Utah Jazz summer league roster beginning to take shape
By Ryan Aston
With summer league play tipping off on July 2 in Salt Lake City, the Utah Jazz’s summer roster is starting to come together.
It’s a good time of year to be a fan of the Utah Jazz. The 2018 NBA Draft is in the rearview mirror (welcome to Utah, Grayson Allen) and free agency is just over a week away. So too is summer league play, which will tip-off for the Jazz on Monday, July 2 at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Allen is sure to be there for the action, which will give fans their first up-close look at the newest Jazzman. Meanwhile, the rest of the team’s summer roster has begun to take shape as well.
Joining the No. 21 overall pick will be multiple Jazz players, including last year’s 28th overall selection, big man Tony Bradley.
Bradley was limited to just nine games with Utah last season, spending the brunt of his season in the G-League. Undoubtedly, he’s aiming to make a splash this summer and help his case for a larger role next season.
Also on-hand will be former Iowa State Cyclone teammates Georges Niang and Naz Mitrou-Long, as well as Erik McCree, all of whom spent time with the Jazz on two-way contracts during the 2017-18 campaign.
Others reportedly making the trip to Salt Lake City include center Isaac Haas from Purdue, honorable mention All-American forward Kelan Martin from Butler and point guard Thomas Wilder from Western Michigan.
The new guys
Haas just put a cap on his four-year run with the Boilermakers with a strong senior season, averaging 14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 22 minutes per game. In doing so, he was a third-team All-Big Ten selection.
His season came to an end when he fractured his elbow, which may have played a role in his going undrafted.
At the NBA Draft Combine, he was both the tallest (7-foot-3) and stoutest (over 300 pounds) player measured. Haas also had the second largest hand width at 10.5 inches and a wingspan of 7-foot-5.
Martin (6-foot-7, 220 pounds) had a pre-draft workout with the Jazz last month. He was one of the Big East’s best players in ’17-18, leading the Bulldogs in scoring at 21.2 points per game and rebounding at 6.3 per contest as a senior. That was good for a first-team all-conference nod.
He took nearly eight 3-point shots per game last season, knocking them down at a 36-percent clip along the way and also made 84 percent of his free throws. Clearly, he knows how to put the ball in the basket.
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Finally, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Wilder — who also worked out for the Jazz ahead of the draft — started every game for the Broncos over the last three seasons. As a senior, he was a first-team all-conference pick after averaging 18.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.9 steals per contest.
He was a career 38-percent 3-point shooter as a collegiate, although he dipped to just over 32 percent last season.
The word on the street is that he’ll be joining the Jazz for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas on July 7.
We’ll provide more information the Jazz’s summer league roster as it becomes available.