Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Withey, Cunningham, Green

January 13th, 2016 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former 39th overall pick Jeff Withey is seeing significant minutes with the Jazz this season after a parting of ways with the Pelicans that cast him into uncertainty, as Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders details. Executives from other teams have speculated about whether the Pelicans dealt fairly with the center, who said GM Dell Demps told him during the playoffs that the team wanted him back, Dowsett reports. The team made a qualifying offer to him but withdrew it shortly before re-signing Alexis Ajinca, making Withey an unrestricted free agent and leaving him “really confused,” as he said to Dowsett. Withey ultimately landed with Utah on a partially guaranteed deal that last week became fully guaranteed for the rest of this season, and he’s pleased with his new surroudings.

“In New Orleans, it was a tough place for me, just because the coach [Monty Williams], he didn’t really give me a shot, you know what I mean?” Withey said to Dowsett. “Even if I was playing, if I screwed up one time or anything like that, he would just take me right out. Here, Coach [Quin Snyder], he’ll come to you … it’s just a different type of coaching. More player-friendly, for sure.”

Withey has one more year left on his deal, with a non-guaranteed minimum salary for next season. See more on the Pelicans and the rest of the Southwest Division:

Dante Cunningham is shooting more 3-pointers than ever this season, and while he’s making a passable 30% of them, it’s still not enough to give the Pelicans the spacing necessary to prevent double teams on Anthony Davis, as John Reid of The Times Picayune examines. New Orleans re-signed Cunningham in the offseason to a three-year deal worth nearly $8.935MM. Backup and fellow offseason signee Alonzo Gee is nailing just 27.3% of his 3-point looks, compounding the absence of Pondexter, as Justin Verrier of ESPN.com examines.
The Raptors were one of the teams that pursued Danny Green this summer, according to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. Given the four-year, $58MM deal that Toronto gave fellow wing player DeMarre Carroll, it seems Green was liable to end up with much more than the $40MM over four years he got from the Spurs, Harvey writes. However, unlike other places in the NBA, San Antonio affords him the comfort of knowing the team has a history of supporting him through slumps like the one he’s in now, as Harvey details.
Baron Davis, who’s set to play in the D-League, reportedly worked out for the Mavs recently, but coach Rick Carlisle laughed off the notion and owner Mark Cuban clarified that the team has an “open door” as far as its D-League affiliate goes but doesn’t harbor NBA-level interest in him. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News relays Cuban’s comment.

Pelicans Eye Millsap, Johnson, Dejean-Jones

January 11th, 2016 at 6:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans are expected to consider several wing players for 10-day contracts now that Quincy Pondexter is set to miss the entire season, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who mentions free agents Elijah Millsap, Orlando Johnson and Bryce Dejean-Jones by name. New Orleans has been carrying an open roster spot since trading Ish Smith to the Sixers last month.

Millsap cleared waivers last week from the Jazz, who cut him rather than guarantee his contract for the rest of the season. The 28-year-old brother of Paul Millsap had seen his minutes dwindle this season, to 8.6 per contest in 20 appearances, after he averaged 19.7 minutes a night in 47 games with Utah last year.

Johnson, who was the 36th overall pick in 2012, has been playing for the D-League affiliate of the Spurs for the past month, averaging 15.5 points in 32.3 minutes per game, with sizzling 50.7% shooting on 73 attempts from 3-point range. The 26-year-old last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 season with the Pacers and Kings.

Dejean-Jones signed with the Pelicans in August as an undrafted free agent after winning a spot on the New Orleans summer league team. He averaged 8.8 points in 18.2 minutes per game during the preseason, but a rash of injuries at other positions helped persuade the Pelicans to cut him before opening night. He’s since joined the Jazz affiliate in the D-League and has posted 18.5 points in 31.5 minutes per contest across six appearances.

Which player makes the most sense for the Pelicans, or is there another name they should consider? Share your thoughts with a comment.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Jazz, Thunder

January 9th, 2016 at 9:17pm CST by ChrisCrouse

GM Tim Connelly has focused on finding talent that others have overlooked and that strategy has led the Nuggets to draft many international players, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “We’ve put a lot of emphasis in international scouting. … We want to be very well informed with any player in the world,” said Connelly. “Certainly the more well informed we are, hopefully we make better decisions. It just so happens that when we’ve selected guys, signed guys, traded for guys, we’ve had a pretty big international influence.”

The Nuggets employ one of the league’s top international scouting staffs, which is something that didn’t happen by accident. Connelly spent time early in his career as an international scout and the team’s assistant GM, Arturas Karnisovas, is a former FIBA Europe player of the year. Denver has one of the most international-heavy rosters in the league, which could make communicating with the team problematic, but first year coach Mike Malone doesn’t see it as a deterrent. “I don’t care where you’re from,” Malone said. “If you can play, I’m a fan of yours.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz have an open roster spot as a result of waiving Elijah Millsap, and David Smith of The Deseret News believes the D-League has a few guards that could help the team. Smith names Sean Kilpatrick, Erick Green and Jimmer Fredette among the possible candidates. However, Utah seems to have a lack of interest in Fredette, as Jody Genessy of The Deseret News reported earlier this week.
The Thunder should look to the trade market to find a veteran backup point guard, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders opines. D.J. Augustin has fallen out of the rotation and while Cameron Payne has shown promise, rookie contributors on title contenders are rare, and the team should look to shore up the position, Greene adds.

Western Notes: Bryant, Fredette, Payne, Nance

January 6th, 2016 at 1:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers simply can’t concentrate on developing young players as they otherwise would because they need to give Kobe Bryant a “justified farewell” as he plays his final season, GM Mitch Kupchak contended in an interview with Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Kupchak expounded on comments he made in a recent meeting with season ticket-holders in which he said the team can’t fully move forward with Bryant still present, though he made it clear that the franchise has no reservations about giving Bryant his due. Kupchak argued to Holmes that the attention Bryant draws allows the young players to grow outside the harsh glare of the spotlight, calling it a “silver lining” to the situation, and the GM also insisted the team will be in better position to attract free agents this summer than it was last year.

“I think we’ll see enough [from the young players],” Kupchak said. “Yeah, I think we’ll see enough. I do. Kobe has been really good lately. He looks like he’s trying to fit in and play the right way. Yeah, I think we’ll see enough. Is it going to come as quick as you want? I mean, D’Angelo [Russell] is going to be 20. They all want it now, but it’s just going to take a year or two or three. But it’s certainly going to be a lot more attractive than what we had to offer last summer.”

See more from the Western Conference:

Utah has an open roster spot after waiving Elijah Millsap on Tuesday, but while Jimmer Fredette, who’s eligible to sign with any NBA team, is still a fan favorite from his days at BYU, the Jazz signaled their lack of interest when they passed him up in this season’s D-League draft, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. The team doubts his ability to play NBA-caliber defense and doesn’t want to deal with the crush of local interest that signing him would entail, Genessy adds (Twitter link).
Thunder coach Billy Donovan‘s decision to put rookie Cameron Payne in the rotation has helped a talented second unit to finally play up to its abilities, as Royce Young of ESPN.com examines. The process hasn’t been without hiccups, but Payne’s emergence is nonetheless one more selling point the Thunder have to use in their pitch to retain Kevin Durant this summer, Young writes.
Others still on the draft board seemed to be more likely candidates for the Lakers when they instead picked Larry Nance Jr. 27th overall this past summer, but after starting him at power forward for a month, coach Byron Scott thinks the situation has flipped, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “If you were probably to re-do the draft, he’d be a lottery pick,” Scott said. “So obviously, we got a steal.”

Jazz Release Elijah Millsap

January 5th, 2016 at 2:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:11pm: The move is official, the team announced.

2:06pm: The Jazz have told Elijah Millsap that they’re waiving him, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Charania indicates that the team has already released his non-guaranteed contract, though Utah has yet to make an official announcement. His minimum-salary pact would become fully guaranteed if not waived by the close of business Thursday, and it would also be guaranteed if another team claims him off waivers and keeps him after that date. Several other clubs are expected to have interest in the 6’6″ swingman, according to Charania. Millsap is in the second season of a three-year deal, so only a limited number of teams can snag him off waivers, unlike players signed to two-year minimum contracts.

The move, once official, will bring Utah down to 14 players, one under the limit. Chris Johnson also has a non-guaranteed contract, and while Jeff Withey has a partial guarantee of $200K, he’s already earned more than that by virtue of sticking on the roster as long as he has. That means Utah can waive Withey and avoid further financial obligation, just as with Johnson and Millsap.

Millsap, a younger brother of former Jazz power forward Paul Millsap, joined Utah on a 10-day contract almost a year ago to the day. Once that expired, he signed another 10-day deal and finally the three-year pact as the Jazz turned him into a rotation mainstay last season. That changed this year, as his 19.7 minutes per game from 2014/15 dwindled to 8.7 in 2015/16. He shot just 28.2% in 173 attempts from the floor this season, so it appears the team concluded his defensive prowess couldn’t make up for his offensive shortcomings. The 28-year-old client of Brendrick DeAngelo Simmons and Daniel Hazan has been to training camp with the Lakers, Thunder and Bucks in the past since going undrafted out of UAB in 2010, and he spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors in September 2014 about his journey to the NBA.

The Jazz gave out more 10-day contracts than any other NBA team last season, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them use Millsap’s roster spot to again cycle through players on those short-term deals. Millsap would be eligible to re-sign with Utah if he clears waivers, though that would seem unlikely.

Can you envision another NBA team as a better fit for Millsap? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Alec Burks To Undergo Surgery

December 29th, 2015 at 11:45am CST by Will Joseph

TUESDAY, 11:45am: Burks has elected for surgery on his fractured left fibula, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The hope is that this procedure will expedite Burks’ return to the court, and the Jazz are hopeful that the guard will be able to rejoin the team after the NBA All-Star break in mid-February, the Yahoo scribe adds.

4:13pm: Burks is in line to miss about eight weeks, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 2:06pm: Jazz shooting guard Alec Burks will be out at least six weeks after suffering an ankle fracture, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). The Jazz, in a statement on its website, said Burks suffered a fractured left fibula. The team adds he is out indefinitely and no surgery is required.

It’s a significant loss for the Jazz because Burks, who is in his fifth year, is enjoying his best season. He is averaging a career-high 14.3 points on a career-best 38.7% 3-point shooting. At 12-16, the Jazz have been hit hard by injuries. Both Dante Exum and Rudy Gobert remain out indefinitely.

The Jazz signed Burks to a four-year extension worth $42MM plus incentives in October 2014. Two months after that, a left shoulder injury forced him out for the remainder of the 2014/15 season. After learning the news of Burks needing to miss time, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweeted that the Jazz must make a move in order to stay relevant in the playoff picture. Rodney Hood and Joe Ingles are expected to have increased roles in Burks’ absence, Wojnarowski writes in a full story.

2016/17 Salary Cap Projection: Utah Jazz

December 25th, 2015 at 6:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league prior to the official numbers being announced had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM. Many league executives and agents believe that the salary cap will escalate to a whopping $95MM for 2016/17, a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM. This significant bump is a result of the league’s new $24 billion TV deal that kicks in just in time for next season.

The increase in the salary cap will almost assuredly set off a flurry of activity in the free agent market next summer, and it will also make it easier than ever for teams to deal away their higher-priced stars. Prudent executives are acutely aware of exactly how much cap room they have to play with, not just for the current campaign, but for next season and beyond as well. While the exact amount of 2016/17’s salary cap won’t be announced until next summer, it always pays to know just how much salary is on the books for each franchise. With this in mind, we at Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise, and we’ll continue onward with a look at the Utah Jazz:

Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $56,560,760
Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Non Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $3,047,088
Total Projected Salary Cap Commitments: $59,607,848

If the salary cap were to fall in line with the projection of $89MM, Utah would have approximately $29,392,152 in cap space, or $35,392,152 if the cap were to be set at the higher mark of $95MM. Again, these are merely predictions until the exact cap amounts are announced, and they are not meant to illustrate the exact amount that the team will have available to spend this coming offseason.

Trades and long-term free agent signings made during the season will also have a significant impact on the figures above, and we’ll be updating these posts to reflect the new numbers after any signings and trades have been made official.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

And-Ones: Durant, Kerr, Walton, J.R. Smith

December 17th, 2015 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder had some concern when Kevin Durant hired Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports agency, but the team and Roc Nation have developed a “positive” and “constructive” working relationship, and those initial concerns have dissipated, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, citing sources. Oklahoma City will base its pitch to Durant in free agency this summer on the the youth of its roster, its track record of spending this season and last, its ability to keep spending and the presence of coach Billy Donovan, as Windhorst details. The Thunder have learned from the mistakes the Cavs made in 2010 as they unsuccessfully tried to keep LeBron James from departing a team that was aging and largely without financial flexibility, and the Oklahoma City organization doesn’t overreact to incremental developments or discouraging rumors, Windhorst explains. While we wait to find out just what happens when Durant hits free agency in six and a half months, see more from around the Association:

Warriors coach Steve Kerr hopes to return from his leave of absence within two to three weeks, he said Wednesday, according to Janie McCauley of The Associated Press. Kerr attended practice Monday and Tuesday and the team’s shootaround Wednesday, McCauley notes.
Interim coach Luke Walton figured there was no way Kerr would miss opening night and thought his leave, which began October 1st, would last only a couple of weeks, writes Lee Jenkins of SI.com in a piece that delves into Walton’s background to find explanation for why he’s been so successful with the Warriors this season.
The Cavs and Jazz have a general reputation as the teams that players least want to play for, J.R. Smith tells of Devin Friedman of GQ.com, admitting he was “petrified” to go to Cleveland when the Knicks traded him there in January. He’s warmed to what he calls an underestimated city since then, re-signing with the Cavs this summer and falling in line with the team’s all-business, no-party approach, as Friedman details. Smith also told Friedman he endures racial slurs from fans when he plays in Utah, joked about marijuana use, and called China, where he played in 2011/12 the “worst place I’ve ever been in my life.”

And-Ones: Howard, McCallum, Payne

December 16th, 2015 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets expect that Dwight Howard will turn down his more than $23.282MM player option for next season, a source told USA Today’s Sam Amick. That’s no surprise, since the 30-year-old Dan Fegan client can lock in up to five more years of guaranteed salary with a new contract in free agency next summer, when his maximum salary is projected to come in at $29.3MM. Howard hasn’t expressed any desire that the Rockets trade him, sources told Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, and in the interview with Amick, the center reiterated his public denial that he’s unhappy playing a secondary role to James Harden.

“People can say what they want about me and James and that whole situation, but I came here and the biggest reason was because of him, because I want both of us to grow and be great basketball players and be great teammates together,” Howard said to Amick.”It’s on us to do it. We are the ones who are held accountable for the good things and the bad things that happen to this team, and I came here with that mission, so that both of us can grow.“

The team still envisions Howard as a key part of its future and isn’t thinking about trading him, according to Amick. Here’s more from around the league:

The Thunder recalled Cameron Payne and Josh Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Huestis has appeared in nine games for the Blue this season, averaging 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 33.3 minutes per game, while Payne has made two D-League appearances, notching 23.5 points, 7.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.00 steals in 34.0 minutes per night.
The Jazz have recalled center Tibor Pleiss from the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was the first D-League assignment of the campaign for Pleiss, who has been with the Stampede since November 30th.
The Clippers assigned C.J. Wilcox to the D-League, the team announced via a press release. Since the team does not have its own affiliate, Wilcox will report to the Canton Charge, the Cavs‘ affiliate, as part of the flexible assignment system.
The Spurs have assigned point guard Ray McCallum to their D-League affiliate in Austin, the team announced. The will be second stint with Austin this season. He logged 12 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds during his first D-League trip of the campaign.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Rondo, Jazz, Lawson, Thunder

December 14th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Referee Bill Kennedy revealed that he is homosexual in an interview with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, and Rajon Rondo is drawing fire for the homophobic slur he directed at Kennedy during a game on December 3rd. The NBA suspended Rondo for one game and doesn’t plan to mete out additional punishment, notes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter), but the apology that Rondo offered in a pair of tweets struck a hollow tone, observe Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck and SB Nation’s Tom Ziller (All Twitter links). Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and GM Vlade Divac condemned Rondo’s use of the slur in a statement that the team released, and Rondo’s words aren’t exactly the most auspicious prelude to his free agency in the summer ahead, opines Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). See more from the Western Conference:

The Jazz are expected to be active in exploring trades when dozens of players across the league become eligible to be traded Tuesday, reports Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (Twitter links). The most likely scenario involves the team absorbing salary via its cap space, Genessy adds. Utah is more than $7MM under the cap.
Ty Lawson‘s game has responded well to Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff‘s decision to bench him upon taking over for Kevin McHale, as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com details. “He was trying to so hard to do the right things, I think he was frustrating himself and he got to the point where he said ‘I’m just going to play’ and I think that’s where he is now,” Bickerstaff said in part. The more and more he plays and he’s relaxed, the more that his true talent will shine through. We know what he is, we know what he’s capable of and we just got to get him there.”
The Thunder have assigned Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. It’s the fourth time the former 21st overall pick has gone to the D-League this season and the third time in the past week.