Utah Jazz: Stanton Kidd snags the 15th roster spot
By Ryan Aston
The Utah Jazz’s opening night roster is officially set as the team bid adieu to French forward William Howard and welcomed Stanton Kidd to the fold.
Its finally tip-off week in the NBA which, for the Utah Jazz, means an October 23 date with Chris Paul, Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After completing roster moves on Monday, we now know the 15-man crew that Jazz coach Quin Snyder will lead into battle on opening night. More specifically, we know which player will round out the back end of the roster following a preseason battle between French baller William Howard and combo forward Stanton Kidd.
In the end, the Jazz elected to waive Howard despite his strong offensive performance in exhibition play. As a result, Kidd becomes the 15th man and earns his spot in the Association in his second attempt to plant roots in Jazzland.
Ultimately, it was Kidd’s versatility on both sides of the ball that secured his place on the roster. His length allows him to play up, but his mobility is good enough for him to work around the wings as well.
Frankly, players of his defensive mindset are something the Jazz need as well after they got throttled in multiple preseason games.
During Kidd’s first summer league stint with the Jazz in 2018, he thrilled crowds in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas with hustle plays and frenetic energy. Over six summer league games, he put up 11 points, three boards and 1.2 steals per contest. Along the way, he connected on 57 percent of his shots overall and 48 percent from 3-point range.
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His subsequent summer league stint and recent preseason performance didn’t yield the same results offensively, but Kidd clearly did enough in practice to get the initial shot with the Jazz.
He had spent the previous two seasons with the Istanbul-based Darussafaka SK.
Despite being released by the Jazz, Howard could find his way to their G-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. It would stand to reason that the team has plans for him after helping to buy out his contract with Limoges in France over the summer.
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Howard definitely shows potential as a shooter — in France he shot between 36.7 and 38.5 percent from three during each of the last four seasons. In three preseason games with the Jazz, he was 3-of-8 from distance.
He may find a more lucrative deal in Europe, however.