Former Kentucky forward to play for Utah Jazz in NBA Summer League

The Utah Jazz’s NBA Summer League cast will include a strong Kentucky alum.

Kentucky basketball head coach John Calipari announced on Twitter this week that former Wildcat power forward Nate Sestina, who went undrafted in 2020, has agreed to play for the Utah Jazz during the NBA Summer League.

On August 3-6, Utah will host the Salt Lake City Summer League. That event will consist of two Jazz teams — no word on the full rosters yet — plus the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies.

Then the Jazzmen will head to Nevada for the official NBA Summer League, which will feature all 30 of the league’s teams and is on the schedule for August 8-17.

What Nate Sestina could bring to the Utah Jazz

Although Sestina is far from a lock to wind up on the 2021-22 Jazz roster, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound chiseled bruiser seems to fit the franchise’s stretch-four mold.

In college, he regularly stretched the floor with his reliable 3-point stroke, to the tune of 40.7 percent as a part-time starter during his lone campaign at Kentucky after improving from one season to the next in his four years at Bucknell. Also, Sestina proved to be a skilled rebounder, averaging 10.2 rebounds per 40 minutes for his NCAA career.

Sestina began last season on an Exhibit 10 contract with the Brooklyn Nets. He never saw any time on the main stage, but he did average 7.7 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 32.9 percent from downtown between 15 appearances for the Long Island Nets in the G League.

After that, he averaged 16.8 points and 5.0 rebounds across five outings for an undefeated Hapoel Holon squad in the Balkan International Basketball League.

At 24 years old, Sestina has the potential to shine for the Jazz as one of the elder players taking part in Summer League action.