The Nets have acquired another draft pick, as the Jazz agreed to trade the 42nd choice to Brooklyn in exchange for pick No. 55 and cash, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The Nets used that pick to take Seton Hall shooting guard Isaiah Whitehead.
The 6’5″ freshman turned into a dangerous 3-point weapon for the Pirates, connecting on 37% from long distance while averaging 18.2 points and 5.1 assists per game. He led Seton Hall to an upset of national champion Villanova in the Big East title game.
Whitehead was ranked as the 52nd best prospect in this year’s draft by ESPN’s Chad Ford and 57th by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
- The Jazz have accelerated their playoff timeline by trading the No. 12 overall pick in a deal for veteran guard George Hill, says Brad Rock of The Deseret News. In other Jazz news, Gordon Hayward issued a statement explaining why he has withdrawn his name from Team USA for the 2016 Olympics (Twitter link via Priority Sports).
- George Hill is thrilled with Wednesday’s trade that saw him shipped to the Jazz, his agent, Bill Neff, told Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. “This is a good fit for George,” Neff said. “One, George likes it in Utah. Two, George has a close relationship with Gordon Hayward [both are Indianapolis natives]. Three, [GM] Dennis Lindsey was largely responsible for bringing George to San Antonio. George has worked with [Jazz coach] Quin Snyder. This is one of the teams George has always wanted to play for.“
- The Suns made an attempt to pry Hayward from the Jazz, offering Eric Bledsoe and a lottery pick in exchange, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. There is a growing sense around the league that Phoenix will move either Bledsoe or Brandon Knight prior to the start of next season, Stein adds (Twitter link).