While it was clear to absolutely everyone that this move was coming, the Utah Jazz have at least made it official: they have signed second-round pick John Tonje to a two-way contract. Trading RJ Luis Jr for Georges Niang essentially set that plan in motion, but with Tonje taken care of, one question remains: how does Utah trim the roster down?
The Utah Jazz and No. 53 pick John Tonje have agreed to a two-way contract, league sources told @hoopshype. Tonje was an All-American for the Wisconsin Badgers last season, averaging 19.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. pic.twitter.com/5uQH0vcwRd
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) August 26, 2025
Tonje takes up Utah's last two-way spot, so besides their three two-way spots now being filled, the Jazz have 16 players on the roster. The limit for an NBA roster come opening night is 15, so one way or the other, the team will have to confront this between now and then.
Some of the candidates are more obvious than others. From the moment it was announced that he had been sent to Utah, it seemed pretty clear that Kevin Love wouldn't be a Jazzman for long. Well, he's technically been a Jazzman longer than anyone could have anticipated, but that might be because the team is waiting until he can be traded with another player before cutting ties.
It's also possible Love might be okay with being more of a veteran mentor on a young team, but there's been no intel confirming that. Regardless, like Tonje signing his two-way contract, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he'll be off the team in due time.
He's not the only one though, as it's still ambiguous as to whether the Jazz plan to keep KJ Martin or not. His contract is non-guaranteed, and the Jazz have added or will have returning frontcourt pieces - Ace Bailey, Taylor Hendricks, Jusuf Nurkic - that would get in the way of his playing time.
In an offseason where there's not a whole lot exciting going on (it is August after all), this makes for one intriguing plotline. That's right, August really does lower the standards for exciting NBA plotlines by that much.
It might be more than just one player
The Jazz technically don't have to go into the 2025-26 season with a full roster. The minimum amount of players a team can have on opening night is 14. It might in Utah's best interest to leave that roster spot open in case there's another Niang-like opportunity for them to acquire assets without sacrificing much.
There's nothing wrong with a little cap flexibility, so no matter who the Jazz decide to part ways with, they could take advantage of a situation like they just did with the Boston Celtics down the line if they open up the season with 14 players on the roster.
This season is expected to come with so many losses, so in Utah's case, what could it hurt?