Utah Jazz notes: Mitrou-Long gets Indy two-way, 3×3 ball in SLC
By Ryan Aston
Former Utah Jazz guard Naz Mitrou-Long officially has a new home for the 2019-20 NBA season and USA Basketball’s 3×3 qualifiers are SLC-bound.
Another recent Utah Jazz alum looks to have found a new squad following the team’s big roster overhaul this summer. Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Scott Agness, Naz Mitrou-Long is headed to the Indiana Pacers.
The 6-foot-4, 218-pound Long has reportedly come to terms on a two-way deal with the team. (UPDATE: The signing is now official.)
Pacers reached agreement with Naz Mitrou-Long on a two-way contract, league sources told @ShamsCharania and me.
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) July 30, 2019
He’s their second two-way guy, along with Brian Bowen II.
Long was a two-way player for the Jazz during the 2017-18 season, but only saw 31 seconds of action over the course of the campaign. It was just about the most eventful 31 seconds a player could experience — the rookie drained a 3-pointer then collided with former Jazzman Trey Lyles, which resulted in stitches and a scar over his left eye.
He got a larger taste of game action last season, inking a pair of 10-day contracts with the Jazz and appearing in 14 games.
However, the brunt of his first two years as a pro were spent with Utah’s G-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. There, his scoring chops and all-around game were on full display. Over 72 games in a Stars uniform, he put up 18.3 points, 5.6 boards and 4.7 assists per contest while connecting on 36 percent of his 3-point shots.
More recently, he starred for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2019 summer league squads in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
The move to Indy is probably a good one for Long. His path to a roster spot with the Jazz had faded and he’ll be in a winning situation with Indy and head coach Nate McMillan.
Look for him to split time between the Pacers and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants next season.
USA Basketball 3×3 Qualifiers Coming to Salt Lake
While the Jazz blogosphere is abuzz with chatter about USA Basketball due to Donovan Mitchell‘s potential involvement with America’s FIBA World Cup entry, another branch of international hoops competition is set to take the spotlight in Jazzland.
3×3 basketball will be making its Olympic debut at the Tokyo games in 2020 and USA Basketball has partnered with Red Bull to host a litany of qualifying tournaments across the country in an effort to identify the men and women who will represent Team USA.
On August 10, one such tourney will be emanating from the grounds surrounding Vivint Smart Home Arena in SLC.
Next. One thing each Utah Jazz starter must improve on. dark
If you’re in the area and you think you have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of John Stockton and Karl Malone as an Olympic gold medal winner, you can enter into the Utah 3×3 tournament HERE.