NBA Teams That Made Most Offseason Trades
While most NBA teams rely on a variety of different types of roster moves to revamp their rosters in the offseason, a club can sometimes find itself leaning more heavily on one approach in a given summer. That could mean signing a handful of free agents and forgoing the trade route. It could mean loading up on draft picks and staying out of free agency.
For the teams we’ll examine in this post, the trade market was a primary means of addressing their rosters over the last few months. Each of the clubs we’ll discuss below made at least three trades since the end of the season. In some cases, the moves were designed to cut costs and clear cap room; for other teams, those deals were a way to add talent without having to foray into the free agent market, where contract prices were at an all-time high.
Let’s dive in and examine the teams that made the most trades this offseason…
Orlando Magic
- Number of trades: 5
- Most notable move: Acquired Serge Ibaka from the Thunder in exchange for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova, and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis (No. 11 pick).
- Other players acquired: Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox
- Other players moved: Shabazz Napier, Devyn Marble, No. 47 pick (Jake Layman)
The Magic certainly didn’t sit out free agency, bringing players like Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green aboard on big-money deals. You could also make the case that the team made the biggest trade of the offseason by landing Ibaka. if Ibaka doesn’t mesh well with Biyombo and Nikola Vucevic, and Meeks misses significant time with injury issues this season, Orlando’s offseason deals won’t look great, but the club remains optimistic for now.
Utah Jazz
- Number of trades: 5
- Most notable move: Acquired George Hill in a three-way trade with the Hawks and Pacers in exchange for the No. 12 overall pick.
- Other players acquired: Boris Diaw, Kendall Marshall (waived), No. 55 pick (Marcus Paige)
- Other players moved: Trey Burke, Tibor Pleiss, No. 42 pick (Isaiah Whitehead)
The Jazz were a perfect example of a team that used its cap room to improve via trades rather than free agency. The salaries for Hill and Diaw easily fit within the team’s cap space, and while Hill cost a first-round pick, Diaw was essentially a salary-dump for the Spurs. The Jazz were also on the other end of a couple salary dumps, most notably sending Pleiss to the Sixers for Marshall, a player they immediately waived.
Chicago Bulls
- Number of trades: 4
- Most notable move: Acquired Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon, and Jerian Grant from the Knicks in exchange for Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, and their 2017 second-round pick.
- Other players acquired: Spencer Dinwiddie
- Other players moved: Mike Dunleavy, Cameron Bairstow, Jose Calderon (in second deal)
While Lopez figures to be a key piece in Chicago this season, the deal with the Knicks was more noteworthy for the star headed in the other direction, as the Bulls finally decided to move Rose, a Chicago native and a former MVP. The Bulls significantly revamped their roster using free agency as well, and the trades of Dunleavy and Calderon reflected the team’s need to create cap room for those signings.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Number of trades: 4
- Most notable move: Acquired Mike Dunleavy and draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko from the Bulls in exchange for the draft rights to Albert Miralles.
- Other players acquired: No. 54 pick (Kay Felder)
- Other players moved: Matthew Dellavedova (sign-and-trade), Sasha Kaun
The Cavaliers used the trade market well this summer, acquiring Dunleavy from a Bulls team that couldn’t afford to keep him, and only parting with cash to acquire Felder, who could be the team’s backup point guard. Kaun, meanwhile, was a salary dump, reducing Cleveland’s future tax bill, while the Dellavedova deal allowed the club to get something out of nothing, since Dellavedova had already agreed to sign an offer sheet the Cavs weren’t going to match.
Indiana Pacers
- Number of trades: 3
- Most notable move: Acquired Jeff Teague in a three-way trade with the Jazz and Hawks in exchange for George Hill.
- Other players acquired: Thaddeus Young, Jeremy Evans
- Other players moved: No. 20 pick (Caris LeVert)
Like Utah, Indiana isn’t typically a big-time free agent destination, so the Pacers turned to the trade market to make a couple of their biggest moves of the summer, landing Teague and Young, who will likely both start for the club this season. Indiana dove into free agency a little, signing Al Jefferson, Aaron Brooks, and Kevin Seraphin, but I’d expect their trade acquisitions to have a larger impact in 2016/17.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Number of trades: 3
- Most notable move: Acquired Matthew Dellavedova (sign-and-trade) and cash ($200K) in a sign-and-trade with the Cavs in exchange for the draft rights to Albert Miralles.
- Other players acquired: Michael Beasley
- Other players moved: Tyler Ennis, No. 38 pick (Patrick McCaw)
The Bucks could move up this list before the regular season gets underway, since the team continues to scour the market for a player to replace Khris Middleton. Milwaukee also reportedly wouldn’t mind moving Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Number of trades: 3
- Most notable move: Acquired the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis (No. 11 pick), Victor Oladipo, and Ersan Ilyasova from the Magic in exchange for Serge Ibaka.
- Other players acquired: Joffrey Lauvergne, No. 56 pick (Daniel Hamilton)
- Other players moved: None
Moving Ibaka was the major move for the Thunder, and one that occurred while the team still had a shot at re-signing Kevin Durant. It would have been interesting to see what the team would have looked like in 2016/17 with Sabonis, Oladipo, and Ilyasova playing alongside KD and Russell Westbrook, but even with Durant no longer in the mix, the move could pay off for Oklahoma City. Sabonis looks like a promising young big man who won’t be expensive for the next few years, and Oladipo could be the backcourt mate the Thunder have long been seeking for Westbrook.
Other teams that made more than one trade this offseason:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Dallas Mavericks
- Denver Nuggets
- Detroit Pistons
- Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Sacramento Kings
For the full rundown of the offseason’s trades to date, check out our list right here.
Offseason In Review: Utah Jazz
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Utah Jazz.
Free agent signings:
- Joe Johnson: Two years, $21.505MM.
Camp invitees:
- Eric Dawson: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Quincy Ford: Three years, minimum salary ($75K guaranteed)
- Henry Sims: One year, minimum salary ($75K guaranteed)
Trades:
- Acquired George Hill from the Pacers in a three-team trade in exchange for the draft rights to Taurean Prince (No. 12 pick; to Hawks).
- Acquired the draft rights to Marcus Paige (No. 55 pick) and cash ($3MM) from the Nets in exchange for the draft rights to Isaiah Whitehead (No. 42 pick).
- Acquired Wizards’ 2021 second-round pick from the Wizards in exchange for Trey Burke.
- Acquired Boris Diaw, Spurs’ 2022 second-round pick, and cash from the Spurs in exchange for the draft rights to Olivier Hanlan.
- Acquired Kendall Marshall from the Sixers in exchange for Tibor Pleiss, cash, and two 2017 second-round picks (best and worst of Jazz, Knicks, Pistons, and Warriors picks). Subsequently waived Marshall.
Draft picks:
- 2-52: Joel Bolomboy. Signed for three years, $2.556MM. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed.
- 2-55: Marcus Paige. Signed for two years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed.
- 2-60: Tyrone Wallace. Has not signed.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Derrick Favors eligible for contract extension and renegotiation as of October 19. Rudy Gobert eligible for contract extension until October 31.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Utah Jazz right here.
The mantra around the Utah Jazz franchise this summer came down to these two words: Get older. While teams with aging rosters often spend their offseasons trying to acquire younger talent, the Jazz felt they needed to find playoff-tested veterans to fortify their youthful roster and rescue them from their cycle of mediocrity. The Jazz have won anywhere from 36 to 43 games in five of the last six seasons with only one playoff appearance during that span.
Enter the 30-something brigade. By the time the Jazz finished reshaping their roster, they had a trio of well-established, grizzled veterans to help guide the franchise to greater success — 35-year-old Joe Johnson, 34-year-old Boris Diaw and 30-year-old George Hill.
The first order of business, however, was to make a commitment to their coach. The Jazz have finished with a losing records during Quin Snyder’s first two seasons but the front office believes it has the right man patrolling the bench. Snyder agreed in May to a long-term extension, reportedly through the 2020/21 season. That not only gives him job security but also greater authority with the players, who know he’s going to be charge for awhile.
With that out of the way, the Jazz made a bold move on draft night, agreeing to ship their lottery pick to the Hawks and acquire Hill from the Pacers in a three-team deal. This filled a huge void for the Jazz, who were caught flat-footed when projected starting point guard Dante Exum tore his ACL and missed all of last season. Utah was stuck with the unimposing duo of disappointing lottery pick Trey Burke and Raul Neto running the show, until Shelvin Mack stabilized things to a degree after he was acquired from the Hawks in February.
Even so, Utah finished 28th in both points scored and assists. Hill should help move those numbers forward.
Hill was often used off the ball in Indiana last season as his PER fell from a career-high 21.52 to 13.22. While not a prototypical point man, Hill is a solid distributor, an above-average 3-point threat and an excellent defender with a large wingspan for a player his size. The Jazz couldn’t count on Exum coming all the way back from his knee injury and stepping right into the lineup. Ideally, Exum will eventually reclaim the starting role with Hill guiding the improved second unit.
As it turned out, Hill was the least experienced of the major acquisitions the Jazz made this offseason. They were quite busy in July, starting with the trade for Diaw. They dealt the rights to Olivier Hanlan to the Spurs for Diaw and a future second-rounder. Diaw has been a durable and consistent backup big man for a perennial contender over the past four seasons, appearing in at least 75 games each of those campaigns. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18.2 minutes last season and gives the Jazz a quality backup to center Rudy Gobert, who missed 21 games last season due to injury.
The Jazz took a low-key approach to the free agent market, opting to preserve their cash with looming decisions on some of their top players. The only notable move they made was to sign Johnson to a two-year, $21.5MM deal. Johnson will have to transition to an unfamiliar role as a second-unit player. He has started every game in which he has appeared since the 2004/05 season, but he’ll primarily served as Gordon Hayward‘s backup at small forward. Johnson figures to be the No. 1 scoring option among the reserves and a mismatch for most second-unit forwards around the league.
With Hill in place, the Jazz had no need for Burke and they found a taker in the Wizards, who only needed to give up a future second-rounder for him. Mack made enough of an impression to have his modest $2.4MM salary guaranteed for this season.
There were some other housekeeping items, such as signing a couple of second-round picks to partial guarantees, but the Jazz still have up to $14.7MM in salary-cap space. That could give them flexibility to make some in-season moves, depending upon how it unfolds. They have also positioned themselves to restructure the contract of power forward Derrick Favors. An extension candidate as we detailed this summer, Favors is signed through next season. An extension agreement must be reached by the 19th of this month, if both sides opt to go in that direction.
The extension deadline for Gobert, who is still on his rookie contract, arrives at the end of the month. While Gobert has expressed an interest in signing an extension, there haven’t been any major rumbles that the sides are close to a deal. If the deadline passes, Gobert will become a restricted free agent next summer.
Perhaps the most intriguing issue is what the Jazz have in mind for Hayward. It’s a slam dunk that Hayward will opt out of the final year of his contract and enter the market next summer as an unrestricted free agent. If the Jazz have concerned about retaining Hayward, or if they are reluctant to commit a massive amount of money to him as their franchise player, he could be dealt. That’s an unlikely scenario, but if Utah underperforms during the first half of the season, it’s something the franchise would have to seriously consider.
On paper, the Jazz look like an improved team that should make the playoffs if their main cogs can stay healthy. They have better depth and leadership with the additions they have made, combined with a quality youthful core. With this roster, another finish around the .500 mark would be a disappointment.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of Russ Isabella / USA Today Sports Images.
Jazz Add Diop To Coaching Staff
- The Jazz have hired former NBA player DeSagana Diop as a coaching associate, the team announced. As a coaching associate, Diop will assist the Jazz coaching staff in a variety of capacities including work on the court during practices and individual player workouts, video editing and analysis, and other team preparation, according to the press release.
Where Things Stand For D-Mo, Unsigned Draftees
With the NBA’s preseason schedule underway and the regular season set to begin just over three weeks from now, it’s worth checking in on where things stand for a few players who remain unsigned but who aren’t unrestricted free agents. These three players are under team control, but their situations for the 2016/17 remain uncertain.
The first of the trio is power forward Donatas Motiejunas, 2016’s last restricted free agent. Although Motiejunas was tendered a qualifying offer by the Rockets back in June, he saw that offer expire when he declined to sign it by midnight on October 1. As Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. Motiejunas and the Rockets discussed a contract on Saturday prior to that deadline, but the two sides couldn’t work something out.
“We understand where they are at and what they’d like to do,” agent B.J. Armstrong said of the Rockets, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. “I think they understand what we would like to do. At this time neither side is willing to accept what each is discussing. We will continue to negotiate with the Rockets and other teams. We’re going to continue to work this out and move forward.”
Although the Rockets could extend Motiejunas’ qualifying offer beyond October 1, they’re under no pressure to do so, since the forward continues to be a restricted free agent — Houston still has the right of first refusal, but now Motiejunas no longer has the safety net of signing that one-year QO, which would have let him become an unrestricted free agent in 2017.
It’s a tricky spot for Motiejunas, whose health history has likely scared away rival teams from making an aggressive long-term offer. Armstrong and his client would presumably love to sign a multiyear offer sheet to put pressure on the Rockets, but other teams probably don’t want to spend time putting together a proposal, only to have Houston match it. For now, the Rockets remain in the driver’s seat in contract negotiations, particularly now that they have the option of lowering their one-year offer from the initial $4.4MM QO price.
Meanwhile, the fates of two players selected in the second round of June’s draft remain unclear. Daniel Hamilton, picked 56th overall by the Thunder, and Tyrone Wallace, the 60th overall pick by the Jazz, haven’t yet signed with their respective teams and also haven’t committed to playing overseas.
[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]
While we don’t know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes for Hamilton and Wallace, the most likely scenario for each player at this point is following in the footsteps of 58th overall pick Abdel Nader. A Celtics draftee, Nader agreed to play for Boston’s D-League affiliate this season. That allows the Celtics to retain Nader’s NBA rights and to keep an eye on him in Maine, while ensuring that he’ll have a job for the coming season, albeit one that pays very modestly.
Nader and his agent had considered pushing for an NBA deal, but if the Celtics had signed Nader, they likely would have subsequently waived him at the end of the preseason, assigning him to the Maine Red Claws while losing his NBA rights. In that scenario, Nader would have ended up in the same place, but the Celtics wouldn’t have had a vested interest in his development, since they would no longer have held his NBA rights.
We don’t know yet whether Hamilton and Wallace have reached any sort of agreements with the Thunder and Jazz, respectively, but both teams have D-League affiliates, and both organizations are solid and respected. It would make sense for Hamilton and Wallace to accept D-League assignments without NBA contracts, in the hopes that they can develop and impress their teams’ coaches, eventually earning a call-up.
In all likelihood, the Motiejunas, Hamilton, and Wallace situations will each be resolved within the next few weeks, so we’ll keep a close eye on them until then.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Contract Details: Brand, Rockets, Thunder, Pacers
With training camps underway, teams have now officially finalized the contract agreements with various camp invitees that had been reported over the past several weeks, meaning we have plenty of contract details to round up. As usual, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has been busy reporting those details, updating his salary pages for teams around the NBA.
Because we have so many updates to pass along from Pincus, we’ll divide them up by players who received some guaranteed money from their teams, and those who didn’t. All of the links below point to the Basketball Insiders team salary pages, so be sure to click through for additional information.
Here are the latest salary updates from across the league, via Pincus:
Players receiving guaranteed money:
These players aren’t necessarily assured of regular-season roster spots. In fact, many of them likely received guarantees as an incentive to accept a D-League assignment. Still, for some players, larger guarantees should increase their odds of making 15-man rosters.
- Thomas Walkup (Bulls): One year, minimum salary. $69.5K guaranteed.
- Keith Benson (Heat): Two years, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
- Henry Sims (Jazz): One year, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
- Alex Poythress (Pacers): One year, minimum salary. $35,381 guaranteed.
- Kevin Seraphin (Pacers): Two years, $3.681MM. First year ($1.8MM) guaranteed.
- Julyan Stone (Pacers): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
- Gary Payton II (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. First year ($543,471) guaranteed.
- Isaiah Taylor (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
- Kyle Wiltjer (Rockets): Two years, minimum salary. $275K guaranteed.
- Cat Barber (Sixers): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
- Elton Brand (Sixers): One year, minimum salary. $1MM guaranteed.
- Derrick Jones (Suns): Three years, minimum salary. $42.5K guaranteed.
- Alex Caruso (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $50K guaranteed.
- Kaleb Tarczewski (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $75K guaranteed.
- Chris Wright (Thunder): One year, minimum salary. $100K guaranteed.
Players receiving no guaranteed money:
The following players all signed one-year, minimum salary contracts with no guaranteed money. Many of these deals are “summer contracts,” which won’t count against a team’s cap unless the player earns a spot on the 15-man roster.
- Jabari Brown and Jaleel Roberts (Bucks)
- Markel Brown, Dahntay Jones, Cory Jefferson, Eric Moreland, John Holland, and Jonathan Holmes (Cavaliers)
- Dorell Wright (Clippers)
- Chris Crawford (Grizzlies)
- Ryan Kelly, Will Bynum, and Richard Solomon (Hawks)
- Perry Ellis (Hornets)
- Eric Dawson (Jazz)
- Julian Jacobs and Travis Wear (Lakers)
- Quinn Cook (Pelicans)
- Joel Anthony and Nicolas Laprovittola (Spurs)
- Gracin Bakumanya, Derek Cooke, and Shaquille Harrison (Suns)
- Rasual Butler (Timberwolves)
Rudy Gobert Talks Contract Situation
- As Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune details, Rudy Gobert isn’t worried about his contract situation with the Jazz, suggesting on Monday that the season is “more important.” However, the young center suggested that he’s very much open to the idea of an extension. “Everybody knows I want to be here,” he said.
Northwest Notes: Exum, Oladipo, Wolters, Garnett
Jazz point guard Dante Exum proclaims himself fully healed from the ACL injury that wiped out last season, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Exum suffered the injury in August of 2015 while playing for the Australian national team and says the mental anguish was worse than the physical pain. “There were plenty of times where I wondered, why me,” Exum told The Tribune. “I wondered if I would be the guy I was before the injury. I was supposed to go home to Australia the next day, and I hadn’t been home in a year. I wondered, what’s going to happen with the Jazz? That was the pain I was going through.” With Utah’s training camp opening this week, Exum says his knee feels stronger than ever and his speed, leaping ability and explosive first step have all returned. Exum, who started 41 games during his rookie season, will ease back into the NBA in a reserve role after the Jazz made an offseason deal for George Hill.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- For several years, the Thunder have tried to surround their stars with “3-and-D” players, but Victor Oladipo tells Erik Horne of The Oklahoman that he wants to be more than that. Oladipo, who came to Oklahoma City in a draft-day trade involving Serge Ibaka, is expected to start alongside MVP candidate Russell Westbrook in the OKC backcourt, but he doesn’t see himself as just a complementary player. “I don’t just want to be a three-point shooter. I don’t just want to be a defensive stopper,” Oladipo said. “I want to be one of the best players in this league, and in order to do that, you have to affect the game on both ends and do multiple things.”
- Coming off an impressive season in Turkey, Nate Wolters is hoping to work his way back into the NBA with the Nuggets, relays Jake Rauchbach of Basketball Insiders. The 38th pick in the 2013 draft, Wolters spent two seasons with the Bucks and Pelicans before heading overseas last year. He is projected as the fourth point guard on Denver’s roster, but is hoping to make an impression at training camp. “When you’re trying to make a team, there is kind of a fine line between trying to do too much and proving yourself,” Wolters said. “But still, at the same time, you want to be aggressive so they notice you a little bit. [I’ll] just try to run the team and then kind of pick my spots when I feel like I can be aggressive and try to make plays.”
- Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau has issued a statement honoring Kevin Garnett upon his retirement, relays The Star-Tribune. “Kevin will always be remembered for the way in which he played the game,” Thibodeau said. “His fierce competitiveness, his unequaled passion for the game and the many ways in which he cared about this team was truly special. KG is without question the all-time best player to wear a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey, and he is also one of the best ever to play this game.’’
Jazz Sign Eric Dawson
The Jazz have signed unrestricted free agent Eric Dawson, the team announced. The length and terms of the arrangement were not relayed, but it is most likely a minimum salary pact that may include a small partial guarantee.
The forward’s most recent action came in the Philippines with Blackwater Elite where he averaged 18.2 points, 15.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.2 blocks in 38.8 minutes per game in six games (all starts) last season. He also spent part of the 2015/16 season with Paris-Levallois in France’s Pro A league.
Dawson’s regular season NBA experience consists of four games as a member of the Spurs during the 2011/12 season when he averaged 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per outing. The 32-year-old also has 99 D-League games under his belt, last appearing in the league during the 2013/14 season. His career D-League numbers are 12.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 25.9 minutes per outing. His shooting numbers in the D-League are .541/.318/.721.
Jazz Sign Henry Sims
The Jazz have filled one of the remaining two openings on their 20-man offseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed Henry Sims to a training camp contract. Terms of the agreement haven’t been reported, but it figures to be a minimum-salary pact with little to no guaranteed money.
Sims, who saw a little NBA action last season for the Nets, spent the 2014/15 campaign with the Sixers, appearing in 73 games (32 starts) for the club. Over the course of that season, he averaged 8.0 PPG and 4.9 RP in 19.2 minutes per contest. In 2015/16, he spent most of the season with the D-League’s Grand Rapids Drive, recording 15.7 PPG and 8.9 RPG in 40 games.
After working out for the Jazz earlier this month, Sims will join the team looking to earn a regular-season roster spot. As Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets though, a return to the D-League is more likely for the 26-year-old center.
Currently, the Jazz have 14 players on guaranteed salaries, which would suggest that there’s one open spot for the regular-season roster. However, Jeff Withey, whose contract is partially guaranteed, is the strong favorite for that 15th slot. Chris Johnson, Marcus Paige, and Quincy Ford will also be in the mix, and Utah still has one open roster spot that could be filled at some point in camp — perhaps by second-round pick Tyrone Wallace.
Jazz Announce Coaching Staff Changes
The Jazz have finalized their coaching staff for the coming season and have also announced some changes to their basketball staff, the team announced in a pair of press releases. Most notably, assistant coach Igor Kokoskov has received a promotion to lead assistant in Utah, as he prepares for his second year with the club. Kokoskov previously served as an assistant for five other NBA teams, including a Pistons squad that won the 2004 NBA Finals.
[RELATED: Salary Cap Snapshot: Utah Jazz]
In other coaching staff moves, Zach Guthrie was elevated from manager of basketball strategy/technology to assistant coach/basketball strategy, while Lamar Skeeter was promoted from player development/video analyst to assistant coach/player development. Guthrie, Skeeter, and Kokoskov will join five other returning Jazz assistants on Quin Snyder‘s staff.
In the scouting department, Richard Smith was promoted to executive director of international scouting. Elsewhere in the front office, Bart Taylor was named the Jazz’s director of scouting and the VP of basketball operations for the D-League’s Salt Lake City Stars.
While Snyder is just 78-86 in his two years with the Jazz, the team heads into the 2016/17 season with increased expectations, having added some veteran talent to a young roster in the offseason. Although Utah missed the postseason this spring, many fans and observers expect the club to take a step forward and compete for a top-five seed in the Western Conference.