Utah Jazz Summer League Roster Taking Shape, Tyrone Corbin

Utah Jazz news and notes from the weekend that was, including the summer league roster taking shape, Tyrone Corbin’s new gig and a couple of Jazz birthdays.

With the fireworks of the 2016 NBA Draft behind us, the Utah Jazz have turned their attention to free agency and summer league play. And while we’ll have to wait until July 7 at the earliest to see free agents officially sign on the dotted line, the Utah Jazz Summer League will tip-off in Salt Lake City on July 4.

All three of the team’s second round selections from last Thursday’s draft–Joel Bolomboy, Marcus Paige and Tyrone Wallace–will be in uniform when the summer league begins next month, but they’re not the only ones.

The team’s summer league roster has already begun to take shape, with several names being reported as participants for the Jazz.

Quincy Ford, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward out of Northeastern may have gone undrafted this past week, but the Jazz have reportedly signed the 23-year-old to a partially guaranteed contract. He’ll be in uniform for the Jazz when summer league play begins.

Ford averaged 16 points, seven rebounds, 1.5 steals and one block per game last season as a fifth-year senior for the Huskies. He also made 35 percent of his nearly seven three-point attempts per contest.

Other players who will reportedly join Ford, Bolomboy, Paige and Wallace on Utah’s summer league roster include–

• Olivier Hanlan, a second round pick of the Jazz last season who spent the year with Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian league.
• Bangaly Fofana, a seven-footer who played most recently for Strasbourg IG in France.
• J.J. O’Brien, a defensive-minded wing who spent some time with the University of Utah as a collegiate, before playing for the Jazz last summer, as well as during the season on a 10-day contract.
• Jazzmen Tibor Pleiss and Trey Lyles.

The team’s roster for the Utah Jazz Summer League currently stands at nine, with more players to be added in the coming days.

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Tyrone Corbin’s New Gig

Former Utah Jazz player, assistant and head coach Tyrone Corbin reportedly picked up a new job on Saturday. According to Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Corbin will join the staff of Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson, one of his former players and a Jazz point guard for three seasons.

Watson took over as coach of the Suns following the dismissal of former Jazzman Jeff Hornacek this past February.

Corbin, meanwhile, coached the Jazz to a 112-146 record from 2010 to 2014. During the lockout-shortened 2012 season, he lead the team to its last appearance in the NBA Playoffs. He later served as interim coach of the Sacramento Kings in 2015, compiling a 7-21 record.

While some would bemoan the Ty Corbin era of Jazz basketball, I, for one, have always felt that Corbin got something of a bad rap. If you ask me, you couldn’t find a better guy in all of professional basketball.

Congrats on your new gig, Coach Corbin.

Next: Utah Jazz Post-Draft Free Agency Outlook

Jazz Birthdays

Finally, we had two Jazz-related birthdays on Sunday, each belonging to an important piece of the Jazz story. First of all, the team’s current defensive anchor, Rudy Gobert, turned 24 years old.

Next, we have the team’s franchise player from 2005 to 2011, former All-Star point guard and Olympic gold medalist Deron Williams, who turned 32.

Happy birthday to D-Will and the Stifle Tower!