Jazz – Syndication Server

Former Warrior Otto Porter Jr. retires from NBA

The veteran forward was a key piece during the Warriors run to a title in 2022.

On Monday evening, a key member of the Golden State Warriors’ run to a championship in 2022 announced his retirement from the NBA. After 10 seasons in the NBA, Otto Porter Jr. announced his retirement from the league.

In his only season in the Bay Area with the Warriors, Porter Jr. averaged 8.2 points on 46.4% shooting from the field and 37% from beyond the arc in 22.2 minutes per game on the way to the NBA Finals in 2022.

Porter Jr. started three games in the NBA Finals against the Celtics, averaging 5.2 points on 58.8% shooting from the field and 56.3% from deep with two rebounds, a steal and an assist per game.

Via @utahjazz on Twitter:

Otto Porter Jr. has announced his retirement:

"For the past 11 years, I had the chance to live my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA. That dream was capped by winning an NBA Championship! Unfortunately, my body is not allowing me to play at the level that I expect of myself,… pic.twitter.com/qlIdyvhsSp

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 12, 2024

Porter Jr. was initially drafted out of Georgetown by the Washington Wizards in the first round of the 2013 NBA draft. Along with Washington and Golden State, Porter Jr. had stops with the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors in his career.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

NBA Trade Deadline Tracker: Every trade that happened leading up to the 2024 trade deadline

Keep track of every NBA trade right here

The NBA trade deadline never lacks when it comes to the drama and intrigue surrounding it. There are always big names churning through the rumor mill — some truly in danger of being moved, others just being thrown out as smokescreens.

We’re mostly seeing the latter so far this year for the trade deadline.

There are lots of names being discussed so far as we inch closer and closer to the end here, but there doesn’t seem to be much action surrounding any of them.

With that being said, though, some teams have already made moves to improve their team on the fringes. Some teams have also already made some pretty splashy moves — they just took action a while ago.

With that in mind, here’s a running tracker for every trade we’ve seen so far ahead of the deadline. Come back here as the trades continue to flow in for a quick rundown.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]

Trade rumors: Warriors show interest in Jazz center Kelly Olynyk

The Warriors are reportedly showing interest in a veteran big man from the Utah Jazz.

As the trade deadline creeps up, different names and rumors are starting to be connected to the Golden State Warriors.

In an appearance on “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned Utah Jazz center Kelly Olynyk as a player the Warriors could pursue.

Via @wojespn on X:

Reporting on the final hours of the NBA Trade Deadline with @notthefakeSVP pic.twitter.com/iypjnT9TT3

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2024

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports also mentioned Olynyk as a player the Warriors have shown interest in. The Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers have also shown interest in the former Gonzaga big man, per Fischer.

We've got a new team to monitor for Bruce Brown Jr. Utah and Toronto have discussed a deal for Brown, league sources told @YahooSports, and more trade deadline notes following today's action thus far: https://t.co/hD9MBwPvTE

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) February 8, 2024

In his 10th season, the former first-round pick out of Gonzaga is averaging 8.1 points on 56.2% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc. Olynyk is adding 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 20.4 minutes off the bench.

The Canadian big man would provide the Warriors with some much-needed size and floor spacing in a frontcourt that features Kevon Looney, Dario Saric and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis.

The trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 9, at noon PT.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X!

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Russell Westbrook trade grades: Who won the deal between the Lakers, Jazz and Timberwolves?

The Lakers have finally moved on from Russell Westbrook

They’ve finally done it, folks. After trying to ship Russell Westbrook for what feels like an eternity now, the Lakers have finally moved off the Triple-Double King’s massive contract and brought back some players they hope can help.

The Lakers have traded Russell Westbrook and a lightly protected 2027 to the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal also involving the Minnesota Timberwolves.

D’Angelo Russell returns to the Lakers after spending a few years traveling around the NBA. Jarred Vanderbilt will also be going to the Lakers along with Russell. The Timberwolves will get Mike Conley Jr. from the deal and Westbrook will be headed to the Jazz — who are expected to buy out the remainder of Westbrook’s contract.

This is the league’s biggest trade yet so far this season and there’s still time left between now and the trade deadline. There may be more to come.

In the meantime, let’s dish out some trade grades.

The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

6 way-too-early trends from Week 1 in the NBA, including Chris Paul’s awful shooting slump and the Nets’ historically bad defense

Let’s take stock of the early action in the NBA so far with these 6 trends

The NBA season is underway and, well, let’s just say there are a ton of developments that have been surprising so far.

The Nets don’t really look good at all. Neither do the Lakers. But the Spurs and the Jazz? They’re world-beaters. And the MVP right now might actually be…Damian Lillard?

Yeah, the season is off to a fantastic start. But, still, it is just starting. The season is a marathon — not a sprint. There are lots of things happening right now that will not be happening in just a few months.

With that being the case, it felt like a great time to pull some patterns and trends out from around the league and explore them to decide what we should (and shouldn’t!) be buying long-term.

Let’s dive in.

Collin ‘Young Bull’ Sexton actually stomped the ground like a literal bull before charging at Nikola Jokic and it was so fun

Collin Sexton took “Young Bull” way too seriously here and it’s great

The Utah Jazz are going to stink this year. That just is what it is. There’s a reason they’re dead last in our watchability rankings. This is a prime Victor Wembanyama potential destination.

But they’re almost certainly going to pull out some fun wins, too. Most bad teams do. Especially when you’ve got some absolute bucket-getters on your squad.

That’s what Collin Sexton is. He doesn’t think there’s anyone he cannot beat, and that is amazing.

But the best part about it is Sexton will give you a show. He’s not just going to get a bucket — he’s going to perform that bucket, too. He’s going to give you a show. That’s just what he does. It’s who he’s always been. And it’s perfect.

He did it again against the Nuggets in the Jazz’s season opener on Wednesday night. My man really stamped the ground like an actual bull before taking off at Nikola Jokic.

Just call him Collin “They don’t call me Young Bull for no reason” Sexton at this point.

Collin Sexton is a lot of fun https://t.co/5KCvYZqFCj pic.twitter.com/PkLAvg9JK8

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) October 20, 2022

Might have to reconsider that watchability ranking now. Thanks, Young Bull.

Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery

Everyone is clowning the Knicks for not making the Donovan Mitchell trade, but they did the right thing

Everyone is laughing at the Knicks, but they did the right thing

The New York Knicks, man. They just continue to be the team it’s super easy to make fun of.

We even joined in on the fun here on draft night when it was not very obvious what their strategy was going into things. They came out of all that with a hoard of draft picks.

Draft picks most people expected them to move for one Donovan Mitchell. But, uh, they didn’t. Instead, they signed RJ Barrett to an extension, essentially removing the possibility of him being in any Mitchell trade moving forward. They also hilariously dropped this tweet when the Mitchell news broke.

Coincidence? I think not.

Locked in 🔒 pic.twitter.com/IuzTSovvda

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) September 1, 2022

Regardless, the trade didn’t happen. Mitchell is a Cleveland Cavalier now. The Jazz have a ton of picks from their trade and everyone is happy.

Except for Knicks fans, of course. They now have all these draft picks with nothing to really show for it. Which, on the surface, is pretty funny. Think about it. They did all that work on draft night to get these picks and then did absolutely nothing with them.

People are going to laugh at that. Not just because it’s funny, but also because it’s the Knicks. Jokes were flying across the internet.

[mm-video type=video id=01gbx9qaqwwpby21d091 playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=01f5k5x3v4hcz7e10g image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gbx9qaqwwpby21d091/01gbx9qaqwwpby21d091-36b4b889b613ccda13c82e25a31f666d.jpg]