Utah Jazz: Dwyane Wade won’t woo free agents to Salt Lake City, for now
By Matt Giles
The Utah Jazz shouldn’t count on Dwyane Wade’s help in terms of recruiting.
NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN was the first to report on Friday that three-time world champion and surefire 2023 Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade has purchased an ownership stake in the Utah Jazz “with plans to take an active role in the franchise and region.”
Apparently, though, the activeness of said role with the Jazz has strict limits. At least that appears to be the case for the time being.
According to a Sunday tweet from Marc Stein of The New York Times, an unnamed source at Turner Sports has noted that Wade intends on continuing to be a part of the studio team for TNT’s NBA coverage. And this means, per league restrictions, that the 39-year-old won’t be permitted to take part in the franchise’s basketball operations for as long as he is working for the network.
In other words, Wade is now in the same boat in this regard as fellow TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill, who are part owners of the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks, respectively.
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As things stand, if Dwyane Wade was to actively try to sell free agents on the idea of playing in Salt Lake City, then the franchise itself would be in violation of the NBA’s anti-tampering rules.
Of course, the mere fact that Wade now holds an ownership stake could boost the Jazz’s “cool factor” a smidge in the eyes of some future free agents.
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However, considering the current collection of Jazzmen still own the best record in the league at 42-15, it sure doesn’t seem as if the franchise should be in dire need of significant free-agent talent anytime soon.